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Am I the only one who thinks this post was complete sarcasm?
Is the city paying for the McDonalds redevelopment? Because it sounds to me like some of the posters and the city are trying to dictate that McDonalds spend extra money to make their business less profitable.
How do you immediately jump to the conclusion that the city is somehow making the McDonald's less profitable with their neighborhood plan? And, how do you come to the conclusion that aligning with the city's neighborhood plan will increase the cost? I think those are two huge assumptions on your part.
I have met with the city planner on this issue. I have SEEN all the assistance that the city tried to provide the owner of this McDonald's. I have even seen sketches that a council member (who is an architect) gave to the developer to help him both meet the neighborhood plan and retain his beloved drive thru. But, in the end, it was all ignored and absolutely nothing occured with the owner's plans that would either make the property more pedestrian friendly or meet the guidelines set forth by the city 5 years prior. The site plan is COMPLETELY about the circular drive thru surrounding the building.
So that everyone knows, it's not as if this was a last minute change by the city that burdened the owner. The Peace St. plan had been in effect 5 years prior to the final hearings when enough council members caved and the owner got what he wanted. And, I won't name names but....it was council members who don't represent this part of the city that made it possible for the McDonald's owner to get his way and ignore the city neighborhood plan. This really ticks me off.
I second you - that post looks like sarcasm to me too! While I do believe that MC Donald's should be made more pedestrian friendly (I am sure they will be more of a success with that), the rest of the changes should be completely up to them.
I don't disagree with you. But, the owners of this McDonald's ignored the entire basic concept of the neighborhood plan.
This is true. However, if you need exit that inspection station and take a left on Peace (as I do), you're taking your life into your hands.
I have never had a problem turning left out of there but I also drive in Miami. So, my definition of "taking your life into your hands" might have a different meaning.
For future reference, exit out the back of the property through the adjacent car wash driveway on S. Harrington and take it to West Street. From there, you can either go north to Peace St. and turn at a light or go South and then immediately west to Johnson St. to get back to Glenwood. I hope this helps.
How do you immediately jump to the conclusion that the city is somehow making the McDonald's less profitable with their neighborhood plan? And, how do you come to the conclusion that aligning with the city's neighborhood plan will increase the cost? I think those are two huge assumptions on your part.
I have met with the city planner on this issue. I have SEEN all the assistance that the city tried to provide the owner of this McDonald's. I have even seen sketches that a council member (who is an architect) gave to the developer to help him both meet the neighborhood plan and retain his beloved drive thru. But, in the end, it was all ignored and absolutely nothing occured with the owner's plans that would either make the property more pedestrian friendly or meet the guidelines set forth by the city 5 years prior. The site plan is COMPLETELY about the circular drive thru surrounding the building.
So that everyone knows, it's not as if this was a last minute change by the city that burdened the owner. The Peace St. plan had been in effect 5 years prior to the final hearings when enough council members caved and the owner got what he wanted. And, I won't name names but....it was council members who don't represent this part of the city that made it possible for the McDonald's owner to get his way and ignore the city neighborhood plan. This really ticks me off.
To me it seems like the owner of the McDonalds just doesn't want to be a team player and only wants to do the bare minimum in this case. It's pretty obvious that this particular owner wants a business that he can just ignore without having to put a lot of investment or effort into keeping it up. The condition of the business right now pretty much proves that. I have never eaten there personally, but have heard that it certainly is not the best McDonalds around, from being run down and outdated to very poor service (as far as fast food service is concerned)
This is a shame. I really think the owner is missing an opportunity to get in ahead of the power curve here. To me it seems that the design that was most recently approved is really the improvements that should have been made about 6-7 years ago. That design is going to quickly become outdated and obsolete once the rest of the neighborhood plan takes shape in the next few years.
FYI - The Peace Street McDonalds is closing at midnight this Thursday night. The restaurant will be torn down and completely rebuilt. If I'm not mistaken, it will either be a McCafe, or something similar. They plan to reopen in mid-December 2008.
The Peace St McDonalds is officially a pile of rubble as of today.
I heard. I'll be in Raleigh tomorrow to see for myslef. However, It's bitter sweet to see it go since it's going to be replaced with another suburban style McDonald's. I was hoping that the owner would lapse his time so that the issue would come back up and the neighbors would be able to weigh in on the new one this time. Oh well.....
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