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Construction on Lafayette Village continues, but I just read this in the N&O about one business that is planning to set up shop there. From the N&O Retailing Section: Link (http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1266841.html - broken link)
"Those of you from Florida may know of Carmine's, a gourmet market and restaurant, that is a foodie haven in Palm Beach Gardens.
Now one of Carmine's top chefs, Antonio Saladino, has moved to the Triangle and is opening his own gourmet market.
Antonio's Gourmet Market and Restaurant will sell fresh meat, fish and cheeses. He also plans catering and home delivery of groceries. A restaurant, where patrons can order or enjoy a treat they picked up in the store, will be attached to the market.
Antonio's will anchor the new Lafayette Village shopping center at Falls of Neuse and Honeycutt roads next summer."
They've done more than grading... while they finished that giant stone retaining wall last year, the bulk of the work was going on underground. They finished the underground parking. Now that that is finished, I think the rest of the project will (hopefully) move quickly.
The only thing I don't get is that Lafayette neighborhood behind there. Why would you pay $500,000 for a house that faces commercial office buildings and that type of stuff?
Overall, I'm sure it will be a great alternative to the standard strip mall, but without incorporation of residential dwellings above the storefronts, they'll fall short of the type of development that is desperately needed for smart growth in the Triangle.
Amen. To make something like this really work and be more than a strip mall it has to be mixed use with residential mixed in.
I like that they are building something more pedestrian friendly, but unless they build housing/walkable neighborhoods into the plan, it's just a glorified strip mall.
It reminded me of the time I saw an African couple in Marshalls, and they were in line holding three beautiful formal gowns. They asked customers around them if they thought they were suitable for a wedding, as bridesmaid gowns, and we said, absolutely. They explained that they were bringing them back to Africa (Nigeria, I think), because their relative had always dreamed of an American-style wedding! Then I thought of all the African-Americans who have embraced African-style clothing over the years.
Interesting.
Lafayette will probably be Disneyesque. But that's okay. Disney is fun.
I'm interested to see the landscaping. It would be cool if they planted stuff on top of some of the buildings or if some of the buildings had balconies from which they could have flower boxes and such. Also they need a fountain in the plaza. And to be really authentic it will definitely need some graffiti (lovebrentwood shudders)
I'm with Brentwood, sounds like they'll have nice shops but looks too Disneylike. Now if they made everything 3 stories so that there would be rental flats on the top floor, mixed in with offices with doors/elevators opening at street level for each building, this would be more European. And they'd need to let ppl hang out washing lines from building to building, with a crank to rope in the laundry And, they need back ally ways. Then there should be bike racks with public bikes to borrow or rent. Although, the place doesn't look too big? They need a monument in the city center where the trees are. Maybe a clock tower with chiming bells, some stone chess tables.
I wish builders would stop trying to have European stuff and be proud Americans and come up with something uniquely American.
Funny, in the UK when I was a kid, everyone was so excited to be getting American style Hyper-Markets = big grocery stores with other stuff, kinda like Super Walmart. We were told we could buy everything we wanted under one roof. It was like Ralphie being told he could have his Red Rider BB Gun! No more running from shop to shop out in bad weather..(cause they rarely have good weather), our eyes would be delighted by seeing things in jumbo packaging. We could buy, lightbulbs, bread, and an outfit for Sat night at the same place.
I remember shopping in a big UK city and seeing a sign, "New Today - American Specialty Foods". They had the Stars & Stripes flying all over the place, played American music, it really made you excited wondering what gems from the US they'd have. What a letdown when I saw a huge display of Chef Boyardee stuff!
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