Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
God forbid ordinary people can go the beach and park somewhere.
This is really about taking Charlotte away from the regular folk and awarding it to whatever is the name for yuppies nowadays. And you can be sure that Rochester will totally ---- it up, like Rochester ----ed up the Ferry and Irondequoit Mall and Midtown and...
Right. A massive, empty parking lot (90% of the time) is certainly useful to Charlotte. Are people even aware of how ridiculous that is? This comment is irrelevant. It's time to move on. That parking lot is a waste, and thankfully, much of it will be gone.
As to your second paragraph, pure hyperbole. This isn't taking Chalrotte away from anyone. Please explain, and not just make vague, generalized comments. The last sentence isn't worthy of anything else but a pure snicker. Come up with some new material.
Where is town center? Where is Main Street? Where is the grocery store? Where is the corner pharmacy? Where is the walkability?
It's an extension of city property that happens to lie on a beach, with an empty port building, giant [usually empty] parking lot, and green water. Putting ANYTHING there is going to help surely.
It's a community, sure, but it isn't Pittsford or Leroy.
Where is town center? Where is Main Street? Where is the grocery store? Where is the corner pharmacy? Where is the walkability?
You need population density to support those things. If Charlotte wants walkable amenities like you'd find in a traditional village, they need to bring in more residents. This is what the developer is trying to do. Look at Park Ave and the stretch of Monroe from downtown to I-490. Very population-dense, pedestrian-oriented, bike lanes/sharrows (Monroe), limited parking, and tons of independent businesses with almost no empty storefronts. It can be done in Rochester.
Where is town center? Where is Main Street? Where is the grocery store? Where is the corner pharmacy? Where is the walkability?
It's an extension of city property that happens to lie on a beach, with an empty port building, giant [usually empty] parking lot, and green water. Putting ANYTHING there is going to help surely.
It's a community, sure, but it isn't Pittsford or Leroy.
Lol Pittsford? Where the hoity-toity townfolk wigged out over a McDonalds and insisted the foundation be painted...wait for it...brick red? Surely you jest.
BTW you should have checked out that "walkability" before you left Rochester because residents and visitors do just that at Charlotte.
As far as that empty port goes, that was the result of City Hall's "anything there is better than nothing" attitude. Sound familiar? We all know how that turned out.
Not that the "Charlotte Strong" group would actually care about these valid points from Gregory Weykamp since their entire goal seems to be to stop all development, but these are great points from the developer that I 100% agree with:
...
"What we heard from the community time and again was, 'We want it done right. The quality is the most important thing,'" he says.
To offset the cost of producing a top-notch project, he says, the buildings have to be of a certain height because people will pay for lake views.
"Views of trees obviously don't command as much value as views of the lake," he says. "If it came down to a compromise where it has to be so low that we can't do the quality, we wouldn't do that. We would leave that to a different developer, because that's not who we are. I also think it's the wrong thing for Charlotte.
Edgewater got off to a difficult start when a project diagram, which Weykamp says was meant only as an internal planning tool, was made public. The diagram shows rather utilitarian-looking buildings in excess of 10 stories tall.
"That was presented and interpreted as a design, which it is not," Weykamp says. "I think those are ugly drawings, too. I think it's unfortunate how the graphics were rolled out, but I didn't have anything to do with that. And we've been playing catch-up ever since."
The diagram was made before the city chose a developer, Weykamp says. It doesn't make sense to invest a significant amount of money in designs, he says, when you haven't even been hired.
The development would be built in phases, Weykamp says, starting with a 40- to- 60-room boutique hotel. Above the hotel would be 12 to 24 for-sale condominiums.
"That's a small enough size; we know that's not going to fail," Weykamp says. "We know we can sell 12 to 24 units very, very comfortably."
Those first condos would also give Edgewater crucial information, he says, such as which units sell first and fastest, and what buyers like and don't like. They would also test the viability of the overall project.
...
One of Edgewater's ideas, Weykamp says, is to create a low-level plinth on the building. So the first couple of stories would front Lake Avenue, then there would be the plinth, and the rest of the building would go up and in, Weykamp says, so that Lake Avenue doesn't feel too closed in or dense.
Weykamp and city officials reject the suggestion that the city is privatizing the port. The marina would be open to the public and surrounded by a park and public promenade that connects the Genesee River Trail to the Charlotte pier. And Weykamp talks about a civic gathering space with a reflecting pool or skating rink as part of the project.
"You'll be able to be at the corner of Lake and Hincher, look through a really nice space with nice restaurants on the side and activities and an ice rink in the winter kind of thing," he says. "And look down and see the marina and the boats in the water. I really, sincerely believe that we'll be creating better views than exist today."
...
Low-income housing has come up repeatedly during discussions of the port development. The worry is either that the project will flop and Edgewater will resort to low-income housing to fill it up, or that Edgewater is being coy about its intentions and has planned to include low-income housing all along.
The concern appears to stem from the initial package that Edgewater put together for city officials, before the company was chosen to develop the port. The paperwork lists low-income housing tax credits as a possible funding source for the project.
Both Weykamp and city officials emphatically deny that low-income housing would be part of the project. Weykamp acknowledges the reference in the early paperwork, but says it was in response to the city's request to identify all possible sources of funding.
"Some folks for whatever reason have just really latched onto that as proof that we're going to do low-income housing," he says. "As I said time and again, we're simply not here to do that.""
This Susan Miller sounds like an absolute clown. She has no idea what she's talking about, and every quote seems embarrassing. That's the problem with the opposition. They clearly have no purpose other than to oppose everything that is planned with absolutely no ideas of their own.
The more I read about it, the more I like it. They clearly have the right idea. Build slowly, and create enough density that restaurants, shopping and entertainment follow. That's what works, and it's been proven.
Quote:
But Miller and Roethel of Charlotte Strong say that there's nothing to talk about. They don't trust Weykamp or Edgewater, they say, and that as long as the proposal includes buildings they consider high-rises, they will remain in opposition.
"My feeling is, what's to think about?" Miller says, citing the petition that Charlotte Strong gathered with more than 2,300 names asking the city for a new port developer. "What's to think about if the community does not want this? I'm no big business tycoon, OK? But my question is, what am I missing here?"
Way to make yourself look like an absolute fool, lady. She hasn't even heard the actual proposals yet with actual renderings.
Last edited by colton821; 09-13-2014 at 09:14 PM..
I couldn't agree any more colton821. I've said it before and I'll say it again. That Charlotte Strong group is a small minority of people that don't want anybody else living down there. They are kind of like animals that have "marked" their territory and they want to keep it the way it is. I'd be willing to bet the vast majority of the people that signed their "petition" were fed lies and misinformation from this group and that's the basis of their signing. If they really understood what the developer has planned, I'd bet a good portion of them would have a different opinion.
Lol, you two are complete gems. The fact that you're actually buying in to all the spin that Edgewater is putting on this to gain more support for their side is humorous. I mean c'mon, you're going to buy that BS line about the initial rendering only being a "design tool" and not meaning anything to what will end up being a final proposal?
The best part about all of this is that you're being completely hypocritical in that you're slamming the opponents to this plan, saying they have no idea what the final proposal is going to bring, when people like you who are in favor also have NO idea what they have in store. Unless someone has some inside info from Edgewater and has seen the actual designs they are planning on going with. In which case, carry on....
Lol, you two are complete gems. The fact that you're actually buying in to all the spin that Edgewater is putting on this to gain more support for their side is humorous. I mean c'mon, you're going to buy that BS line about the initial rendering only being a "design tool" and not meaning anything to what will end up being a final proposal?
The best part about all of this is that you're being completely hypocritical in that you're slamming the opponents to this plan, saying they have no idea what the final proposal is going to bring, when people like you who are in favor also have NO idea what they have in store. Unless someone has some inside info from Edgewater and has seen the actual designs they are planning on going with. In which case, carry on....
oh pleeassee...I saw that first rendering and immediately knew it was just a rough rendering. The buildings were just boxes. Did you actually think they were going to build buildings that looked like boxes from a cad drawing? Because I sure as heck didn't think so.
As far as being "hypocritical", I've been listening to everything the developer has been saying from day 1. He has been trying to explain over and over again that the myths and lies being propagated by this Charlotte Strong group were never their intention. He has tackled one by one each allegation multiple times. Just because you and that group keep repeating these lies over and over again isn't going to all of a sudden make them true. So you can claim we are being hypocritical, but we aren't the ones literally making up stories and trying to insist that these are the true intentions of the developer.
So I will carry on fighting the false accusations by you and the Charlotte Strong group.
As far as "inside info"...how about the "inside info" from the developer himself? Will that work? Or should I just believe some random people not involved in the project in any way but have an agenda of their own?
Lol, you two are complete gems. The fact that you're actually buying in to all the spin that Edgewater is putting on this to gain more support for their side is humorous. I mean c'mon, you're going to buy that BS line about the initial rendering only being a "design tool" and not meaning anything to what will end up being a final proposal?
Yes I'm "buying into" it because it's common sense. They haven't spun a single thing and I have followed this since day 1.
And even if those drawings were real (they're clearly not), who cares? Part of development is revising plans and working on them to fit the community. That is obviously what they have done here, considering they've met countless times with people in the community to get a sense of what they want.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OverTaxedInNY
The best part about all of this is that you're being completely hypocritical in that you're slamming the opponents to this plan, saying they have no idea what the final proposal is going to bring, when people like you who are in favor also have NO idea what they have in store. Unless someone has some inside info from Edgewater and has seen the actual designs they are planning on going with. In which case, carry on....
Wait, you mean slamming opponents who say they won't even look at what the proposal is at all, and they will oppose anything that involves Edgewater? You mean those loons?
Yeah, I'll take my position. These people are essentially children throwing a temper tantrum. They shouldn't be taken seriously. At all.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
? Surely you jest.
? We all know how that turned out.
