Restaurant complex planned on Spring Garden Street

Posted on Aug 16, 2014 by David Arneke
View of street and warehouse

Warehouse at 509 South Edgeworth, seen from under the Freeman Mill Road overpass

A major redevelopment is planned for a warehouse on Spring Garden Street at the Downtown Greenway’s Morehead Park trailhead.

The building, 509 South Edgeworth Street, is at the corner of Spring Garden and Edgeworth, just beyond the Freeman Mill Road overpass from College Hill. It is the former location of Catering by Ellyn, which just up and disappeared one day a few years ago.

From the Triad Business Journal:

“Significant redevelopment plans are in the works to revitalize warehouse space at 509 S. Edgeworth St. in downtown Greensboro into a $2 million retail ‘multiplex’ with various eateries, a bakery, event space and a speakeasy-type lounge.”

The $2 million project is scheduled to be completed next spring. A company called “Fresh. Local. Good.” is the developer; it’s a local restaurant, catering, and event company. It owns the Iron Hen Cafe on Cridland Road near West Wendover.

Click here for the whole story from the Business Journal.

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Repaving cleans up mess at Mendenhall & McGee

Posted on Aug 15, 2014 by David Arneke
Intersection of South Mendenhall and Willie McGee

Repaved on Thursday: Mendenhall and McGee streets

The city has repaved part of the very ragged intersection at West McGee and South Mendenhall streets. The northeast corner, which looked like it had been hit by a very small bomb, was particularly improved (on the left side of the photo). James Keith recently dragged a city engineer over to the intersection while the guy was in the neighborhood on another matter.  I don’t think it was even to talk about what awful shape the streets were in right there, but the engineer was struck by it. Whatever the reason was, it’s a big improvement. It may keep fewer cars from bottoming out while heading east on McGee, but you still might want to be a little careful there.

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Be aware: Fake door-to-door salespeople reported nearby

Posted on Aug 15, 2014 by David Arneke

 

ADT logo

Don’t be fooled: ADT Security Services does not send salespeople out door-to-door.

Residents of the Westerwood neighborhood report a group of men have been going door-to-door pretending to sell ADT home security systems.  Westerwood neighbors checked with ADT and learned that the company does not send out door-to-door salespersons.

Update: There are now similar reports coming from Lindley Park.

This appears to be a scam to get into homes and evaluate their contents, means of entry, lack of security, and the people who live there.

This information was reported at last night’s meeting of the Greensboro Neighborhood Congress, and we thank our Westerwood neighbors for letting us know (and GNC member and minutes recorder Ann Stringfield). For those not familiar with Westerwood, it’s the neighborhood adjacent to College Hill on the other side of Market Street and Friendly Avenue.

Remember: do not open your door to people you do not already know. Don’t let people you don’t know into your house.  If you see any suspicious people, immediately call the police at 911 or 373-2222. Don’t wait and don’t expect anyone else to call.  And then let your neighbors know and send an email to the neighborhood association (click for the email address) so we can help get the word out.  College Hill is safer when we let the police and each other know what’s happening.

We all count on each other.  Don’t let us down.

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Triad Business Journal: New Manager Cleans Up Student House Complex

Posted on Aug 12, 2014 by Judy Horn

The Aug. 12, 2014, issue of Triad Business Journal includes an article on “The District,” located on West Market Street at Greensboro College. New management has cleared more than 100 violations! Click here to read the article. 

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If you have bats in your attic, read this before doing anything

Posted on Aug 06, 2014 by David Arneke

I’ve been noticing more bats lately on early-morning walks in the neighborhood, and today I came across this important information about them via email from the Aycock Historic District. The source is Kim Yeoman, a biology grad student at UNCG who certainly has the qualifications to talk about these helpful, misunderstood little beasts.  Her comments came in response to a neighbor who has bats in the attic:

“Many species of bats roost in large maternity colonies, which confers predation protection, and also speeds up the development of their offspring, via heterothermia. If you attempt to seal off any openings to your home before September, you may be sealing off hundreds of baby bats (pups), which will die, rot, and stink up your attic.

“Also, depending on which species are present, you may also be committing a felony, as three of NC’s bat species are endangered, and thus federally protected (Myotis grisescens, M. sodalis, and Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus). Using moth balls will incur additional animal cruelty penalties, as moth balls are extremely toxic (carcinogenic) to mammals, and such open usage may also expose pets and children to the vapors.

“Did you know that 25% of all mammal species are bats, and less than half of one percent of all bats carry rabies? Bats eat mosquitoes, agricultural pests, disperse seeds, and pollinate flowers, including the tequila agave
(http://www.batcon.org/index.php/media-and-info/bats-archives.html?task=viewArticle&magArticleID=310).

“Bats live for about thirty years, and once sexually mature, have 1-2 pups each year, which is an incredibly slow rate of reproduction for a mammal their size (e.g. mice). This slow reproductive rate combined with habitat destruction, pesticide accumulation, and white nose syndrome (https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org), are decimating bat populations worldwide.

“I strongly recommend that once pup season has definitively passed (September), you contact a local wildlife removal specialist. A colleague of mine once worked for Trutech LLC and can confirm that they use legal and humane methods to remove sensitive species from
buildings. 

“Here’s an informative link on how to properly exclude bats from buildings:
http://www.batcon.org/pdfs/education/fof_ug.pdf

“Here’s a video on how to capture and safely remove a bat from inside your home:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzax0V0DG_M“

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Here come the students, here come the car break-ins

Posted on Aug 04, 2014 by David Arneke

Three car break-ins were reported late Saturday and early Sunday in the area of the Province. Two cars were in the 700 block of Fulton; one was on Province Spring Court.

As students return for fall, this kind of petty crime is no surprise. [Clarification: It’s no surprise because too many students are easy prey for criminals.]  So use good sense and do what so many people don’t bother with: Lock your car, don’t leave valuables (especially phones, laptops, tablets, etc.) in it, and if you have to leave something valuable in it for crying out loud don’t leave it in plain sight.  Above all, think about what you’re doing, especially when you’re doing something as mundane and habitual as getting out of the car.

It doesn’t take much to deter this sort of thing. Cars generally aren’t broken into on speculation; it usually happens because something worth stealing can be seen from outside the car.  And if you do get victimized, no matter how petty the loss is, call the police. Knowing that this kind of thing is happening, and where, helps the police and the neighborhood.

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College Hill Neighborhood Assn to meet Monday, 7/28, 7 p.m.

Posted on Jul 26, 2014 by Judy Horn

The July meeting of the College Hill Neighborhood Association will be  held at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 28, 2014 in the Fellowship Hall of the Church of the Covenant, 501 S. Mendenhall St.  The Community Watch meeting will precede the meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the same location. All College Hill residents are welcome to attend.

The July agenda is being prepared and will be available at the meeting. One of the items up for discussion (carried over from June) is renewal of the contract with New Earth Designs. Board members are urged to become familiar with the NewEarthContractRenewal2014-15 to facilitate that discussion.

Attached are the draft minutes from the June meeting.  CHNA_June23_2014_Minutes

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Reminder! Saturday, Music & Arts Festival, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Posted on Jul 22, 2014 by David Arneke

Flyer for PCOC's July Jubilee, 7/26/14, 11 am-3 pm

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Wednesday evening: Architectural walking tour downtown

Posted on Jul 15, 2014 by David Arneke

Historic Woolworth's buildingFrom our friends at Preservation Greensboro, a free event Wednesday evening at 7, beginning at the Green Bean, 341 South Elm Street:

Have you ever wondered why our Elm Street is considered by some to be the best-preserved “big city” main street in North Carolina? Are you curious how to determine a Richardsonian Romanesque from Neoclassical Revival?

Learn about these architectural features and more on an architectural tour of Elm Street and surrounding blocks. Led by Preservation Greensboro’s executive director, Benjamin Briggs, you will gain insights on what exactly makes our city so…cool! Tours will take a little over an hour depending on questions. Wear comfortable shoes!

  • Also this week: The ribbon-cutting at the new location of Architectural Salvage of Greensboro, 1028 Huffman Street, Saturday July 19, beginning at 9 a.m.

http://www.blandwood.org/events.html#Walking

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We can all be happy The New York Times and Vanity Fair are writing about Raleigh’s Oakwood and not College Hill

Posted on Jul 15, 2014 by David Arneke
Modern house under construction

Architect Louis Cherry’s unfinished home in Raleigh’s Oakwood historic district. The controversy over it has been covered by The New York Times and Vanity Fair. (photo from louischerry.com)

Is this house too modern to exist? In a historic district, at least?

If it were being built across the street from you, would you rally around the credo expressed in a New York Times headline: “Don’t Like Your Neighbors’ House? Sue Them.”

The house is in Raleigh’s Oakwood historic district. After being approved by the city’s historic commission, a neighbor has gone to extraordinary lengths to block it. And, incredibly, she has gotten construction halted with the house 85 percent complete.

The controversy has drawn in The Times, last Sunday (click here), and Vanity Fair, a few months ago (click here).  It seems that only bad news attracts national news media attention. Let’s hope we never become so newsworthy.

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