CSD to purchase Griffith St location. Announcement blows hole in logic behind Town's hotel approval next door

On Wednesday evening the Community School of Davidson sent out an email stating it intends to purchase its K-7 building on Griffith Street.  In the email sent at 9PM, the school says...

1.  It will purchase the K-7 building and land.

2.  The purchase will be in conjunction with the previously announced plans to buy land in Huntersville for a sports complex.

3.  Financing plans are being finalized, and the school has a $250k matching grant drive underway.

This announcement is a major step for the school which has been at the Griffith Street site for more than a decade already.  The school's lease with extensions allowed the school to stay on the site for another 14 years, but it also contained an irrevocable option to purchase by the end of 2019.  This announcement indicates the school is exercising that option.

This announcement also blows a gigantic hole in the logic behind the lame duck approval granted by Davidson's former Board to build a hotel next door. During the debate over granting the approval, it was repeatedly implied and insinuated that the school may not be there permanently or that it may move.  In one discussion Davidson's former electeds even discussed what could be done with the site if the building was "razed".

This of course ignored the facts in the lease which clearly stated the possibility of permanence as well as the likelihood of at least many more years at the site.  That flawed logic and the approval based on it is now shown for what it is...a major disservice to the town and community.

As previously reported, at the November 14th meeting prior to the hotel vote, former Commissioner Beth Cashion stated during her comments "I also understand they (CSD) are not the owners of that building, they are leasing that building and it’s an understanding, and a pretty clear understanding that CSD will not be there in that building in 10 years to come. CSD bought 40 acres out on Beaties Ford road and are starting to build their sports complex there so, I think we are tasked with a difficult decision."

That "pretty clear understanding" now appears very clearly wrong, and frankly, it just wasn't that hard a decision in any event.  Decisions between a truly right choice and a truly wrong choice rarely are.  Davison's former Board made the wrong one.

As fallout from the flawed process that led to that flawed decision based on flawed logic, Davidson now faces a lawsuit to overturn that approval.

With this announcement and the realization that the former Commissioners' decision permanently places a hotel practically on top of a K-7 school, funding this lawsuit should become an imperative for the community.

Donations can be sent to:

The "Stop the Griffith Street Hotel" GoFundMe is HERE. for online donations.  Checks payable to Luke Charde Special Account can be mailed to PO Box 785 Davidson, NC 28036  (Mr Charde is a plaintiff in the case.)

Facing a lawsuit, better Hotel location becomes available in Davidson

In retail, it's all about location, location, location.

So, it is with more than a little interest here at aShortChronicle that a new and much more appropriate location has opened up for Davidson's controversial Griffith Street hotel project.  Location has always been the issue for this ill conceived effort, so for a better site to become available just as the Town and developers are facing a lawsuit against its approval is quite apropos.

According to a "for sale" sign and the below listing, a site next to I77 on Davidson Gateway Drive is now available.  This site would be perfect for the new Hyatt Place.  It would accommodate the original design that included a rooftop restaurant with views of the lake.  It would be much closer to the existing Homewood Suites and next to the Spectrum property already slated for a hotel.  It would be visible from the interstate.  Most importantly for citizens, it would NOT be next door to schools and infringe on vulnerable neighborhoods.

Per the below from the Davidson Planning ordinance, this property is pre-approved for a hotel and would not have required a height variance - even for the developer's original and preferred 6 story building.  Seeking out and using this site would have avoided the entire controversy.  it would have avoided the protests.  It would have avoided the concern.   Conversely, it would have been better for the Town as more tax revenue would be generated from a hotel with a full service restaurant.  The proposed location has none.

Picture this....

Shops along the street with surface parking behind and under the hotel.  The hotel is floors 2-5 and a rooftop restaurant as the 6th.  Staff and overflow parking if needed could easily be accommodated by the Homewood Suites owned by the same developer and only a block away.

Here's an example of what the concept could look like.  It is the Hyatt Place in Champaign, IL near the University of Illinois.  This hotel has more capacity (145 room) and is taller (10 stories) than what could be built in Davidson, but it is also built on a much smaller lot (1/2 acre versus 1 1/4 at this newly possible I77 location).

The hotel planned for Davidson currently being challenged is 115 rooms and 4 floors.  This new site at I77 could certainly accommodate that with the proper design.

As a business decision, this is a no brainer.  Please do two things today if you believe this new site is better.

1.  Contact Board@townofdavidson.org and ask Town Hall to encourage the development team to look at this better location.

2.  Donate to the legal fund for the lawsuit opposing the current location off Griffith St sandwiched between CSD's K-7 building and the Westside neighborhood.  The GoFundMe is HERE. Checks payable to Special Account can be mailed to PO Box 785 Davidson, NC 28036

The Red Line is Coming! The Red Line is Coming?

BY MELISSA ATHERTON

Mike Collins interviewed CATS CEO John Lewis on Monday during WFAE’s Charlotte Talks. CATS is currently studying the $6-8 billion dollar addition of rail service to Matthews, Lake Norman and the airport - all at the same time. The proposal spurs many questions for Lake Norman area residents. Why is it necessary? How will it be funded? Where will it be located? How would it affect our neighborhoods?

According to Lewis, the rail line is necessary for the Charlotte region to remain competitive with places such as Atlanta and Orlando. He stated that 44 people move to the area every day, and they need a “system of mobility options.”

The CATS 2030 vision was established in 2002 and was funded by a half-cent sales tax.  The tax increase funded the bus system, but as for rail it finded only the Blue Line and its extension.  There is no more money for a Red Line to Lake Norman.  Lewis stated that the project could potentially be funded by a penny sales tax increase. He said the “math is getting difficult” due to decreased funding from federal and state sources. This would force the project to further rely on rail-related economic development for revenue. Translation: apartments, retail, hotels and offices along the Red Line corridor.

The study is considering where the rail would be located.  Norfolk Southern, a for-profit corporation, owns the existing railroad and uses it for freight purposes that are not compatible with sharing.  Two additional options are adding the rail down the center of I-77 or finding an alternative corridor. Would this involve the large-scale use of eminent domain?       Lewis admitted a negative consequence of the rail system is the associated new development which increases the cost of living.  This leads to displacement of people and gentrification.  Affordable housing has become a problem in Charlotte areas impacted by the rail system.

What would this look like in Davidson?  Will the future Main Street and Potts-Sloan-Beaty connection be lined with hotels, apartments, retail and offices?  How would it affect the residents living in West Side neighborhoods?  Will the forthcoming Mobility Plan take the future Red Line into consideration even if its actual implementation is still very much uncertain?    These are all major questions Davidson residents need to consider.

Make sure to attend the Mobility Plan Community Conversation next Thursday, 2/8, from 6-8:30 pm at Davidson United Methodist Church.

Continuum (formerly known as Mi-Connection) numbers down a little

The Continuum Board of Directors met Thursday night for the FY2018 Q2 quarterly meeting.  aShortChronicle wasn't able to attend but did acquire the numbers presented at the meeting.

Here are the takeaways from the slides:

• Revenue is down slightly from the same quarter last year.
• Expenses are up slightly but most of that appears to from the increase in "marketing expense".  That would most likely be related to the rebranding from Mi-Connection to the Continuum name.
• Total Revenue Generating Units (RGUs) are down slightly along with total customer relationships.  RGUs are individual services like cable, phone, or high-speed data.
• Avg Revenue Per Customer is also down slightly.

In an environment where the real-estate market is hot and new construction is underway, seeing RGUs and total customers down year over year is not what you want to see.  The last slide is interesting in that it details more cost cutting measures which will eventually add to the bottom line.  Cost cutting has been the primary way the municipally owned cable operation has been able to reduce its need for subsidies over recent years.  Frugality and cost cutting is great, but eventually the operation has to figure out how to grow its customer base.

(Click on each picture to enlarge.)

Why I donated to the lawsuit to stop Davidson's new Griffith Street Hotel

Nobody wanted to be here.  That much I assure you.

Homeowners near the proposed Griffith Street Hyatt Place Hotel who filed a lawsuit last week to stop the project certainly don't want to be fighting their own town to protect their home values and neighborhoods.  Parents of children at the nearby schools reasonably don't want a hotel right next to where their kids' walk and play on a daily basis, and they certainly didn't want to see their Town Hall scoff at any and all of their safety concerns.  Neighbors and others who frequent the area don't want a parking situation made worse in an already crowded part of town.

All of these groups rightfully expected their town leaders to not put them in this situation, but here we are.  Instead of looking for truly smart growth that protects and improves the entire community, by approving this hotel project Davidson Town Hall proved it was more concerned with wonkishly improving the town's walkability score.

On top of all this, there is that sense the fix was in since the beginning; that sense the cake was already baked by the time the public knew what was happening; that sense Davidson Town Hall was just going through the motions to give the developers what they wanted - a too big hotel on a too small plot with too little parking in absolutely the wrong place.

So, no...nobody wanted to be here.

And to be very clear, when I day "Davidson Town Hall" in this case, I don't mean our current elected officials.  I mean former Commissioners Beth Cashion, Brian Jenest, Rodney Graham, and Stacey Anderson.  Their approving votes as elected officials created this situation by ramming this through on their way out the door, leaving others to deal with the mess.

So, while nobody wants to be here.  Here we are...with a lawsuit...against our town. 

Now of course, there are those who say lawsuits are risky.  They say lawsuits are uncertain.  They say there is no guarantee you will win.  To that I'll just say this... 

The naysayers are right.  The outcome is not guaranteed, but the things in life most worth fighting for never are.  If they were, you wouldn't have to fight for them because they would just happen.

This lawsuit is one of those times.  It's one of those things worth fighting for.  It is not just the home values, or the nearby schools, or the traffic.  It is all of those things and much more.  It's about stopping this from happening again - somewhere where it impacts you directly.  It's about fighting for a system that is transparent, a system where developers don't get an outsized say in what gets built when a community doesn't want something.  It's about making sure towns follow not just the letter of the law but the spirit behind it as well.  While this case is about something happening in Davidson, those concepts apply to towns everywhere.

That is why I donated to the lawsuit to overturn this approval, and that is why I encourage you to do the same.

You can donate online at:

https://www.gofundme.com/stop-the-griffith-st-hotel

You can send a check to:

Luke Charde, PO Box785, Davidson, NC 28036. The checks should be made to "Luke Charde, Special Account"   Mr Charde is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

You can read the filed complaint here.

Bikeshareing on the way as Davidson Vbikes remain a mystery

aShortChronicle told readers previously about the sationless bikeshare operations that have recently flooded downtown Charlotte.  In fact, a new "yellow" bike has shown up by the hundreds since that original post.

The below photos are all taken from the 7th Street Station area around the Blue Line light rail stop.  They are from a Chinese company called Ofo.

So, while bikes are popping up all over Uptown like mushrooms after a spring rain, the 3 bikeshare units from a company called Vbikes remain the only three seen in Davidson.  aShortChronicle has been keeping an eye on these since the first post and finally got around to asking about them.

According to a phone call to Vbikes which is based in Texas, the company doesn't have any current partners in North Carolina, but there was a pilot done in Charlotte some time ago.  That would explain how the bikes got to the general area, but not to Davidson itself.  One of these bikes has been sitting in front of the defunct Healthy Home Market for weeks.  The others have been seen in the Circles@30 area, most recently in front of the Lyndon Apartments.  These two have also been shown around town over recent weeks in the Vbso someone must be using them.

In from of old
Healthy Home Market

In front of the Lyndon Appartments

aShortChronicle checked with the Town to see if there might be some sort of effort in the works via Town Hall or if a permit had been requested.  According to a reaponse from Christina Shaul that does not appear to be the case.  The Lyndon isn't sponspring them yhough yhey do have two bikes available for sharing with residents, Also, the Vbikes aren't being managed by Davidson College.  So, for now who (if anyone) is managing Davidson's nascent Vbike operation remains a mystery.

However, that doesn't mean the concept of bikesharing isn't on the radar here locally.  According to Shaul, bikesharing will likely be discussed as part of the Mobility Plan that is just getting underway.

Something more immediate is also in the works at Davidson College.  According to Yancey Fouche with the College, "the College is working towards a soft launch of bikeshare this spring with a third-party vendor. We are still in the due diligence period to iron out some logistical questions and finalize the agreement, but hopeful that bikes might be in place for students’ return from spring break in mid-March. We and the vendor will review and discuss the program’s performance over the summer to inform any changes or improvements needed for students’ return in fall."

The idea is that this will help address the transportation needs of the 50% of College students who dont have access to a car and reduce the need for students to have to transpprt their own bikes to/from home each year.

Fouche goes on to say "the bikeshare launch this spring is intended to support Davidson College students, faculty and staff. The Town and collaborators on the Mobility plan will watch our program to consider the possibility of expansion beyond the College, and to provide feedback on successes or concerns when bikes leave campus property. The bikes will have a vendor phone number on them as the best point of contact for specific questions and concerns. The company will maintain a team to help “rebalance” (move bikes from less-popular to more desirable locations) and respond to any issues. The success of the program will rest entirely on its users – the bikes and related IT platform are incredibly sophisticated and generate loads of data that will help the vendor to respond to transportation trends, problems with bikes, and plan for future improvements. We will do all we can on campus to get the word out about the program and responsible use, including appropriate bike parking. I am very curious to see whether campus chooses to use the bikes at a high level and whether they focus their rides on campus or venture into the “Bronze Bicycle-Friendly Community” of Davidson!"

So, there you have it.  More Bikesharing will become some sort of reality in Davidson relatively soon even as the current Vbike operation remains a mystery.  Here's hoping it is a more tightly managed operation than what Charlotte has allowed in Uptown, but it will

Notes from the Davidson Commissioner Chat at the Egg

Melissa Atherton attended the "Commissioner Chat" at The Egg in Davidson on Monday Morning.  Here's a link to the video snd the notes she took.

Click for Video

● Robert Bullard will give his keynote lecture, “Climate Change as a Human Right: Why Equity Matters,” on Tuesday, 1/23, 7 pm, at Duke Performance Hall on Davidson College Campus. Bullard will also be at an informal drop-in chat on Wednesday, 1/24, 10:15 am, in the second floor lobby of Wall Academic Center at Davidson College.

● Davidson BOC’s Retreat will be held locally Thursday, 1/25, and Friday, 1/26, at River Run Country Club. The retreat is open to the public. Commissioner Jane Campbell said keeping the retreat in town will save $5,000 and create the opportunity for transparency. Commissioner Jim Fuller stated that the board is unanimous in their desire for positive, transparent communication.

● A lawsuit has been filed on Davidson’s Griffith Street Hotel decision. The board will discuss this issue in a closed session on Tuesday, 1/23.

● The vacant storefronts on Main Street have to maintain appearance guidelines. The owner’s corporation is reportedly looking to fill the vacancies with “high-end” restaurants.

● A citizen stressed urgency in protecting the nineteen acres of town-owned land on Beaty Street. The BOC is reportedly looking for a different level of public input. Commissioner David Sitton stated that this is a high priority for him. Commissioner Campbell stressed the need for public discourse and “out-of-the-box” ideas, whereas the Parks and Recreation process could potentially take 15-20 years.

● The Town of Davidson is spending $20,000 on the Mobility Plan. Citizen concerns included sidewalks and safety issues on Watson, Delburg, Beaty and Shearer Road. Mayor Knox recognized that much of the traffic in town is due to people passing through on their way to other towns. He also stated that Davidson does not have three major north-south road options like Mooresville and Cornelius (I-77, Statesville Road and Old Statesville Road) because we do not have Statesville Road. Knox acknowledged that he does not think the Potts-Sloan-Beaty connection will solve our traffic problems. The Mobility Plan will not include safety improvements for bicyclists on Shearer Road.

● Commissioner Sitton is actively advocating for the Comprehensive Plan to start earlier than summer of 2018. He stated that Davidson has a significant infrastructure problem.

● A citizen requested improvements to the public records request process.

● Town Manager Jamie Justice said there is no public input session scheduled for the Potts Development at this time. He stated that the developer, Crescent Communities, will have to present their plan to deal with the recommendations made in Kimley-Horn’s Transportation Impact Analysis (TIA). A citizen questioned why Crescent is being allowed to include NCDOT Project U-5873 in their TIA, but exclude the project/road from their open space calculations. Another citizen questioned why the developer would be allowed to make payments in lieu, rather than improving the intersections. Justice replied that the NCDOT plan has not been finalized yet and the developer only has to mitigate their portion of the total impact.

● A citizen praised the new board and requested continued “healing” after the election.