You may be among the many Chapel Hillians who have been wondering why some of the best business locations on Franklin Street stand vacant with no inhabitants. Apparently it's because their owner, Fayetteville developer Joe Riddle, is waiting for the "right" tenants. Riddle owns the Top of the Hill building (former home of the Gap, the Sunglass Hut, and the Carolina Theatre) and some lots on West Franklin on either side of Lantern and the art supply store, including University Chrysler. He doesn't seem to be in a rush to find those uniquely suitable tenants either.
Could it be Riddle is too distracted with other matters? Or does he have so much money that he can afford to hold on to prime real estate until the right mood catches him? Either way I see it as bad for Chapel Hill.
Top of the Hill Brewery seems to be the only paying tenant he has in what must be millions of dollars worth of Chapel Hill real estate. Maybe one of you who sees Scott Maitland often can ask him if he has any insight into Riddle's business strategy and how he plans to support and enhance downtown Chapel Hill.
Issues:
Comments
Could be worse: the
Could be worse: the downtown developer could be Tom Riddle.
Now that would be evil.
Yeah, but then he would be
Yeah, but then he would be fictional, not a real-live cokehead.
Ruby, maybe you ought to
Ruby, maybe you ought to invite Liz Parham of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership (chdowntown@bellsouth.net or 967-9440) to share what she has learned about this situation. Might make more sense than asking a tenant to somehow explain the thinking and/or behavior of his landlord.
Rent is still being paid for
Rent is still being paid for the bank space. It was vacated due to the Wachovia/First Union merger and is likely a tax write-off for Wachovia. There are companies that manage leases for vacant properties, the CHDP is trying to find out who has the lease and when it expires.
The former Franklin St.
The former Franklin St. University Chrysler property is quite extensive. Development on those parcels could change the texture of West End for much the worse.
Creating a cooperative relationship with Riddle, no matter his personal proclivities, would seem to be of better utility than chastising (shaming?) him from afar. Considering the current state of affairs with his Downtown property, having Andrea, Liz, the DPC and fellow Downtown/West End business folk reaching out in a constructive , well publicized fashion to Riddle could be the best way to restart the relationship. Yes, similar attempts have failed in Fayetteville but Fayetteville has a whole different political complexion.
After that attempt at moral suasion, and as long as he keeps his properties to code, there is not much more we can do but to stay quite vigilent.
GEEZ! It isn't enough that
GEEZ! It isn't enough that he pays taxes on his property?? Shut your pie hole and get off of his back. What law is he violating?? Huh??
Will, you make an excellent
Will, you make an excellent point. I look forward to seeing how the Town and the Downtown Partnership can work with Riddle productively. However, I will also remain skeptical of his motives and his committment to the health of downtown as a whole.
FYI, in today's Chapel Hill News:
My grandmother always said
My grandmother always said one could catch more flies with honey than vinegar...
melanie
Melanie, Did your
Melanie,
Did your grandmother have a solution for when the flies turn into maggots?
Flies don't turn into
Flies don't turn into maggots. Nor wil they lay eggs (which WILL turn into maggots) in a pool of honey.
Melanie, I do know that
Melanie,
I do know that flies don't turn into maggots (I was just jumping to the end result) but I didn't know that flies won't lay eggs in a pool of honey. Thanks for the educational tidbit.
Blame property owners, bars,
Blame property owners, bars, and t-shirt stands all you want but the simple fact is, places stand vacant and undeveloped because Franklin Street is not a desirable place to do business. At least for right now. The street is poorly lit in the evenings, populated extensively with loiterers crouched in doorways and panhandlers on the benches. How many shootings have we heard of in the last 24 months? What is the response of our fearless leaders? Self Defense training for the employees working downtown and the removal of the benches in front of Ben and Jerry's.
What we should be doing is making downtown friendly to pedestrians, shoppers, and yes, the evil people who rely on cars to get places. What about head in, diagonal parking? Franklin and Rosemary streets being one way? Anyone here ever been to Greenwich Connecticut? How about downtown development working hand in hand with property owners to put together a strategic plan to recruit higher dollar boutique retailers that appeal to people both in and out of Chapel Hill, maybe providing express bus service between our retail hubs at University Mall, Meadowmont, and Southern Village? Link these three areas together by our transit system to allow easy parking in one spot and then shopping in all four. Shoot, at least do that with University Mall and downtown.
We should demand more and ask why real changes aren't happening.
One other thing. If we made these changes, made downtown a fantastic place to do business, we would have developers beating down our doors to build on Lot #5 and others. We would not be paying them a subsidy to do the job either. They would be paying US.
Would you prefer some trashy
Would you prefer some trashy shop be opened so the space is no longer vancant? Read the bit from the paper again:
I could cut it up and put T-shirts and fast-food shops in there if I wanted to," Riddle said. "I'm trying to bring something better in there."
Now what is wrong with wanting to bring some quality shops downtown? If yo read further in the article, Mr. Riddle indicates some of the specific businesses he is courting.