
{"id":3630,"date":"2008-10-16T07:16:09","date_gmt":"2008-10-16T15:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=3630"},"modified":"2008-10-16T07:29:04","modified_gmt":"2008-10-16T15:29:04","slug":"the-other-side-of-east-main-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2008\/10\/16\/the-other-side-of-east-main-street\/","title":{"rendered":"The other side of East Main Street"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href='http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/biz101608.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/biz101608-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Photo by Hannah Sharpe. Ben Harper, owner and manager of Harper Arts Design and Screen Printing, can see the temporary offices of Main Street Properties across the street from his store-front window while he works. Harper has been looking at the potential economic affects on his business of the 300 East Main Street project.\" title=\"biz101608\" width=\"240\" height=\"160\" align=\"left\" size-medium wp-image-3631\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/biz101608-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/biz101608.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><\/a><strong>Hannah Sharpe<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Courtesy of the Carrboro Commons<\/em><\/p>\n<p>While much of Carrboro holds its breath awaiting finalization of the 300 East Main Street project, businesses across the street from the project\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s site see opportunity for growth.<br \/>\n<!--more--><br \/>\nThe Carrboro Board of Aldermen unanimously approved the project in a Sept. 30 meeting. This decision means new amenities for its citizens in the form of a hotel and a 500,000-square-foot space for new businesses and restaurants. The decision also projects a change in the economic climate for surrounding businesses.<\/p>\n<p>Though redevelopment is a huge change for the town, most of the businesses across the street support the project\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s general proposal for growth and investment in infrastructure. Recently, community support for the project has fluctuated over issues such as architecture, traffic patterns and what forms of business the project will attract. Businesses across the street from the project have similar concerns, but they are waiting to see the extent of change the project will bring to the business climate.<\/p>\n<p>Until the last few months, many of these businesses disregarded claims that the project would actually be approved and become a reality.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been getting notices for the last five years,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Ben Harper, CEO of Harper Arts Collegiate Sportswear.<\/p>\n<p>Though many were skeptical that the project would get so close to approval, businesses across the street from the site are beginning to consider the effects of Main Street\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s makeover.<\/p>\n<p>Barry Keith, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sid\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of Sid\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Surplus, believes growth is inevitable for the community, but proper preparation for it is most important.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to grow in spite of yourself,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Keith. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t prepare for growth, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to get ripe like a piece of fruit and rot.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Local photographer Jesse Kalisher, who owns Jesse Kalisher Gallery, views the project as an opportunity for Carrboro to develop and prosper in a fashion similar to small towns like Asheville, Carmel, Calif. or Ashland, Ore.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a handful of places I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen where they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve maintained local flavor and the community has thrived. Carrboro has that possibility,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Kalisher said.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most controversial aspects of the project is the proposed Hilton Garden Inn that would stand where Performance Bike is currently located. Many community members oppose the idea of a chain hotel in Carrboro, while others disapprove of a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153box-like\u00e2\u20ac\u009d structure.<\/p>\n<p>Sean Livingwater, manager of Scooter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Inc. on the corner of Main and Lloyd streets, thinks that disagreement over architecture is a trivial dispute in the project.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I just don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a consistent theme of architecture through Carrboro. If it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a tasteful building, good stuff,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Jesse Kalisher thinks a hotel would bring more visitors and potential revenue to the area. The hotel would give visitors a place to stay in town instead of having to drive in from hotels located further out of town.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face it. A hotel down here will certainly help a lot of us who need a place to stick our in-laws!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Kalisher joked.<\/p>\n<p>Traffic is another matter that could affect the businesses across the street from the project. Main Street is already gridlocked at certain times during the day \u00e2\u20ac\u201d especially in the mornings and afternoons with commuters traveling to and from work.<\/p>\n<p>Tommy and Paula Carson, owners of University Auto Supply, Inc., do not support the project because of the potential traffic problems that will arise during construction and after the project is completed.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be more traffic, period,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Tommy Carson said.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest concern associated with the project is the question of how new buildings and businesses will affect the business climate of East Main Street. Property values will increase, causing rental space to increase.<\/p>\n<p>Kalisher thinks that project developers Main Street Properties will determine the project\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s influence on Carrboro with its approach to local business.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Is development going to build on what we have? Or are we going to find that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been turned into one of the strip-mall communities of America that we moved here to get away from?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Kalisher asked.<\/p>\n<p>Kalisher hopes that with the new spaces, Main Street Properties will seek arts-based tenants to supplement the ArtsCenter.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Nothing could be better than to have more arts-related business,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Kalisher said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Carrboro prides itself on being an arts-based community. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s give that a chance to really thrive.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Ben Harper of Harper Arts thinks that it will not be long before prospects of redevelopment drift across the street as building owners see potential to increase property values.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to put upward pressure on us on rent and leasing,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Harper said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Carrboro used to be the cheap part of town.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Harper went on to say that the presence of a five-story building across the street would make the notion of putting one on his side of the street more feasible. The business climate would also change in favor of retail stores and restaurants, forcing out businesses that are more production- and factory-based, such as Harper Arts.<\/p>\n<p>Since hearing about the project, Barry Keith has put some thought into how Sid\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Surplus will adapt to Main Street\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new look.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably going to make us look kind of puny compared to \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcnew and shiny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 across the street,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Keith said.<\/p>\n<p>Keith, who owns his location, has thought about taking measures to update his building, which was built in 1946.<\/p>\n<p>Business owners across the street support the development of infrastructure in Carrboro, but are concerned about its potential effects. These businesses are waiting, along with the rest of the community, to see how they will adapt to the new face of Main Street.<\/p>\n<p>While Main Street Properties and the board of aldermen attempt to tie up loose ends on 300 East Main, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s business as usual across the street.<\/p>\n<p><em>Hannah Sharpe is a UNC student writing for the Carrboro Commons, a bi-weekly online lab newspaper for Jock Lauterer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Community Journalism class at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-miscellany"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3630\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}