Harris Teeter Development - plans for the old George's Garage

In the past four posts about redevelopment of the grassy field behind what used to be George's garage, I spoke at length about the perils of car-dependent suburban development championed by the Harris Teeter developers and the deleterious effect it could have on the entire Ninth Street Shopping District. And while the developer has recently indicated that it would be open to some compromise regarding adding windows on the side of the Harris Teeter itself and making changes to the internal layout of the store, the core part of the design - a big box store surrounded by the sea of parking remains unchanged.

But not all is bad. Unlike the Harris Teeter itself, the site plans for the former George's Garage building on the corner of Ninth Street and Hillsborough show real promise. According to the site plans, the developers will transform a poorly designed, internally oriented and forbidding building into a far more open, inviting and pedestrian-friendly space, replacing the infamous blank wall facing Hillsborough with a patio and large windows. The new "Erwin Square Restaurant & Retail Center" is designed to house one or two restaurants and a small retail shop.

The  parking lot facing side of the building is much improved, with more windows, tree canopy and increased roof articulation. Compare the new design with the current design, featuring a huge blank wall on the south-west side of the building and ugly green yawing  throughout the rest.

  

 The east side is likewise much more inviting. As it stands now, it is a blank wall facing Ninth Street.

 Even the long suffering  Hillsborough side will get get some sprucing up. In particularly, the corner of Ninth and Hillsborough is gaining an attractive brick patio, which go a long way toward connecting visually Ninth Street to Vin Rouge and other businesses across the street on W. Markham.

Finally, the west side, which will be facing the new Harris Teeter, will also have some attractive windows and front-facing retail space. While this side will be overlooking parking, it is a huge improvement over another forbidding blank wall.