Building launches rehab on Elizabeth

Grubb Properties Inc. is constructing the first new building in a planned $240 million redevelopment of Elizabeth Avenue.

The three-story, 38,000- square-foot structure at 1523 Elizabeth Ave. is part an effort to redevelop one of Charlotte's oldest streets into a thriving district of shops, restaurants, offices and residences, much like it was in the early 1900s.

Grubb broke ground Wednesday at the one-third acre site, next to a 50-year-old building it renovated about a year ago for Carpe Diem restaurant. That project actually launched the multimillion-dollar revitalization, to be conducted in phases over roughly 10 years and eventually incorporating about six blocks.

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, who spoke at the ground breaking, said Elizabeth Avenue revitalization meshes with a greater city vision of a streetcar line from the center city through Elizabeth to Eastland Mall.

The line could connect Johnson C. Smith University northwest of uptown with Johnson & Wales University on West Trade Street and Central Piedmont Community College and Presbyterian Hospital, creating an "education row" in the urban core, he said.

Presbyterian Hospital and CPCC, which control much of the property in the targeted area between the two institutions, are collaborating with Grubb.

CPCC President Tony Zeiss said the idea springs from a call he got about 11 years ago from former Presbyterian Hospital chief executive Paul Betzold inviting him to discuss the need for improving Elizabeth Avenue.

He said the institutions hired Charlotte's Michael Gallis & Associates to prepare a vision plan.

The urban planning firm, which began acquiring properties in the area about six years ago, brought in Grubb because of its expertise in urban infill development.

Grubb envisions about 340,000 square feet of office space, about 800 residential units, a 150-room hotel and more than 250,000 square feet of retail, including a movie theater, upscale grocery, boutiques and restaurants.

It also plans a public parking deck of up to 1,000 spaces to be constructed with assistance from the city and county.

The $8 million building announced Wednesday will have about 15,000 square feet of restaurant and shop space and 23,000 square feet for offices.

Grubb Properties President Clay Grubb said the first tenant signed -- Bar Louie -- will lease 5,600 square feet on two levels with a second-story balcony overlooking Elizabeth Avenue.

The chain, which bills itself as "a hip restaurant and bar with an urban feel" is owned by RDGChicago, the same company that operates Red Star Tavern in Grubb's Latta Pavilion mixed-use development in Dilworth.

Bar Louie restaurants, which feature "upscale bar foods" such as sirloin skewers with horseradish cream sauce, typically seat about 150 people for lunch, dinner and late-night dining.

Grubb's building, designed by Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, is to be completed by the end of this year. Rodgers Builders Inc. is the contractor.