ABC files for demolition permits

That's about what our house looked like before it was restored. Go check out the pink house on the market now on Wrightsville Avenue. It was a crackhouse a few years ago. I was in that house when it was on the market before its renovation and it was atrocious. To an untrained eye it looked like there was nothing you could possibly do to polish that thing up, but just go look at it now. I think you'd be surprised to find that many of these homes that look like they are about to fall down are actually quite sturdy and beautiful when they are given some attention. We moved to Ardmore because of these beautiful historic homes. It is a great place for families, we've made many friends here, it has an unparalelled sense of community. Homes are being revived and while the area is still largely in transition, it is actively transitioning. Give us a chance, that's what we're asking for. Don't tear down affordable homes with so much potential. I am concerned about my property value decreasing when a commercial warehouse encroaches on this residential community. I am concerned about an influx of semi traffic where my children ride their bikes. But motly I am just sad to see people who care so little for relics of our history, who think that just because it's not a shiny brick mansion in an affluent part of town it is worth less than a slab of cement parking lot.

Typical response... you don't know the WHOLE story. See, the homes DO look like that NOW, but they didn't BEFORE they were purchased by the NC ABC. Prior to the purchase from the NCABC, FAMILIES lived in these HOMES and they had TREES surrounding them. It just so happens that, all of a sudden, under the cover of darkness, all of the property owners decided to cut down all of the large trees on their properties... all at once. Hmmm... wonder what made them do that?!? PAY CLOSE ATTENTION from time marker 0:55-on in the video. It says, "The commission had invited people to take anything they could grab from the houses, including the siding. It only RECENTLY put up temporary fencing and "keep out" signs". LISTEN very carefully to the VERY end of the video when the videographer / reporter says, off camera after the story “ends”. He says, "There's a large amount of property here. Any, any comment on, do they really need this much space". VERY interesting. You see, this ENTIRE block is about to be DEMOLISHED for make room for a SMALL 6,000 square foot expansion to the existing building. Of course, with that comes the requisite number of parking spaces, etc.. It’s only 6,000 square feet... not a facility planned on taking up an ENTIRE CITY BLOCK! Have you seen the plans? If you have, I can’t understand any reaction other than “shock” at the proposed facility and surrounding PARKING LOT! There aren’t going to be any more employees working there... why would they need 78 (yes, SEVENTY-EIGHT) parking spaces?!?!?!?!?!?!? And they’re planning to replace all the trees that the “previous owners” cut down (yeah, on their own accord, I’m sure!) with 13 trees that look like a “new home landscape starter kit” from Home Depot. If you haven’t seen the plans, send me a message and I’ll gladly forward a copy to you. Prepare to get the “vomit bag” out before looking at it though, ‘cause it is sure to make you sick. At least I hope so... If you were one of the residents of the 17 remaining homes around this block, would YOU want to look outside and see a WAREHOUSE standing where your 13 of your friends and neighbors used to live? "The video speaks for itself"... well, IF you had actually WATCHED the video, then you'd learn these things. I agree that a warehouse - or anything for that matter - would look better than what's there now. BUT, they DIDN’T look like that PRIOR to the purchase by the NC ABC! I'm not kidding myself at all... I KNOW this ISN'T Wrightsville Beach OR Landfall. And just what do YOU know about "this area"? Do you or have you lived here? Do you have friends here? Do you go to the liquor store often? I love how you call it “this area”, like it’s the armpit of Wilmington or something. I realize that “old” doesn’t immediately translate into “historic”... trust me, I’m fully aware of that. I live in an “old” house in the immediately surrounding neighborhood. It’s NOT historic by any means. I would like to know where you received your data regarding that “for every well-maintained home, there is a dump that looks like it’s ready to fall down”, ‘cause I certainly can’t say that that is remotely true. So, it’s one-for-one on that block then? Perhaps we oughta call the code enforcement officers and get “this area” cleaned up once and for all, huh?!? Check your facts. I would have figured that someone with the name “ commonsensenotcommontoday” would be a little more reasonable and forthwith concerning “blanket statements” such as that. Perhaps your name is a little more introspective than you thought. Wooster and 17th are ZONED and/or DESIGNATED for commercial traffic. 18th is NOT and that’s where they plan to exit the property - right onto 18th! It’s a RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD!!! And you are correct that they’ve been delivering to the existing facility, but entering and exiting onto 17th! Once again, how is the DEMOLITION of 13 homes and numerous trees IDEAL to serve the local restaurants and bars when there are literally dozens of abandoned warehouses and EMPTY lots available for something such as this facility? I am not proposing that we DEMOLISH some homes on Pembroke Jones and make way for a fancy-schmancy new liquor store. Nor am I saying that Johnny Mercer’s pier should be DESTROYED to make way for a new warehouse. I’m not an idiot. But have you heard of MLK or 421... that ARE zoned for exact type of facility?!? The main point here is that it was HOW this was done that really IRKS the concerned citizens. If full disclosure was adhered to, we would have known what was planned a LONG time ago and acted then. This is NOT the last you’ll hear from me or the group of concerned residents of this area. If you want more REAL information about just what has and is about to take place here, just send me a message. I’ll be happy to provide more! ********* STOP *********
THE ABC WAREHOUSE EXPANSION
AT 17TH STREET AND CASTLE STREET