East is that way------->>>> Click on the map to view full size:
The map was taken from the following link at Google maps.
The house is gone now, not a trace remains to remind anyone that any of the properties along Friendly Avenue, east of Holden Road were ever zoned residential when in-fact, at one time, every inch of property from Holden Road to the intersection of Aycock st and Friendly Avenue was at one time all residential-- a distance of 1.9 miles. Hobbs Rd is just east of Holden.
It wasn't until after 1964 when the construction of Wendover Avenue began that construction of Friendly Shopping Center built in 1957 took off and the commercial creep set in. Look again at the photo above, also taken from Google maps. The real boom came in 2006 when the Shops At Friendly were built on what had previously been the offices of Burlington Industries. Quiet offices, not a busy shopping center open until late into the night. This isn't an issue of whether or not Greensboro gets a Trader Joe's, this is an issue of drawing a line in the sand. Below is the size of the original Friendly Shopping Center:
And here is Friendly shopping Center as it is today. How could anyone have known such a tiny little strip mall would someday grow to become so large? What began as no more than your average strip mall is now larger than Downtown Greensboro in terms of money and square miles.
But that's not all the News & Record and the rest of the local media isn't telling you. They always leave out the history and it helps to know the real history before you get involved in political battles
In today's News and Record there are 3 letters to the Editor lamenting the loss of Trader Joe's. Tracy Carpenter writes:
"If they wish to be inflexible, it is sophistry to then try to blame Greensboro for their decision. It brings to mind the kid who, if he couldn’t have it all his way, simply took his ball and went home."
The fact is, Trader Joe's was only given 1 site to consider as the developer was only pitching 1 property in Greensboro.
Brian Pearce writes:
"In the case of the Trader Joe’s, the emails sent by the Friendly Coalition inaccurately portrayed the actual sentiment that Greensboro had toward the development. I’d be curious of the email count that our council members received for and against the development. My guess is that they received many more for the development rather than against.
I am willing to wager that guess is much more accurate than the guess of the Friendly Coalition that this development would have led to commercial creep. It appears we will never know now."
As you can see from the photos I posted above, Brian has wagered a loosing bet.
Both Tracy and Brian obviously have no grasp of the history of the community or the history of Greensboro as a whole. They obviously don't know what I pointed out above. They also don't know or don't care about what was pointed out by the third LTE writer, Linda Hawke:
"Zoning Commission: You. Big. Weenies. You knew that was a well-established neighborhood with written promises given to the homeowners that it would remain residential. All you had to do was tell the developer, “Sorry, that area is not available; but let us help you find a location we can all be happy with.”
You see, this isn't the second time that same property has came up for rezoning. It is in'fact at least the 3rd time that same property has came up for rezoning. And do you believe for a minute the developer didn't already know that before they bought the property? The property is currently zoned for apartments but commercial properties bring higher rents so this most recent developer did exactly like the last 2 developers before them and bought the property knowing they might not be able to get the zoning changed.
Previous zoning commissions and previous city councils promised the residends of that community that commercial zoning would never cross that line. Now the zoning commission has forgotten their promises and they are asking City Council to do the same, putting off the responsibility they fear to bear.
The so-called battle over Trader Joe's isn't about Trader Joe's, it's about drawing a line in the sand, protecting peoples' property rights and saying no more to what has already become one of, if not the largest, commercial encroachments in the entire county. Even for the developer it's not about Trader Joe's, it's about building a shopping center:
"I’d speculate that the Trader Joe’s deal was window dressing all along for the drug store deal. Walgreen’s can pay a significant premium (sometimes up to $3-4 million) for a high profile corner, while TJ tends to get cheap deals as the draw/anchor for a shopping center. Given the developer’s costs in this deal, I’m guessing rents would have been north of $40/sf, while Trader Joe’s is used to rents in the low 20′s in a market like Greensboro."
The property in question could become apartments or it could be zoned to become nice quiet offices, say doctors offices as it is close to Wesley Long and Womens' Hospital. Or, when the developers give up and stop paying the property taxes then the City of Greensboro can take the property and call it a park. We like nice quiet parks.
There are already other developers in Greensboro working to bring Trader Joe's to shopping centers where no one will complain. Developers are in business to rent buildings to companies like Trader Joe's and Trader Joe's is in business to sell all the groceries they can sell. They'll be back. Trust me, I know these things. It's only a matter of time.
Update: For those of you still fool enough to believe this zoning battle was really about Trader Joes-- today's print edition of the Greensboro News & Record sets you straight:
