Quiet Summer, for the most part

It has been a very quiet summer for our neighborhoods - at least regarding the four homes owned by Cornwallis-Elm LLC. There was a bit of activity in late July but there was apparently no follow-up.


108 W. Cornwallis 106 W. Cornwallis

2209 N. Elm

The homes on West Cornwallis and at 2209 N. Elm are occupied. The Commencement House continues to suffer from the lack of care shown by Cornwallis Elm LLC.


Commencement House Front and Side

Councilman Matheny recently made comments to City Council regarding lack of maintenance on homes in District Three. Could he have been thinking of the Commencement House?

So why has it been so quiet? Could it be that the pending election is influencing Cornwallis-Elm LLC's plans?

Maybe our next update to this blog will have news.

No news except for time passing, paint peeling, trees falling...

Cornwallis Elm LLC remains quiet. Maybe they'll file a new request for the April Planning Commission meeting or maybe they won't.

In the meantime, here are a couple of recent photos of the homes most directly affected by their assault on our neighborhoods.

The Commencement House still needs help. In addition to the peeling paint above, limbs from last weekend's storm litter the front lawn.

The folks at 2209 North Elm are taking good care of that home. Glad they're in our neighborhood

This tree apparently found the storm a bit much and toppled onto the Regions Bank lot from the back of 106 West Cornwallis. Wonder if Regions is trying to get Cornwallis Elm LLC to clean it up.

106 West Cornwallis looks great. Glad these folks are in the neighborhood too.

108 W. Cornwallis looks pretty sad with leaves from last fall still in abundance and probably clogging gutters, peeling paint and still for rent.
In case you're wondering, 336 358 3239 rings at NAI Triad.

Stay tuned.

Greg Young's Cornwallis Traffic Blog

Greg has written a good commentary on Cornwallis Traffic. I particularly like his comment on "pacing."

It's about two miles from Elm to Lawndale. Increasing your speed by five miles per hour saves about 30 seconds. Hardly worth the risk of not being able to stop for a car, pet, bicyclist, runner, pedestrian or child.

Greg and Holly have a good perch from which to comment at the corner of Elmwood and Cornwallis.

Thanks, Greg.

Cornwallis Elm LLC Withdraws...

It's official.

Mr. Isaacson withdrew Cornwallis Elm LLC's request for Conditional District-Limited Office zoning at today's Zoning Commission meeting.

If I understood him correctly, he said that the LLC had concluded the originally requested zoning did not allow the developers to carry out the type of residential development they wish to do.

Therefore, they withdrew that request and will put in a residential zoning request soon.

Stay tuned.

The Shortest Distance...

While Allen Johnson's column in this morning's News & Record does not directly address the effort to protect Elm-Cornwallis neighborhoods, Johnson's comments reflect the difficulties neighborhoods face when assaulted by developers.

When the City Council debated whether Greensboro citizens deserved to have Protest Petition authority, Mr. Perkins made a statement to the effect that our housing stock was worn and little brick ranch houses were not good for our city. Now Johnson quotes Perkins as calling Protest Petition authority the "The Lawyer Relief Act of 2009." This from an industry well known for its use of lawyers to defeat and frustrate neighborhoods.

Mr. Perkins and his fellow travelers would do well to worry about representing all citizens, not just commercial interests.

By the way, the address listed with the Secretary of State for Cornwallis-Elm LLC (the entity that attempting to encroach on Brown Town) is the same as for Mr. Perkins' NAI Peidmont Triad - 101 West Friendly Ave, Ste. 601, Greensboro.

Thank You City Council and especially Goldie Wells

Congratulations and thanks to Keith Brown, Donna Newton, Willie Taylor, the League of Women Voters and SO many others.

Ed Cone's comments here provide a great summary.

Dry inside, thankfully...

Several weeks ago, a Cornwallis Elm LLC member (at least I think he's a member. How would you know?) told a neighbor that the Commencement House was "dry inside."

As Jane Levy and a small group of preservationists accompanied by Buddy Seymour saw yesterday, the house is dry. Here are Jane's words as she commented last night on this blog -

A small group of preservationists visited the interior of the Commencement House today. We found it to be in remarkably good shape considering the use and abuse it has received over time. Moving the house would pose several severe difficulties, but we are trying to find a way to save it. We will delve deeper and look for possible solutions in the next few weeks. As the NY Times said today about the possible demise of the Rainbow Room, “We hope it finds a way to survive.”

We all appreciate Mr. Seymour's agreeing to open the house for this short inspection.

Of course, we would appreciate the prompt filing of a new residential plan and an innovative solution for the Commencement House even more.

How about four homes on four home sites with the Commencement House in tact and enjoyed by generations of owners to come?