I think one of the problems that this city faces is that some property owners want too much for their disrepaired properties. Many of us can understand this because it is comparable to having any Market Asset (Like a Stock share) crash and wanting to hold on to the assets hoping they will bounce back. We all know that the Real Estate market is depressed and it is going to be years before they will bounce back. We are all going to have to be realistic when it comes to this issue.
This video starts out at the intersection of 3rd st SE and 1st ave SE. We take a right on 1st ave SE and from there hit the intersection of Hwy 127 at the All-Glass intersection and Head to the Catawba mall, which is now Catawba Furniture Mall. What we can see is the effects of Economic neglect on this area.
I would like to ask, who is going to stay at any of the hotels in this area? Certainly not any tourists. Then look at the property that formerly occupied by Sky City and Hickory Auto Mall.
In this video we start in the Big Lots Parking Lot. Big Lots is a Clearance Merchandiser. Big Lots has outgrown the smaller facility where it now resides. They are moving to the biggest unit on the property, The property they are now moving to used to house Grants, then Kmart, and the last business there was Hamrick's. The owner of this property seems to have taken care of the appearance of the property.
You will see the panoramic view of this property and the loss of businesses in this area. We cross Hwy 70 to see the property where Restaurants once thrived and now we see rubble. We also see the infamous Fantasia and the Hickory Motel, which used to be a signature Howard Johnson's that thrived during the Furniture market era.
Lastly we travel up 4th st from the SW to the NW quadrant of town. Here we can once again see the paradigm of the North side of the tracks versus the South side.
The Hound is going to try to make it easier for our community to understand this truly serious issue we are facing. If Jobs are the number 1 issue, and they most certainly are, the issue of the cancerous blight that is taking over this community is the next most important issue.
What the people, in the better sections of town, fail to realize is that if they continue to let the south side of this city fall further into disrepair, then it is most certainly going to affect their own property values. We can't go about the process of revitalization with a thought process that property values will soon bounce back. In my opinion, we are nowhere near the bottom of Real Estate values in the Commercial and Industrial property sectors.
I have liked what I have heard from Brian Frazier and Dave Leonetti on this issue. We need to fast track the assessments of Brownfield properties and look towards creating revitalization corridors in South Hickory. The neglect has certainly gone on long enough. If you want to relieve the expansion on Highway 127 North in Viewmont, then you are going to have to raise the standards and viability of Highway 70 West and the Southern sections of this city.
I honestly don't believe this is rocket science, it's common sense. We aren't even taking advantage of Interstate 40 and Highway 321 traffic. Does that make sense? All we see on that side of town are Discount Stores, Motels of Ill Repute, Pawn Shops, and Rubble. People that take exit 123 off the Interstate and then exit from Highway 321 onto Highway 70 are seeing this folks. It is another blow to Hickory's already sagging reputation. If you were thinking about relocating here and saw this, would you want to follow through on that relocation? It is past time to do something about this!!!
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