GRUBB PROPERTIES ADDS 400-FOOT MURAL TO CONSTRUCTION STREETSCAPE AT MORRISON
Northwest School of the Arts students/faculty integrate public art project into curriculum
Charlotte, NC – February 14, 2006 – Grubb Properties, the North Carolina real estate firm known for its expertise in high-profile urban mixed-use environments, today added a 400-foot mural painted by students at Charlotte’s Northwest School of the Arts to its emerging Morrison neighborhood in South Park. The mural, with numerous streetscape vignettes and an ever changing color palette, was designed to provide early neighborhood residents and shoppers with a vibrant lifestyle backdrop even as construction accelerates on the site beyond the mural.
“We think art is an important part of community-building, especially when it’s out in the open,” said Clay Grubb, president of Grubb Properties. “In the past, we’ve had the opportunity to incorporate both permanent and temporary art into our developments, including the Grandiflora (or “onion rings”) at the corner of Randolph and Wendover as well as construction murals at Latta Pavilion that are now permanent design fixtures on the site. We’re very pleased with the exciting piece NWSA has created for us, and we’re just as pleased to make a donation that will help them inspire and train the next generation of artists in our community.”
Grubb Properties, with a current managed portfolio of nearly 2000 apartment residences and one million square feet of office and retail space, has become recognized primarily for two large-scale mixed-use projects in Charlotte:
§ Elizabeth Avenue, a five-block revitalization project along Charlotte’s planned streetcar line – just blocks from the city center, the district will feature the city’s first Whole Foods Market and an assortment of shopping, dining, entertainment, office space and upscale multifamily residences, and
§ Morrison, a 24-acre shopping, dining and residential neighborhood in the heart of Charlotte’s upscale SouthPark shopping district.
Holly Johnson, visual arts faculty member and project coordinator for NWSA, said, “This was a great experience for our students and our faculty. We were able to take a large-scale project, create the design and production schedule and logistics, deliver a stunning public arts piece to the folks at Grubb Properties, and give over 200 students a real-world experience they’ll always remember.”
The artwork unveiling comes on the heels of Grubb’s recent announcement that it will develop a permanent, mixed-use urban location for the Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh.
About Grubb Properties
Grubb Properties was founded in 1963 in Lexington, NC. After an initial focus on building, financing and selling affordable homes to low-income families, the company has grown to become one of North Carolina’s premier real estate firms with integrated expertise in residential, commercial and mixed-use development, acquisition, financing, construction, property management, sales and leasing. Grubb Properties now has approximately 119 employees and oversees a portfolio of roughly 2,000 apartment homes and nearly one million square feet of office and retail space. The company is headquartered in Charlotte and maintains regional offices in Cary and Lexington, North Carolina. For additional information about Grubb Properties visit www.grubbproperties.com.
About Northwest School of the Arts
In the first decade of its existence, Northwest School of the Arts has become one of the most successful arts schools in the nation. The school and its students have received national awards, have some of the highest AP and SAT scores in the region, and have graduates who appear regularly on television, movies, and Broadway. We have other students who tour around the world with internationally renowned orchestras and jazz ensembles, and yet others whose works of art are exhibited in prestigious galleries. The school’s main location is on Beattie’s Ford Road with classes also being offered on a satellite campus at Spirit Square Center for the Arts in Uptown Charlotte. For more information about NWSA, call 980.343.5500 or visit www.cms.k12.nc.us/allschools/northwest/.
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Posted: February 14, 2006 - News | More News
