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Morrison Dabs on Art to Shape an Identity Charlotte Observer Residences are on top of shops and restaurants at the 24-acre Morrison in the SouthPark area. The challenge in creating a successful mixed-use development goes beyond completing the buildings. The public must know your name and where to find you. At Morrison, in the SouthPark area, for example, shops and restaurants are open, and people are living in apartments and condos near the corner of Sharon and Colony roads. But Steve Arooji, owner of Arooji's Wine Room Ristorante there, said the Morrison name hasn't sunk in with the public and doesn't have instant recognition like neighboring Phillips Place on Fairview Road. "I get 10 to 15 calls a day from people asking me how to get here," he said. "They think I'm on Morrison Boulevard (also in the SouthPark area)." The developers, Grubb Properties and Casto Lifestyle Properties, understand his frustration and are working to create a "differentiator" focused on the arts. "We're trying to infuse what makes an urban environment interesting and compelling," said Grubb spokesman Steve Biggerstaff, by incorporating art and involving the creative community. The developers recently hosted an "Art With Heart" auction preview and reception inside two vacant $1 million-plus condos. As part of the event, tenants displayed works within their stores and restaurants. Biggerstaff said Grubb plans to carry over what he calls the company's "passion for the arts" in an ongoing initiative. He anticipates tenants rotating artwork -- from sculpture to glassware -- every four to six weeks and Grubb sponsoring quarterly events similar to "Art With Heart." Each time customers visit, he said, they could stroll the streets of Morrison and see something different as the program is extended to film, live music, poetry readings and drama. Will this be enough to establish an identity for Morrison? "When you do something like that, it has to be in a more friendly atmosphere with artists coming in, cocktails, hors d'oeuvres -- like a social event," Arooji said. "If they can make it a social gathering, it's pretty sure going to attract a lot of people." The 24-acre project began in 2004 and has come together slower than expected in part because of competition from SouthPark mall's expansion. Biggerstaff said 97 percent of the 130,000 square feet of retail space is leased. Natural foods grocer Earth Fare and 11 other tenants are operating, and three more will open in April. Barnes & Noble, Firebird's Wood-Fired Grill and five others are to open this summer. The project's 214-unit Sterling Morrison Apartments are 60 percent leased. Nearly 80 condos, lofts and luxury units within Morrison are available for purchase. The high-end condos that hosted the arts event are just coming on the market atop a planned Swoozie's gifts and housewares store and a Chezelle Boutique's fashions store. One unit totals 3,000 square feet ($1.1 million) and the other, 4,300 square feet ($1.6 million). Grubb plans to someday develop a luxury residential tower, which would increase the total homes in Morrison to about 550. Arooji, who moved in seven months ago, said filling the residences will be a plus for merchants because then "it becomes a community in itself." Development Doug Smith
Posted: January 31, 2008 - Press Release | More News |