When I went to get my routine oil change at the Goodyear auto repair shop uptown this morning, I discovered some unexpected breaking news: the repair shop, at Stonewall and Tryon streets, has closed down.
According to the mechanic who walked up before I could exit the vehicle, the shop closed for good on Friday. The parking lot, normally full of cars left by busy uptown office workers like myself, was half-empty. Big oil barrels sat in one of the empty repair bays -- part, I supposed, of the process of tearing down and cleaning up the site. “We are closing that store,” Goodyear spokesman Jim Davis confirmed to me later. “It’s a
difficult decision, but what’s going on there is it’s been an unprofitable store
and we have an expiring lease.”
Photo by Mark Hames |
Ostensibly, the shop's closing helps set the stage for the 27-story Tryon Place mixed-use development Crescent Communities plans to build on the three-acre site. Crescent's plans for the site include office, retail and hotel components, but the company has said it won't announce a start date for construction until it lands an anchor tenant. I'll be checking in with them, and will update this post when I hear more.
8 comments:
Sounds promising...fingers crossed!
So, if I know uptown as well as I think I do, that leaves the repair shop at 9th and Tryon as the only 1 left uptown. This makes the CATS decision to shut down the Gold Rush orange line even more baffling. The buses were never empty when I rode them, and having that option would make it a lot eaiser for people to use that last repair shop and ride the Gold Rush to the other end of uptown.
I guess people got tired of being ripped off by that shop. You definitely paid a steep premium for the convenient location of the Goodyear in Uptown.
My mom used to work there, I spent a lot of Saturday mornings there in the late 70's/early 80's...used to go and watch the start of the Marathon from the windows. That's back when they sold washers/dryers, TV's, etc.. Good Times.
You still Have McCarthy Tire on the corner of 6th & Graham St. There is also a Woodies Auto on McDowell St.
There is also Dynamic Auto on Hill Street beside the stadium.
Lol Woodies...where you go for an inspection and leave with an ignition coil, 2 tires and battery. I wouldnt send my worst enemy there.
"Crescent's plans for the site include office, retail and hotel components..."
What a novel idea! What will they think of next for the uppity town area? Bars? Shops? Mixed-use developments? The sky's the limit!
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