UP|Charlotte

The Good News Report

JayGee — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:43:21 +0000

aceboogie, on 20 November 2009 - 07:32 PM, said:

That is really great news for King's Mountain. That place could use the additional jobs. I'm happy to hear Gaston County making some progress.

This is really awesome. I wonder if this announcement will help fuel the "Energy Hub" status that Charlotte is trying to attain. Also, doesn't Siemens deal alot with trains and rail? Just curious.

Siemens does have a rail siding on Westinghouse and you can frequently see flatbed cars sitting on the siding with generator components. The number of rail cars cited would seem to be in line with their business. It's not a continuous process industry, that would require a lot more than 40 per year.

MTV's Nitro Circus "abusing" some of the Charlotte area attrations

CLTfanatic — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:32:14 +0000

I'm sure most of you saw the article online this afternoon, well I found the entire episode online. Pretty cool actually.

http://www.mtv.com/videos/nitro-circus-season-2-ep-4-southern-discomfort/1621206/playlist.jhtml

The Good News Report

cltbwimob — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:14:59 +0000

There was a story in today's CBJ about the Lash Group adding employees in Charlotte. It is a healthcare consulting firm, and they plan to add 150 permanent positions and have already hired 350 temp workers. The article is for paid subscribers, so I can't read all of it, however, I think it is good news.

Charlotte's Most Inspired

tozmervo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:41:12 +0000

The McColl Center. This is one of those little gems in Charlotte that often flies under the radar. Especially on days when the artist studios are open, it's absolutely wonderful going in and talking about the work going on (for example, this guy). I don't know of any other place like it.

The Good News Report

aceboogie — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:32:10 +0000

cltbwimob, on 19 November 2009 - 12:24 PM, said:

Bell Lines Inc, a trucking operation, is relocating to Kings Mountain and adding 400 jobs. Additionally 30 more jobs will also come to Kings Mountain when Qualtech opens.

http://www.wbtv.com/....asp?S=11537114

That is really great news for King's Mountain. That place could use the additional jobs. I'm happy to hear Gaston County making some progress.

dbull75, on 20 November 2009 - 09:29 AM, said:

Here's more info, well not much b/c everyone is still hush-hush, on Project Cardinal from Charlotte Biz Journals

Sounds like some kind of announcement is imminent. 650 jobs would be a nice plus in addition to the nearly $150 cap investment.

This is really awesome. I wonder if this announcement will help fuel the "Energy Hub" status that Charlotte is trying to attain. Also, doesn't Siemens deal alot with trains and rail? Just curious.

Southend Living

Charlotte_native — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:18:10 +0000

ScottCLT, on 31 October 2009 - 02:08 PM, said:

but I think South End could use more dives and arsty bars...not really the upscale trendy nightclub type of neighborhood.

I don't think that is what the club is, or what it is trying to be. The crowd is really more of the same crowd as Common Market, the guys from Black Sheep and Niche. The Dj's often play rock music, and a lot of them live in Wilmore and Southend. It is really an interesting mix of people, but definitely not "upscale" or "trendy" (unless that is currently trendy). It really is kinda artsy.

They are having a really fun party tonight with n'hood Dj's

Charlotte's Most Inspired

The Escapists — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:12:56 +0000

Does anyone think there is a single place that is inspiring? A park? A museum? A school? A street? A statue? A historical place? Or do most people agree that the thing that is most inspiring about Charlotte is "the idea of Charlotte."

I like the answer about the trees. I hadn't considered that - and it's right - that's a very big thing that makes Charlotte seem more comfortable/livable than other cities. It's a good answer.

The Good News Report

JayGee — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:06:37 +0000

krazeeboi, on 20 November 2009 - 03:24 PM, said:

Can't believe they devoted so much space in the article as to whether the "cardinal" reference means anything in particular, when they really don't. The names are quite arbitrary. I mean it's the state bird, and how generic is that? LOL

I know, that was really dumb. They even called the other company. How lame.

Southend Living

dbull75 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:04:50 +0000

^Don't forget Icehouse which will be opening in the old Woods on South spot early 2010.

Southend Living

Charlotte_native — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:43:01 +0000

tozmervo, on 31 October 2009 - 07:11 PM, said:

Re: Dharma, I remember saying something similar about 1300 Southend Tavern a good long while ago, and it's still ticking along. Dharma has only just opened, it might take some time to find their footing.

Dharma is one of our favorite spots -- we can easily walk there, it's 3 blocks from our house. They've been steadily getting busier. Le Freq on Wednesdays had a good late crowd and there is a big crowd last night as well. Not packed, but steadily getting busier. I really like that it's there - southend has really become quite an entertainment hub, IMO, rivaling uptown and NCMF but with more organic and locally owned and run places.

Amos' for live music, Dharma for a dance club, good ol' bar Gin Mill, Tavern on the Tracks sports bar, Common Market whatever laid-back, coming soon On The Roxx lounge and martini bar, Apostrophie Lounge, Tutto Mundo, Liberty Diner, probably more that I'm forgetting.

Southend Living

Conformity — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:57:11 +0000

ScottCLT, on 11 November 2009 - 09:50 PM, said:

I noticed on a trip to Lowe's this past weekend that the corner space, which used to have an "Outdoor Living Center" sign on it had that sign replaced with a generic "Lowe's" sign. You could see the outline of the old sign on the building, even though it never got used. Also, the windows were plastered with Lowe's signs (similar to the way the windows at the Metropolitan's unoccupied spaced are).

This is probably a question for Conformity - Is Lowe's still planning on using this space or did they decide to keep everything in the main store? Will it be for lease as a separate retail store?

They are still kicking around ideas. After designing the building as one of the parking "screening" tools, their operations and inventory control folks decided they weren't happy with the idea of having a cash register and product out there. Their entitlements allow them to lease it to a 3rd party, but they are not terribly anxious to do that either. Biding their time. The store is doing better all the time. The lot is more and more full all the time. At Southborough, we've sold 5 units in the last 8 weeks and continue to show regularly and enjoy great traffic.

The Good News Report

krazeeboi — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:24:13 +0000

Expanded 3G coverage from AT&T

s22 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:58:06 +0000

Same happened here in Mooresville last night! Getting a good 1500-1600kbps according to speedtest.net

Expanded 3G coverage from AT&T

Neo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:43:35 +0000

Well for anyone in Concord, I can confirm that AT&T turned on 3G last night around 10PM from what I can tell. Not sure if this is permanent or they're just toying with me since their announcement said "coming soon." Regardless, it is great to see AT&T continuing to expand coverage. Obviously they have a looooong way to go to catch up to Verizon...which is why my wife has a Verizon account. I know that at least one of us should have coverage wherever we go.

Charlotte's Most Inspired

LynchMob — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:46:44 +0000

I agree with Neo. I have lived in Charlotte since '84 and have always admired the "can-do" spirit that our city has. My wife is from New Orleans and always ask me why I love Charlotte so much. I tell her it's my adopted home since I moved here with my parents from Ohio. I was a teenager and the 1st place we stayed (for about 2 weeks) when we got here was the Holland House on Graham next to the tire place. It's gone now. We ate at the Athens restaurant down by CPCC, also gone. Walked to the Belks and Iveys downtown(sorry I still call it that) also gone. You get the picture. But I watched the city grow up. As for most Inspired, someone said it above, the trees. I think Charlotte should definitely keep planting lots of trees along the streets, in the parks, anywhere they can. The tall buildings are great, but I think that people and traditions and culture are what make a place inspiring. As a side note, we helped my wife's niece after Hurricane Rita hit western Louisiana and she stayed here from about late '05 to mid '07 when she decided to return. She had her own place, a job, and had her kids in school here. I talked to her the other day and she said "I want to come back to Charlotte, I miss it. I told her, "Come on". But everybody I bring here or visits all say the same, Wow, Charlotte is so different then what I thought. Enough rambling. Just my 2 cents.

Charlotte's Most Inspired

Rufus — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:21:58 +0000

I agree with the "Little-Engine-that-could" attitude about this city. In my opinion, no better example can be found than in UNC Charlotte. Ms. Bonnie Cone was that little engine, and she became the flag-bearer for the city's need to have a university. Who knew that in 60 years of it being a college, it would become a school of 24,700 students that is not afraid to become something more than was expected. Being from Raleigh, I was surprised at the caliber of university that it is, and now when my family and friends come down they are so impressed.

I also agree with the impression given to newcomers to the city. It really is a surprising find for people.

Duke Energy Center - 48 Story Office Tower in Charlotte

tozmervo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:15:52 +0000

It also didn't help that Carillon's lights were pretty close to Dolphins orange. NASCAR's mobius lights were on, though. I guess DEC wants to have some grand opening/reveal thing later on.

Duke Energy Center - 48 Story Office Tower in Charlotte

dbull75 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:32:58 +0000

Bikeguy, on 20 November 2009 - 09:24 AM, said:

Well... they didn't.

It could have been such an iconic moment as well.. A brilliant spectacle towering over the playing field, with a national audience, illuminating the night sky. Could have happened with the singing of the National Anthem; the first Panther score; oe even during a halftime light show "Sponsored by Duke Energy"...

Alas, another blown opportunity by one of our esteemed Fortune 500 giants.

Agreed. I was HIGHLY disappointed in that. I was driving up South for dinner before heading out for the Panthers game and it looked like the tower was lit up and they would showcase it. Then when the game came on the tower was dark. They were showing countless skyline shots and you could barely see the tower b/c it was dark.

The Good News Report

dbull75 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:29:05 +0000

uptownliving, on 12 November 2009 - 02:55 PM, said:

Anyone heard about "Project Cardinal?"

I was scouring through some NCDOT agendas and came across that one. It says it is an existing industrial company that is looking at doing a $148M expansion in Charlotte that will bring in an additional 190 employees initially (up to 650 within 5 years). It was on the NCDOT agenda because they will need additional rail access.

SouthEnd Midrise Projects

dbull75 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:26:38 +0000

krazeeboi, on 19 November 2009 - 08:38 PM, said:

I think what he meant is that this project is central to both the Uptown and south Charlotte areas.

Correct

Center City Green Condos/BofA Parking Deck

dbull75 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:25:02 +0000

Spectrum has bought the Center City Green property. They are leasing the parking deck to BofA and plan to soon start marketing the 7600 sqft of retail space. They do plan to add the 200 units of residential, but don't count on that anytime soon.

Here's the link from Charlotte Biz journals. If anyone has more info, please pass it on

Duke Energy Center - 48 Story Office Tower in Charlotte

Bikeguy — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:24:46 +0000

Ryepow, on 16 November 2009 - 10:41 AM, said:

I wonder if they will turn the lights on Thursday night for the Panthers game. That would be a cool pre-game event if they had a count down for it right before kick off.

SouthPark Mall

Temeteron — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:34:39 +0000

ScottCLT, on 19 November 2009 - 10:50 PM, said:

Forever 21 does have flagship stores called Forever XXI. I've been to one in NYC that was more like an H&M in atmosphere (granted, it was NYC). They are actually opening one in the old Virgin Megastore in Times Square. Maybe that's what this could be instead of the run-of-the-mill Forever 21? I don't know if the clothing quality is any better and have no idea whether this will be a Forever 21 or Forever XXI, but just thought I'd throw that out there.

The Forever XX1 stores (which is the roman numeral for 21 which I'm sure you guys knew that already ) are stores that are High Volume....usually Platinum stores.....like the one in Carolina Place. The other ones that are called simply Forever 21 are just regular mid to low volume locations. Concord Mills & Northlake for whatever reason are not as busy as Carolina Place. I dont think it would be smart to open a Forever 21 or a Forever XX1 in SOuthPark. I work at SP and have for quite some time, and SP has not even half the teenagers that CP, NL or CM have. Teenagers are Forever 21's target clientele.

SouthPark Mall

aussie luke — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:25:02 +0000

mljones99, on 19 November 2009 - 10:06 PM, said:

I decided to venture to the other side of the mall on my lunch today and noticed that Geox is gone. Appears to be an art gallery now.

That closing was part of a nationwide cutback for the brand. One of my friends was the store manager of that particular location, they didn't see the closing coming.

Expanded 3G coverage from AT&T

aussie luke — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:21:15 +0000

DCMetroRaleigh, on 19 November 2009 - 09:41 PM, said:

Ha! AT&T could double its 3G coverage and still be far behind Verizon. The country still is a sea of Verizon red with little slivers of blue here and there.

I'll second that. I can't tell you the last time I had any service issues with my bberry on verizon, and I travel a LOT. That's including data coverage.

Scratch that, I didn't have service in France.

It is good to hear that AT&T is expanding coverage in the Charlotte region. Even though I don't directly benefit from it, I'm sure plenty of people will.

Charlotte's Most Inspired

ScottCLT — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:03:51 +0000

I'm always amazed at how impressed other people are with Charlotte when I bring them to our city, from anywhere in the world. Everyone is always in awe when they see and experience everything - just not what they expected.

I've once went travelling around with some clients from Singapore and Perth, Australia. We went to L.A., Las Vegas, San Antonio, Kansas City, Chicago, and Charlotte on an extended business trip - all within a week (a lot of 6:00 a.m. flights each day of the week). After travelling all over the country from city to city, everyone thought it was refreshing to come to the shiny and tree-covered Charlotte. The gentleman from Perth said it reminded him of an Australian city, and liked it better than any other city we'd visited. The folks from Singapore thought it was a beautiful small city (after all...they were from a metropolis) and like it better than anywhere else we'd been to as well.

My company held a conference for our customers here last year for clients all over the US, Canada, and the UK, and everyone was floored at how nice Charlotte was. They thought they were coming to some small Southern town, and then they discovered all the hotel, dining, and nightlife options uptown. I actually had a guy from Columbia University ask me if we were hiring just so he could move here. He said he had a better night out here than any night in NYC. Though I find that hard to believe (unless he just went to the wrong places), it's nevertheless flattering. Though we have contemplated holding the conference in a more centrally located city, each of our clients has begged us to keep it here - they just loved it.

We took a girl that rented my apartment out to show here the sights in Charlotte. She had previously lived in midtown Manhattan for 6 years. She was just amazed at how friendly everyone was, and was actually impressed at the downtown area's urban vibe. We took her all over Charlotte, showed her the neighborhoods, and let her taste some fried pickles. She'd never lived outside of the NY area, but she was smitten with this city. She has now decided to settle here for good, and bought a house here (I had to get another tenant, but still on a positive note).

I've also brought a group of government contractors here from the DC/NoVa/Baltimore area. They were blown away by the city - mainly the dining and entertainment options downtown also. Tons of compliments...nothing bad to say.

I've had clients from Rio De Janeiro come here as well, and they loved it. Though they said it reminded them of a small city in Brazil (also...Rio is huge, so CLT is no comparison), they just thought it was a beautiful city and they enjoyed the architecture of the new Nascar HOF and art museums that weren't even open yet most of all...next to BofA and Hearst.

I've never had a client come to Charlotte and not feel like it's a great place to be (or hold a company event). Except for once...a guy from San Bernardino, CA (which in my opinion is the armpit of America) thought there were too many homeless people. He gave $25 away in a matter of half an hour to the panhandlers, which was stupid on his behalf. Granted, when I traveled to his town, I was propositioned by a prostitute in the parking lot of my hotel and also had a homeless guy jump onto the hood of my car, slapped on the window, and demand some money for food (which he didn't get). I guess ignorance shouldn't count. In my opinion, his city is literally the worst place in the US to live.

I'm proud of this place, and I am happy to bring people here and show them the sights that there are to see. Seeing those reactions keeps me inspired about this place, though I would probably be anyway. I travel a lot, so I feel that no one can say that I don't know what it's like to be in a large city. I've spent plenty of time travelling in NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, London, and a ton of other cities, and I probably know them just as well as many of the residents do. But I'm still happy to call this place home. My history here kind of reminds me of seeing a kid grow up over the years. I've been here all along, and it just always impresses me what comes next (aside from the suburbs and the in-town suburban planning - kind of like a C- on a homework project). I like this spot, and don't plan to leave anytime soon...if ever.

Sycamore at Greenway

queensguy06 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:59:09 +0000

It's good to see this project still moving along. Obviously they are banking on both the economy and high-rise housing markets to be viable business opportunities by then, but I think we can all agree there is a big question mark regarding both of those at this point. I do hope this project is seen to fruition at some point though.

On a somewhat related note, I noticed one of the streets this project borders is 6th St. Both this little stretch of 6th and the dead end part of 6th on the other side of 77 should be renamed. None of the three are connected by quite a ways, and I can only imagine the frustration in trying to find an address on one of the extensions after 6th merges into 5th.

Good New Restaurants

Forrest — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:56:04 +0000

I think it's a good location for MM. Selwyn Pub and Nolen Kitchen are both popular and they will benefit from spillover from those patrons. And have a natural base of customers from the surrounding condos.

Good New Restaurants

atlrvr — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:33:27 +0000

I thought they would do well taking a ground floor spot at Catalyst.....I'm glad to hear they are returning. I liked them, though there was a lack of consistency among the former franchisees locations, though come to find out he lost his franchise license by using un-approved ingrediants.

SouthPark Mall

ScottCLT — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:50:46 +0000

ct36, on 19 November 2009 - 09:41 PM, said:

Thats exactly what I thought.

SouthPark Mall

mljones99 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:06:20 +0000

I decided to venture to the other side of the mall on my lunch today and noticed that Geox is gone. Appears to be an art gallery now.

Expanded 3G coverage from AT&T

DCMetroRaleigh — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:41:41 +0000

Creasy336, on 19 November 2009 - 07:29 PM, said:

Take that Verizon.

Ha! AT&T could double its 3G coverage and still be far behind Verizon. The country still is a sea of Verizon red with little slivers of blue here and there.

SouthPark Mall

ct36 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:41:11 +0000

StevenRocks, on 18 November 2009 - 11:29 PM, said:

Forever 21 at SouthPark? I hope not. I don't think they're a good fit for that market.

Thats exactly what I thought.

The Good News Report

krazeeboi — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:09:07 +0000

If these announcements continue, Charlotte will come out of this mess all the better with a local economy that's a little more diversified. We certainly have what it takes.

SouthEnd Midrise Projects

krazeeboi — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:38:38 +0000

southslider, on 19 November 2009 - 03:42 PM, said:

Poindexter & South Boulevard is over two miles from "The Square." I wouldn't call that "Uptown," but it is within the urban core of what I'd call "Central Charlotte."

I think what he meant is that this project is central to both the Uptown and south Charlotte areas.

The Good News Report

BobbyDav — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:37:24 +0000

Bikeguy, on 18 November 2009 - 10:06 AM, said:

...and if the WSJ is to be believed, Corporations are sitting on a great deal of cash these days; and investing in long term savings on overhead costs while the opportunity is at hand. is just smart business...

Ya. During a recession, as the WSJ has frequently noted, there is an increase in purchasing power that derives from deflationary pressure. While banks and other lending institutions sit on their cash the real money supply shrinks increasing the value of currency in the hands of consumers and other financial institutions. This deflationary pressure was exacerbated by the comparatively worse conditions in Europe which caused skeptical consumers to shed Euro and Pound based assets for the, if only slightly, safer Dollar based assets in the US. So if you are a company with extra cash but no safe investment options now is a good time to upgrade to new facilities, especially ones that reduce to labor to capital ratio since real wages are higher now than they have been for a few years.

SouthEnd Midrise Projects

atlrvr — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:15:43 +0000

There was a local annual real estate forum just held recently, and they highlighted apartments as an area of strength as we come out of the recession. The reason being that due to tightened credit standards, approximately 35% of the population that wants to by won't be able to qualify for a loan, driving demand to apartments. This is all well and good if local employment rebounds in a strong way (and there is some cause for optimisim in the Good News Report thread), but I've been bearish on South End apartments for almost the last 2 years on these threads. There are still 2 other complexes (Millineum and 1225 S Church) that will be completed next year to add to the huge oversupply.

If I was a lender, I'd delay for at least 1 more year before signing on to a deal (looking at 2012 completions), but as a passive bystander who sees benefits in oversupply driving down rents and increasing the number of urban dwellers, I'm glad to see it moving forward.

Charlotte's Most Inspired

Neo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:11:11 +0000

The drive to be a world class city, regardless of what people think or say abou little Charlotte. We're the little engine that could and not many places can have that said about them IMO.

Expanded 3G coverage from AT&T

Creasy336 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:29:44 +0000

Take that Verizon.

Good New Restaurants

nonillogical — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:53:13 +0000

this is way in advance but I have some inside info that I'm now allowed to share.

Mellow Mushroom will be returning to Charlotte (finally!). the new store will be in Myer's Park, taking a space on the first floor of an apartment/condo project already under construction at Selywn & (I think) Tranquil. I don't know much about the condos and haven't been down there to check it out yet, but knowing that its on Selwyn in that area, I'm assuming that must be the site. They are hoping to open in May.

I'm pretty excited since Mellow has been my favorite pizza for a long time, but Myer's Park is the last place in the whole city I'd expect to see them in. I think they'll do fine, but might not get as much bar activity as they would have elsewhere. I REALLY wanted to see them come to either West Morehead or fill one of the vacancies uptown near Graham & 5th/6th. It's franchise-based though, and since they've been working on drumming up interest in the city lately we're still likely to see a 2nd location eventually.

Charlotte's Most Inspired

NCMike1990 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:33:24 +0000

The thing that I find the most inspiring about Charlotte is the skyline. The skyline is one of those things that the city is famous for.

Charlotte's Most Inspired

The Escapists — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:25:59 +0000

I was just wondering what you think Charlotte's most inspiring "thing" is... It could be a place. Or a Thing. Or a person. Or a business. Or anything that inspires you (mentally, physically or socially).

Charlotte Off Topic

Neo — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:52:57 +0000

I wanted to post this here so no one misses it. Starting next month (December) you can be cited for having the state name covered up. I was actually pulled over for this a few months ago, but wasn't given any citation for it...probably because it wasn't law...just an uninformed police officer.

Almost all dealers install thick license plate covers when you buy a car from them. I know my wife's car has one so we'll be taking it off obviously.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/breaking/story/1065117.html

SouthEnd Midrise Projects

southslider — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:42:18 +0000

dbull75, on 19 November 2009 - 10:45 AM, said:

The good thing about this development is that it's almost in the middle of uptown and south Charlotte where a lot of these people may work.

Poindexter & South Boulevard is over two miles from "The Square." I wouldn't call that "Uptown," but it is within the urban core of what I'd call "Central Charlotte." Within that same 2-mile radius going other directions, you have many other potential urban infill projects, the largest of which is the Morningside Village development next to Veteran's Park, and the newest of which (indeed still seeking rezoning) is the Winter Elizabeth apartments. I think New Bern station area development is competing with these projects and others still within Charlotte's Route-4 but outside of I-277.

UNC-Charlotte Construction

rworkman09 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:18:34 +0000

aussie luke, on 18 November 2009 - 07:06 PM, said:

Goes to show you the stark differences between the ACC and A10. That said, Charlotte will be lucky to make the NCAA tournament come year's end unless something changes on that front.

Not really. The top of the A10 could play with anyone in the country. Duke smacked Xavier around last season, but Duke made an early exit from the tournament while Xavier made it to the Sweet 16 and the Elite 8 the year before that.

Can't really take a top ACC school (Duke) and school that will be middle of the pack in the A10 this season and say they represent the stark difference between the two conferences. Is the ACC better? Hell yes, but the A-10 has had plenty of very good programs in its history as well.

This is getting off topic though, so I'll just leave it there.

The Good News Report

cltbwimob — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:24:45 +0000

West Morehead Projects

dubone — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:48:05 +0000

nonillogical, on 24 September 2009 - 06:48 PM, said:

welp, its gone. i got to watch them take it down, kinda cool.

i do hope this means something will happen sooner than later. i pass by here every day and its getting silly to look at half a grid with on-street parking in the middle of this giant field.

I noticed the O video of it today:
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/420/index.html?media_id=6336022

Wachovia-Wells Fargo Merger

Neo — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:24:24 +0000

dubone, on 18 November 2009 - 11:03 PM, said:

The Wachovia brand will be phased out for Wells Fargo as they go through their merger. That has been well documented. North Carolina will likely be among the last to change over.

I'm reminded of a Wells Fargo/Wachovia merger newsletter I received a while back listing the conversion dates. North Carolina was dead last on the list.

Expanded 3G coverage from AT&T

Neo — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:39:12 +0000

I just received an e-mail from AT&T announcing new coverage for several areas of the state, including 800 square miles of new coverage for the greater Concord area including Kannapolis, Mooresville, Salisbury and along the I-77 corridor up to Statesville. As an iPhone customer I'm glad they're finally giving the Charlotte metro more coverage. Not sure when it will be turned on, just says that it's coming soon.

You may or may not know that AT&T is including Charlotte in its initial release of HSDPA coverage (7.2Mbit/s). I'm not sure if this includes the metro areas (i.e. Concord, Gastonia, etc) however. HSDPA should be available in Charlotte by the end of the year.

Here is the text from today's announcement:

AT&T in the Carolinas continues to expand our network as we work around the clock to provide you with the best possible experience. To date, we’ve already added 62 new sites in 2009, with more on the way!

AT&T’s 3G wireless network gives our customers the ability to stay connected to the information and content that is most important to them. This is part of our ongoing commitment to provide North and South Carolina customers with cutting-edge services, streamlined customer care and greater convenience.

We are proud to announce the following 3G network launches and expansions! Whether you are visiting or a full time resident, enjoy blazing fast speeds on the AT&T mobile broadband 3G network!

North Carolina

Havelock, NC – Just over 90 square miles of new 3G network coverage including covering the home of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point!
Wilmington, NC area – Nearly 300 square miles of new 3G network coverage including covering greater New Hanover County and along the beaches from Wrightsville Beach to Kure Beach!

Coming soon!

Asheville, NC – With nearly 400 square miles of new 3G network coverage including the greater Asheville and south along I-26 towards Hendersonville!
Greater Concord, NC area – With over 800 square miles of new 3G network coverage including coverage along I-77 north from Huntersville to Statesville, I-85 north towards Greensboro, Kannapolis, Salisbury and Mooresville!
Hickory, NC area – Over 200 square miles of new 3G network coverage covering the greater Hickory area!

South Carolina

Florence, SC – Just over 190 square miles of new 3G network coverage covering greater Florence, SC!
Charleston, SC area – Increasing 3G network coverage by 319%, over 700 square miles of additional 3G network coverage including Summerville, Isle of Palms, Sullivans Island, James Island and Folly Beach!
Greenville, SC area – Increasing 3G network coverage by 190%, over 1,000 square miles of additional 3G network coverage including Anderson, SC, along SR 76 to Clemson, SC, along SR 123 to Greenville, SC and surrounding areas of Spartanburg, SC including Boiling Springs and Roebuck!

Thank you for choosing AT&T to be your communications provider and look for future network announcements soon!

SouthEnd Midrise Projects

orulz — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:28:36 +0000

dbull75, on 19 November 2009 - 09:45 AM, said:

They will have to be at a reasonable price point to succeed.

This is key. These apartments will most likely not work if they start at $1400 a month for a 2-bedroom, when everywhere else in the Charlotte area a similar floor plan costs $800 a month. In a down market, few (even those who still have steady jobs) will want to spend $600 extra per month on a "luxury" unit with an address next to the light rail.