NC Music Factory / Uptown Village / Deco One

[KickinChicken23]

Excellent! I will try to check them out this weekend!

For any other lighting-energy Geeks like me, those new lights are 130W LED towers, a very cool product. Not sure how vandal resistant they are, but I'm sure that will be tested with a few drunken passers by.

[thegryseone]

I went by there (on accident) and there were a lot of cars in the parking lot. It looks pretty nice, but it's not the easiest place to get to (as you all know).

[HopHead]

I went to a show at the Fillmore last night and saw these new lights. They are actually pretty cool looking (they change colors) and presents a good indicator for how to get to the NC Music Factory when coming up Graham. Hopefully they will add more.

Also, as a side note... The show I saw last night was for "Them Crooked Vultures". Their members include John Paul Jones (original Led Zeppelin bass player) and Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters). They were a very entertaining band to watch. And how can you not like seeing JPJ? AMAZING bass player. I was pleasantly surprised to know that Charlotte was the only city on the East Coast outside of NYC and Atlanta that they've stopped at. See, Charlotte does get some good shows outside of those at TWCA and Verizon Wireless Of course, it's all subjective to what type of music you like. The Fillmore was slam packed, which was good to see. But the way they have set up, it's easy to hit the rest room or for those that smoke, head out back.

[KickinChicken23]

Butter is now open and all I can say is WOW. I got to tour it during the day while it was empty and am thoroughly impressed with all of the nice touches they added into. It honestly feels like you are walking into a club in vegas or Miami when you walk in, very cool. Grand opening is next weekend. But they have had their soft opening for the last two weekends and this weekend and they have been turning people away by the hundreds.

[InitialD]

Butter is now open and all I can say is WOW. I got to tour it during the day while it was empty and am thoroughly impressed with all of the nice touches they added into. It honestly feels like you are walking into a club in vegas or Miami when you walk in, very cool. Grand opening is next weekend. But they have had their soft opening for the last two weekends and this weekend and they have been turning people away by the hundreds.

Here's the "before" photo. I need to get back by and get an "after" photo.

[sleightofhand]

Butter is now open and all I can say is WOW. I got to tour it during the day while it was empty and am thoroughly impressed with all of the nice touches they added into. It honestly feels like you are walking into a club in vegas or Miami when you walk in, very cool. Grand opening is next weekend. But they have had their soft opening for the last two weekends and this weekend and they have been turning people away by the hundreds.

I went to Butter for the first time this past wknd and I immediately felt like I was in Vegas. For some reason it reminded me of club Tryst one of my favorite spots in Sin City.

[Urbanity]

Butter got a mention in the NYP Page Six:

"That the Black Eyed Peas and Nicky Hilton will join Scott Sartiano and Richie Akiva at the grand opening of Butter NC, sister property to New York's Butter, this weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina.

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/we_hear_DJn2uv67weEbwmcw3ETaSJ"

[Urbanity]

Black Bear Saloon is opening this weekend at NCMF.

http://ncmusicfactory.com/black-bear-saloon-grand-opening-this-weekend/

I've also seen postings about Wet Willies hiring as they are about to open.

Glad to see this area still growing!

[plaza-midwood]

It has been announced:

Grand Opening Tentatively Scheduled for

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Stay Tuned!

www.wetwillies.com

[Urbanity]

Went by Black Bear Saloon with my partner yesterday for lunch and love the place! It is done really well and the food was pretty good (so was the bucket of beers for $12). It was also great to see the outside sitting and get an image of the whole front stage area plaza filled with other places with terrace sitting.

Also took a look inside Wet Willes (through the door) and it's got the completely opposite vibe of Black Bear. It is very vibrant in color scheme. It wasn't finished yet and I'm sure it will look cool as well - but I'm just really like the old tavern in a warehouse feel of the Bear.

Also took a look at Mattie's and it seems they appear close to opening. Hopefully in another month or so they will be.

Lastly, got a chance to peek inside Butter and I was blown away. It is beyond anything that exists in Charlotte. I'm not a nightlife person so I probably will never get a chance to see it in full glory, but I think it is really an impressive set up.

[Urbanity]

Stopped by Black Bear with my partner and a friend for early dinner last night (6ish) and the whole place (NCMF) was jumping. I know there was an event at either the Filmore or the Amphitheater (don't know who) but the before show crowd was filling in both Black Bear and Wet Willies as well as the outside patios.

Add to that the way they wave set up the front stage outside patios with the lighting and cabana/cloth overhead and the whole vibe of the place was very cool. All they need now is to get Mattie's to open and then the martini bar and crobar (is that still coming?) and I think I would say it would be "the" place to go in the region.

[AuLukey]

I went to the music factory last week for my friend's birthday party and was completely blown away at the shear amount of cars lined up in the streets surrounding it. Last time I went I would have never imagined this kind of gridlock so late at night, even during concerts. I believe that this area could soon make a good case for a street car route from Tryon (since Trade isn't an option due to the cemetery) uptown to both help alleviate traffic, promote more concert-goers to explore uptown after events, and help the other venues uptown remain vibrant if the music factory begins to steal away more and more of their business.

[southslider]

More than streetcar, I think more streets are needed. It would be nice if you didn't have to actually leave Uptown to access this remote corner of it via one of only two ways in or out.

Edited May 17, 2010 by southslider

[caterpillar2]

A pedestrian bridge over the railroad track area from the NCMF to at least Graham Street would encourage people to walk from uptown to a area that appears to be safer than it appears presently. In any case, it would be a good walk from central uptown. Also, it might be wise to have a regular scheduled bus route there on weekends. Lots of options. Maybe Levine will build an underground pedestrian subway to Tryon Street?

[dubone]

The railroad crossings are still open near the ADM mill.

I think that walking the new Seaboard Street is the most pedestrian friendly of all the options. Even ped bridges near railroads and freeways are not that enticing. The well lit main road with LED art and few grade changes is the most comfortable. So what if it leaves "uptown" for a block or two?

[Spartan]

Not for long. 9th St will get closed permanently soon.

When the ADM and the other buildings in that block are town down, a direct pedestrian bridge would make a lot of sense.

[dubone]

I still disagree. Even right now, the best walk to the downtown nightlife is through Elmwood to 6th and over to Tryon (1.1mi or 22 min walk). Cutting across 9th to go through 4th Ward is ugly now with the huge rail crossing and ped bridges would be steps up and down just to shave off about half a block (.05mi) from the walk to 6th and Tryon.

Taking Seaboard adds 3 blocks (.25 mi) but it is a well lit boulevard. Still Elmwood is pretty and already build and free.

[nonillogical]

^ is the elmwood path open at night though? is it lit and safe? i hadn't considered this option...i usually ride my bike to ncmf even though it would be an easy walk, because that dead zone still seems pretty iffy from any route.

[dubone]

Does Elmwood have working gates? They have lights. I haven't walked it at night, though.

[Urbanity]

Not for long. 9th St will get closed permanently soon.

When the ADM and the other buildings in that block are town down, a direct pedestrian bridge would make a lot of sense.

The ADM is getting torn down? I completely misunderstood a previous discussion (I believe in the 2030 transport plan thread) where there was a discussion of the high speed rail funding. I thought the ADM was to be preserved as operational.

I brought up earlier in this thread that the one building next to the ADM on the corner of 9th & Johnson St was for sale and I had suggested at that time it would be worth the NCMF to purchase and knock it down if only to build a more pedestrian friendly corridor.

I do prefer to walk 9th to N. Johnson to Seaboard rather than Graham to Seaboard myself because there is something just decidedly unappealing about the latter route. I agree it is a difference of maybe only a few minutes in walk time but it feels like you are about to go a lot further when you start in that direction. Maybe if they did something with the under & overpasses (on the Graham Street side) to improve on the street-scape feel that would make a huge difference in perception.

I do admit I get a little freaked every-time I get to the corner of 9/Johnson at night. Whether it's the dark, blind and sharp corner (can't see what's on the other side approaching whether person or car) or the that it feels kind of Michael Jackson Thriller-ish walking home next to a cemetery at night. On a related note I would be totally against the idea of revelers using the cemetery to go to and from NCMF as a main route. I know people use it for jogging and dog walking in the day, but something about party people going through it at night seems wrong.

[jednc]

The ADM is getting torn down? I completely misunderstood a previous discussion (I believe in the 2030 transport plan thread) where there was a discussion of the high speed rail funding. I thought the ADM was to be preserved as operational.

I brought up earlier in this thread that the one building next to the ADM on the corner of 9th & Johnson St was for sale and I had suggested at that time it would be worth the NCMF to purchase and knock it down if only to build a more pedestrian friendly corridor.

I do prefer to walk 9th to N. Johnson to Seaboard rather than Graham to Seaboard myself because there is something just decidedly unappealing about the latter route. I agree it is a difference of maybe only a few minutes in walk time but it feels like you are about to go a lot further when you start in that direction. Maybe if they did something with the under & overpasses (on the Graham Street side) to improve on the street-scape feel that would make a huge difference in perception.

I do admit I get a little freaked every-time I get to the corner of 9/Johnson at night. Whether it's the dark, blind and sharp corner (can't see what's on the other side approaching whether person or car) or the that it feels kind of Michael Jackson Thriller-ish walking home next to a cemetery at night. On a related note I would be totally against the idea of revelers using the cemetery to go to and from NCMF as a main route. I know people use it for jogging and dog walking in the day, but something about party people going through it at night seems wrong.

To me it's not that it seems wrong (although I completely understand that point), it just seems like a bad idea. People leaving the NCMF most likely will have been drinking and that rarely leads to good decision making. I don't think a dark grave yard is where these people belong. Over time, I can see a lot of damage being done at the cemetery.

[dubone]

ADM is going to be kept for a while. The stimulus funds will grade separate the CSX and NS rail crossing, rework some track in the ADM mill area, and close the remain street-railroad crossing at 9th. It is in the long term plans, though, to relocate the mill when Gateway Station needs more capacity than can pass through the mill.

I still believe that requiring people to walk three extra blocks or through the cemetery is not a big deal. There are significant number of areas where people must walk a few blocks to get through an area. 277 has crossings less frequent than 3 blocks in most cases and 3rd Ward requires at least as many blocks to bypass this same rail line. It is not ideal, but I think it is reasonable in this case to close the crossing with the pedestrian alternates to be Seaboard and Elmwood rather than a dedicated pedestrian bridge.

[Urbanity]

I don't like the pedestrian bridge idea either, but I just don't like the Graham to Seaboard route. Nothing rationale I guess about my dislike of it but I can't deny I get a mental block about it.

Again, maybe if they did something with the overpass btwn 10th & 11th like they are exploring on Trade between JCSU and J&W it would change the feel.

[Urbanity]

Great article in today's CBJ about the NCMF.

Key points:

- All 50,000 square feet of office space is leased

- Five new establishments are opening in the coming months including restaurants and a beer garden

- So far there have been over 100 concerts in the year since NCMF has opened

- The planned residential aspect are currently shelved until the market picks up.

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2010/08/02/story4.html?b=1280721600^3726231

[HopHead]

^Aside from the fact that this project is a great "re-use" development and the growing popularity of it, this entire thing is paid for free and clear. No threats of foreclosure and auctions from the bank unlike that other place in town