SkyHouse Charlotte, Publix and 10Tryon Tower in 4th Ward

[charlotte49ersuptown]

On topic but also a little off topic from all the bank talk. I walked past the site several times today and haven't seen much progress on cleaning up the site. I assume most residents are just happy the thing isn't livable anymore, but also a big heap of concrete and steel isn't that attractive either. Does anyone know if there is an ordinance that states how long a company has to clear a demo site or is it up to the builder. I don't expect them to plant grass on the site till they start building but a cleaned up site would be nice.

[Justadude]

Any news on this thing? Emporis is still listing The Charlotte Club as a proposed project, which seems well out of date at this point. The rubble from charlotte49ers' previous post is still there, and has barely been touched in weeks. A lot full of rubble -- and theft-magnet items like copper -- seems like a pretty bad idea for a downtown residential area.

I really hope this isn't going to be another surface lot in a couple of months.

[fortyniner]

Any news on this thing? Emporis is still listing The Charlotte Club as a proposed project, which seems well out of date at this point. The rubble from charlotte49ers' previous post is still there, and has barely been touched in weeks. A lot full of rubble -- and theft-magnet items like copper -- seems like a pretty bad idea for a downtown residential area.

I really hope this isn't going to be another surface lot in a couple of months.

I rode by the site yesterday afternoon, and there was one bulldozer at work. Still a lot of rubble, but at least some movement.

[uptownJim]

I rode by the site yesterday afternoon, and there was one bulldozer at work. Still a lot of rubble, but at least some movement.

I live across the street and so I watch the progress here with keen interest ...

I have been a bit dismayed at the progress (or lack thereof) in cleaning this site up as well. It has been nearly two months, and yet it there are still massive piles of concrete and steel rebar. In fact, I watched from our rooftop for over an hour the other day, and saw merely ONE dumptruck come in to remove rubble!! Clearly they are not in any kind of hurry to begin a new development there.

On ANOTHER note: a good source uptown told me that the Blvd Co. was one of several developers approached by First Colony about submitting a development proposal. Apparently theirs was something along the lines of the 701 N Church townhomes, for the backside facing Church St., but TBC's proposal was turned down. But supposedly the plan is for condos/townhomes on Church, mid-range height office tower fronting Tryon ... that's all I know.

[dubone]

I think that would be a reasonable plan. I truly hope, however, that TBC is not remotely involved. Their projects have a tendency to look pretty bad these days.

I do wonder if this was the North Tryon option for Trump, that the team later dumped for South Tryon. It seems like they moved mighty fast, and then mighty slow.

[Charlotteman]

Getting back to the rubble issue---is progress being made to remove it? In several posts, it was mentioned that the rubble was just sitting there, and occassionally a single vehicle was seen removing debris.

This is not just an eyesore. This sort of thing, if left unattended to for a period of time, could create an ecological and biological nightmare.

All the thousands of nooks and crannies created by this kind of rubble can become a quick home to all sorts of undesireables. Undesireables like disease carrying rats, mice, mosquitos........

Is unremoved rubble an issue for the EPA to look into? I for one, would not want to live near that site. Rats tend to visit other nearby homes. When you consider the potential of this sort of hazard, it is kinda scary.

Edited April 14, 2007 by Charlotteman

[UrbanCharlotte]

Church Brownstones across street

[atlrvr]

Eh....I don't like those brownstones as much as I thought I would....I can't understand why someone won't build REAL brownstones.

[turbocraig]

I just got a group email from Friends of Fourth Ward regarding the agenda for the upcoming FOFW meeting in two weeks. First Colony is scheduled to present their plans for the former Renaissance site that "will likely be the largest development in the neighborhood next to The Vue". I'll share what I see/hear after the meeting.

[Guest]

The Vue is the second largest development in 4th ward, unit wise at least, the citidan is the largest. Are we talking height, sq. ft, units, or what? Can't wait to see what is going on however, keep us posted.

Edited May 15, 2007 by Guest

[turbocraig]

It didn't specify. I'll have to find out at the meeting.

[New Name]

cool! slightly smaller than three years of NOTHING! j/k

[Mobuchu]

Has there been any progress clearing the site, or is it still the same pile of rubble?

[pazzo83]

Has there been any progress clearing the site, or is it still the same pile of rubble?

There are still large piles of rubble, but I've seen dump trucks and such out there clearing it out. It's still bad though walking by there, you can hardly breathe the air sometimes walking up N Church. Hopefully they'll have it cleared out within a month or so.

[fortyniner]

I rode by the site this afternoon, and there were three big front end loaders at work, plus dump trucks, so it looks like someone has gotten motivated.

[bork]

I rode by the site this afternoon, and there were three big front end loaders at work, plus dump trucks, so it looks like someone has gotten motivated.

Still going pretty slow .. two pieces of heavy machinery on the site and a dump truck... much less than on other sites this size.

[fortyniner]

I rode by there Saturday and a LOT of progress had been made in only a couple of days.

[28202]

from the FOFW email update regarding renaissance site:

"Just a reminder that our May Friends of Fourth Ward Member meeting will be held on Tuesday evening at 7pm at the First United Methodist Church at Tryon and 8th Streets. Enter the Fellowship Hall meeting venue from 8th Street (look for the stairwell).

Our guest speakers will be Charles Campbell from First Colony Capital and David Furman from Boulevard Centro. First Colony purchased the land where the former Renaissance Place Apartments resided. Since purchasing the site, Charles has demoed the old apartments and sought partners to build some new life into the site. Charles/First Colony have partnered with Uptown architect David Furman to brainstorm on the possibilities for the new site. Charles and David plan to discuss high level ideas for the site and seek our input on integrating the new project into Fourth Ward. This will be more of a roundtable discussion and dialogue as nothing has been solidified and site plans are still in the works. But this will be a great opportunity to partner with these firms to ensure we all do what is right for Uptown and Fourth Ward"

[pazzo83]

Did anyone check out the meeting tonight?

[dubone]

Yes. So here is the summary. Furman is involved as a developer with First Colony. They will build a midrise residential building fronting Church that is much like Chapelwatch and 400 N Church in height (6-8 stories), continuing that feel for North Church street that is more residential, with homes facing directly to the street. It would step up maybe 8-10 stories between Church and Tryon, and then have a 20-25 story office tower facing Tryon. Furman will only design the residential section, with the office component designed by Duda Paine, so there is no risk that the highrise will have a Furman 'backside'.

They plan to include some hotel space, as there are tenants just looking for space at this point. They also plan to make the residential component mixed condo and apartment, as there is a need for rental space in the area with 5th and Poplar converted to condos.

The parking deck will be in the interior of the block, entirely hidden from the street. The Tryon Street side will have street retail space (no tenants selected yet), as well as the corner of 10th and Church. They want to target retailers that will serve the neighborhood after business hours, but that is entirely dependent on whatever tenant will sign.

The project only covers the 2.2 acres that is the Renaissance Place parcel, 60% of the block. However, they are in serious talks with the Days Inn owners for buying that part of the block, on which they would build a second phase. The main part of the project described above will be designed to not assume the Days Inn parcel, as that is not yet a foregone conclusion. However, they will make accomodations anticipating an eventual second phase on that land.

They do not plan to carry on the median boulevard of 10th Street to Tryon, even though that would probably enhance their land as a significant address. I guess their parcel is tight enough for them to need as much space as they can get. As the CDOT plans to continue 10th St to Tryon (certainly without the median), this may not be much of an issue, but it would have been good to have the median to Tryon, so that it could be continued in the future across the Hal Marshal land.

They plan to be in design through late summer/early fall, and will assess the market over that time. They appear to not be over-reaching, so this might be a likely project, but it certainly isn't in the announce-to-sell category. They don't have anything more than conceptual drawings to solidify the Furman-First Colony partnership (not for public consumption). So, if things are fine in the market late this year, then we can hopefully expect an announcement of a refined project this winter.

They said they would need an office tenant, and there was no revelation of any talks to confirm or deny what was rumored on UP about First Charter. But hopefully it is true and they are just keeping hush until contracts are inked. I would assume they have a potential tenant in order to even conceptually plan 20-25 stories of office with so much office going into South Tryon.

First Colony revealed that they paid $11m for the land, so maybe atlrvr can crunch some numbers based on that.

[jednc]

Thanks for the summary. This sounds interesting. Can't wait to see how it progresses.

[Mobuchu]

Any hotel component would be a part of the second phase and the likely footprint would be at 9th and Tryon.

Also, they said 200k - 300k sqft of office space.

[uptownliving]

Thanks guys for reporting on the meeting. This sounds promising and I hope it does go forward. This immediate area right now is a couple blocks of crap. You have the Days Inn, Rustic Martini and then the Hal Marshall Center. If this development goes forward as planned it could really be the first step in transforming this section of N Tryon that has been dormant for the past decade. Currently when you go North of 9th St the development drops off immediately going from the Odell Tower to 1960s motel crap and dirty surface lots. This would effectively push downtown another block north and could help better connect the McColl Center with the rest of downtown.

[dubone]

They said they really want to help restore momentum to North Tryon, as well as create a pedestrian draw beyond 7th Street. I'm sure it will be a tall order, but I think by having a decently sized office tower and hotel space, it could at least create more pedestrian trips to this section of Tryon.

Furman does seem to be focusing on this area now as a cause, with his interest in Spirit Square and this project. He said he is hoping this project will spur some interest in moving dirt on the other fallow land nearby.

If Levine gets his paws on Hal Marshall, then we pretty much just have the Renaissance block and the block with the McColl center. The rest will be no-man's land for a while.

[pazzo83]

Piles of rubble on the property are FINALLY gone (there is some cleanup left, but the giant piles are gone) as of yesterday (6/11). Can I get an "it's about **** time"?