Jump to content

Berkman Tower and Carolina Theater

dubone

By dubone
in Charlotte

Recommended Posts


  • Replies 219
  • Created
  • Last Reply
dubone Megalopolis

dubone

Posted
  • Author
Posted

"unless the city can be better protected".

Which entity is the one that the city is expecting to cover any risk for operating losses? Is that Lazes, the developer, or CTPS?

(I guess after a second thought, the developer would be the least likely)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
atlrvr Metropolitan Area

atlrvr

Posted
Posted

Well....so far, Camden has wanted the city to cover any operating overruns.....it looks like that issue may be resolved if Lazes will privately operate it and accept losses. The renovation overrun I think is still a mystery, and I would assume Camden would want to city to be on the hook for that because it would shoot their financial model in the foot if the theatre came in way over budget, and its hard to justify passing on the cost of a theatre to the residents.

If I was the city, I would be pretty nervous about entering into an agreement that could have upto $5M in cost overruns....not that it would prevent the tower from being built, but the city would have given the bank away to save a theatre that might not even successfully renovated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
atlrvr Metropolitan Area

atlrvr

Posted
Posted

A little update here.....even though the issues I named are major hurdles, apparantly the city REALLY wants to save the theatre, and know this project is the last chance. It has died several times just to be revived based on politcal and developer will alone......though I will reiterate, if this particular deal falls apart, the theatre WILL be demolished.

After a talk today, I'm a little more optimistic, but certainly not betting in its favor yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dubone Megalopolis

dubone

Posted
  • Author
Posted

56

Here are the Berkman Tower renderings separated from that pdf that atlrvr linked to:

47813005-L.jpg

47813012-L.jpg

This tower would really create a lot of density on that block. Considering Hearst Tower is on the same block, this is quite a bit of height so close. It helps to fill in the gaps of our skyline from certain angles. It is also much taller than I was originally thinking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dubone Megalopolis

dubone

Posted
  • Author
Posted

On SkyscraperPage and SkyscraperCity there is no mention of the Berkman Tower (?) I just found out about it recently, after I joined UrbanPlanet.

Is it still going forward?

Well, right now, yes. The problem is that it only got rated as "Fair" by the city for most of the aspects of the Sustainability Index, which puts it as a lower priority for city synthetic TIF funds. It is possible that things will fall in to place. With the developer pushing for a city decision within the next 3 weeks, and with the city focusing more on the Wachovia campus, it seems fairly questionable.

If one of the parties steps up to cover operating cost risk, it is possible that things could shift.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
graydog Hamlet

graydog

Posted
Posted

The proposal. linked to previously in this topic, will be presented to city council tomorrow night. We may have a better idea of its chances then. I expect tough questioning from republicans, especially Don Lochman. It will be interesting to hear what our new councilors have to say about it. This is the their first real meeting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
appatone Hamlet

appatone

Posted
Posted

I know that no renderings are 100% but it looks like the old facade of the theatre will not be brought back from those renderings. Do you think the city could sell the facade and apply that money toward the theatre restoration. I know it will only be part of the cost but I guess every little bit helps. I WOULD NOT want to see the facade leave the city but I wouldn't mind if the facade were used by another developer in another project in one of Charlotte's urban areas. Perhaps it could be used in Wachovia's projects or down on Elizabeth Ave. It could make a great entrance to Grubb's possible movie theatre or to any urban project going in Charlotte. How much would something like like facade fetch?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dubone Megalopolis

dubone

Posted
  • Author
Posted

This project seems to have some life. Council voted 10-1 to keep the project alive, and authorize the city manager to continue working with the developer.

There is still some skepticism among the leaders. The demands seem to be that the city won't be put at risk for operational costs, and that the investment here won't cannibalize the market for theatres. That is a serious concern with the CPCC theater just opened, Ovens just being renovated, Wachovia seeking funding, and with other theaters like Visualite in Elizabeth and Neighborhood (in NoDa), and Blumenthal continuing to operate nearby.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mobuchu Burg

Mobuchu

Posted
Posted

The proposal. linked to previously in this topic, will be presented to city council tomorrow night. We may have a better idea of its chances then. I expect tough questioning from republicans, especially Don Lochman. It will be interesting to hear what our new councilors have to say about it. This is the their first real meeting.

Well, they passed it 10-1. You were correct, Lochman was the only opposition. $$ wasn't really the biggest question in their minds surprisingly, but competition with other theatres and the fact that there will be another one just down the street at the Wachovia project.

But so far so good :thumbsup:

edit:grrrrr Dubone, 1 min too slow

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dubone Megalopolis

dubone

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I know that no renderings are 100% but it looks like the old facade of the theatre will not be brought back from those renderings. Do you think the city could sell the facade and apply that money toward the theatre restoration. I know it will only be part of the cost but I guess every little bit helps. I WOULD NOT want to see the facade leave the city but I wouldn't mind if the facade were used by another developer in another project in one of Charlotte's urban areas. Perhaps it could be used in Wachovia's projects or down on Elizabeth Ave. It could make a great entrance to Grubb's possible movie theatre or to any urban project going in Charlotte. How much would something like like facade fetch?

I think that the asymmetrical aspects of the ground floor on the Tryon rendering might be the section where the old facades will go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
orulz City

orulz

Posted
Posted

Great news on this project. Of course, there's still no guarantee that it will happen. But it's best to keep up hope! I had missed the news about the facade being saved, but I guess that makes the project even more interesting.

Charlotte rules. Hopefully the city doesn't wind up broke after all of these arts-related projects.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dubone Megalopolis

dubone

Posted
  • Author
Posted

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/new...ws/13394378.htm

I really hope that a deal can struck that the city council will agree to.

Its prospects are still in question, but I think the charm of the old Carolina Theater might cause the council to spend the money even if it isn't really a sound financial choice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.