Legacy Union (former Charlotte Observer redevelopment)

[NCMike1990]

6 hours ago, Jayvee said:

It's gotten better looking. 656' is the final height.

HUGE improvement! Looks much better!

[asthasr]

13 minutes ago, Miesian Corners said:

I still hate it. The eight pane windows below each cornice reek of bad postmodern towers of the 1980s (see WaMu in Seattle, Comerica Tower in Dallas, or Humana in Louisville). When will Charlotte EVER get a a really good modern tower? My guess is never. 

My hope now is that the future development surrounding Johnny's Erection will hide it from view.

It's not a pretty building, but I think it's better than any of those towers. Unfortunately I just can't see them building something truly modern here; for good (Hearst) and ill (121 West Trade), the existence of the BoA trophy tower sets the tone for a lot of our towers. I think our best hope is that the DEC-echoing blue glass continues...

[deleted]

7 minutes ago, asthasr said:

It's not a pretty building, but I think it's better than any of those towers.

WaMu in Seattle-much better than this

Comerica in Dallas-better (on height alone)

Humana in Louisville-arguably worse (it's a mish-mash of styles and the small windows are awful) but more interesting and less cliched (and considered a great building in the '80's)-personally, I'd take it over this...  

[Miesian Corners]

7 minutes ago, JBS said:

WaMu in Seattle-much better than this

Comerica in Dallas-better (on height alone)

Humana in Louisville-arguably worse (it's a mish-mash of styles and the small windows are awful) but more interesting and less cliched (and considered a great building in the '80's)-personally, I'd take it over this...  

I'll give you WaMu, but Comerica is just awful beyond words. And everything Michael Graves touched has aged badly.

[Dale]

I don't even like WaMu so much. This one: proportions are better due to increased height. And I'm hopeful that a glassier surface will appeal. At the end of the day: still run-out-of-ideas, transplanted-from-SouthPark.

[asthasr]

5 minutes ago, JBS said:

WaMu in Seattle-much better than this

Comerica in Dallas-better (on height alone)

Humana in Louisville-arguably worse (it's a mish-mash of styles and the small windows are awful) but more interesting and less cliched (and considered a great building in the '80's)-personally, I'd take it over this...  

With WaMu I hate the way it's divided up horizontally -- big stripes across the middle of the building. Just not to my taste. Comerica, similarly, probably falls victim to one of my pet peeves: big round arches on the tops of skyscrapers. I hate that in our own One Wells Fargo Center, too. The big faux balcony on Humana reminds me of the out-of-scale columns and cupolas in South Park... urggh.

By contrast, the tower here is just bland. It's not offensive in any particular way, it just feels like someone took a Ballantyne office building and extended it upward.

I'd love to get a true modern trophy tower, something like the Vision in Dubai, Maslak No. 1 in Istanbul, or Sao Paolo Corporate (by Pelli!)... but failing that, I will take "bland and beige" over any of those three (except possibly WaMu).

[CLTProductions]

I know I'm in a semi minority but I like it. It's not spectacular but it's a solid addition to the skyline and I think it'll hold up well. If you look at it in the context of the skyline, I think it's a plus 

[Guest]

21 minutes ago, asthasr said:

With WaMu I hate the way it's divided up horizontally -- big stripes across the middle of the building. Just not to my taste. Comerica, similarly, probably falls victim to one of my pet peeves: big round arches on the tops of skyscrapers. I hate that in our own One Wells Fargo Center, too. The big faux balcony on Humana reminds me of the out-of-scale columns and cupolas in South Park... urggh.

By contrast, the tower here is just bland. It's not offensive in any particular way, it just feels like someone took a Ballantyne office building and extended it upward.

I'd love to get a true modern trophy tower, something like the Vision in Dubai, Maslak No. 1 in Istanbul, or Sao Paolo Corporate (by Pelli!)... but failing that, I will take "bland and beige" over any of those three (except possibly WaMu).

Vision reminds me of what Tryon Place was supposed to look like :'-( 

[Miesian Corners]

I'd be happy with the new Northwestern Mutual Life tower in Milwaukee. Simple and elegant. 

[Dale]

^18 minutes ago, Jayvee said:

I know I'm in a semi minority but I like it. It's not spectacular but it's a solid addition to the skyline and I think it'll hold up well. If you look at it in the context of the skyline, I think it's a plus 

^ Something like that would look good on a certain, narrow parking lot.

[nonillogical]

19 minutes ago, Jayvee said:

I know I'm in a semi minority but I like it. It's not spectacular but it's a solid addition to the skyline and I think it'll hold up well. If you look at it in the context of the skyline, I think it's a plus 

I agree. It feels more Atlanta than South Park to me, in an innocuous but overall positive way. If the vertical beige panels were white or grey I bet we wouldn't be hearing half as many complaints.

[NCMike1990]

5 minutes ago, Dale said:

^ Something like that would look good on a certain, narrow parking lot.

This lot? https://goo.gl/maps/U5FKY2PX7aP2

[KJHburg]

I really like this building and anyone who knows Lincoln Harris should not be surprised at the somewhat classic design. A 600 foot tall new office high rise on top 2 others being completed is phenomenal in a city our size. Again name any of our peer cities with this much construction in their CBD you won't find many in our peer class nor in many larger cities either. Plus the future with little high rises around this building is exciting. The Stonewall Street corridor is really getting exciting with this 600 foot tower, Stonewall Station, Northwood Ravin's high rise apartment tower and hopefully soon the Tryon Place development in some form or fashion. 

[UPNoDa]

Does Charlotte need a signature tower much to the likings of Calgary or CN tower or would that look odd within our skyline?  

True, there's not really much to see with the exception of the Appalachian foothills on a very clear day, however Seattle has the Space Needle, Dallas has Reunion Tower and little ole' Knoxville has the Sunsphere. Yes, I know that a few of these were a direct result of some sort of fair or expo, but it just seems like we are overdue for ANY type of "signature" tower like most large cities (tourist aside).

Edited April 3, 2017 by UPNoDa

[J-Rob]

I know what you are saying, but BofA has a crown that looks like it is sitting on top of the Queen City.  Not a bad signature in my opinion. Reunion Tower is gaudy to me.  Dallas can keep it.  You could also argue DEC is a signature building, though BofA is the original signature.

[UPNoDa]

Yes, that's true.  I guess I was hoping that we would have something weirdly unique by now, think The Gherkin London, or perhaps the Tornado Doha.

(I know and "love" the fact that we have DEC and its our mini me version of Shanghai World Financial)

I absolutely adore the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah with it's stunning sail, yet I don't believe that architectural style would necessarily fit in Charlotte. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it feels like we need something that really packs a punch from a visual perspective. Something that really stands out.

[Niner National]

6 minutes ago, UPNoDa said:

Yes, that's true.  I guess I was hoping that we would have something weirdly unique by now, think The Gherkin London, or perhaps the Tornado Doha.

(I know and "love" the fact that we have DEC and its our mini me version of Shanghai World Financial)

I absolutely adore the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah with it's stunning sail, yet I don't believe that architectural style would necessarily fit in Charlotte. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it feels like we need something that really packs a punch from a visual perspective. Something that really stands out.

Prior to them wreck the lighting system on the BoA corporate center, I felt like it really stood out. It is a beautiful building,  but now many of its features are cloaked in darkness.

Edited April 3, 2017 by Niner National

[Dale]

2 hours ago, NCMike1990 said:

This lot? https://goo.gl/maps/U5FKY2PX7aP2

That's the one.

[NCMike1990]

11 minutes ago, Dale said:

That's the one.

A tower like that Milwaukee one would look good there. It would compliment DEC very well.

[Miesian Corners]

2 hours ago, Niner National said:

Prior to them wreck the lighting system on the BoA corporate center, I felt like it really stood out. It is a beautiful building,  but now many of its features are cloaked in darkness.

I spoke to the folks at JLL. The lighting is still being worked on. All terraces should be lit up by late May. 

[Dale]

3 hours ago, J-Rob said:

I know what you are saying, but BofA has a crown that looks like it is sitting on top of the Queen City.  Not a bad signature in my opinion. Reunion Tower is gaudy to me.  Dallas can keep it.  You could also argue DEC is a signature building, though BofA is the original signature.

I agree with this. BofA has been called the finest skyscraper built in the US the last quarter-century. It's brilliant.

[Desert Power]

It's not great looking, but another building of this size is very welcome

[asthasr]

BoA is absolutely a fantastic building, and you have to go outside the US to find better ones (than BoA) built recently. I'm not criticizing it at all! It's more that, at least until DEC started to get some echoes, all of our smaller buildings echoed BoA to an incredible degree: ornate "neogothic" rooflines, beige vertical elements, small windows in proportion to the cladding. This building (does it have a name?) seems to try to blend that to some degree with the increased "glassiness" of more modern skyscrapers, and it just doesn't seem like it works that well. I don't think we need a trophy to replace BoA at all, actually -- but it'd be nice if this one, being adjacent to DEC, could more cleanly echo it with blue and white elements and a more modern shape (the Milwaukee one above is a good, no-nonsense example).

I hope that this building helps to bridge the gap between uptown and South End a bit more, "broadening" the connection, so to speak, so that S Tryon feels more involved. The 277 gap is actually much smaller here than at either College or South.

[grodney]

Today:

 

I was getting a bad glare from the other-facing window, but here it is so you can see the whole east half:

[49er]

Wow, it looks like they are already working on the elevator core foundation!