Learning from Other Places

[Matthew.Brendan]

https://www.435mag.com/kansas-city-becomes-first-major-american-city-with-universal-fare-free-public-transit/

[DMann]

All for it!!!!!!

[KJHburg]

Mass timber buildings are popping up all over.  One under construction in San Antonio and this new one in Midtown Atlanta.

https://atlanta.curbed.com/atlanta-development/2019/11/25/20980941/atlanta-t3-atlantic-station-west-midtown-timber-framed-office

since Crescent is now owned by a Japanese forestry company I am surprised they have not announced one here yet. 

[Dale]

This is purely objective, but for me, Nashville has a buzz that Charlotte just can’t match. And not that it needs too. 

Yes, Charlotte’s infrastructure is far further along than Nashville’s. On the other hand, I never have trouble getting around Nashville. And Amazon obviously didn’t think that ease of transit was a black mark for Charlotte.

[Matthew.Brendan]

One light rail line does not make “ease of transit” a true statement. 

[rancenc]

What can be learned on how spiraling costs can affect small businesses....

 

[KJHburg]

This is an impressive new arts center going up in downtown Greensboro the Stephen Tanger Center for Performing Arts with its 3000 plus seat theater.  

I am very impressed the Guilford county business community and residents have raised $42 M of it is $88 M cost.  This is the most important development in Gboro right now in my eyes.  Their downtown is really nice and they have a great history museum and park downtown too.  

https://www.greensboro.com/blogs/gotriad_extra/not-a-bad-seat-in-the-house-as-new-corporate/article_e963464a-e3f8-58ed-872d-d99468f01c0a.html#1

[KJHburg]

Hey Crescent why not something like this in Charlotte 

In Dallas

[EllAyyDub]

Here is a list on which we can strive to rise (note we are #2 in most improved):

https://www.titlemax.com/discovery-center/lifestyle/jobs-reachable-by-number-of-minutes-in-49-u-s-metropolitan-areas/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

[tozmervo]

35 minutes ago, EllAyyDub said:

Here is a list on which we can strive to rise (note we are #2 in most improved):

https://www.titlemax.com/discovery-center/lifestyle/jobs-reachable-by-number-of-minutes-in-49-u-s-metropolitan-areas/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

Wow. You know lists have jumped the shark when Titlemax is hocking them. 

[KJHburg]

things I saw that were interesting from Tampa St Pete Florida.

from St Petersburg and if you want to see more photos I have loaded lots in the Tampa St Pete thread   

https://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/forum/121-tampa-metro/

1. Protected bike lanes in downtown St Pete 2. and wayfinder signage with handy advertising supported downtown directories in St Pete  (good idea and would love to see this uptown)

Cross the bay to Tampa and its booming downtown lots of construction here.  FIRST new high rise office building underway in 25 years!   Remember San Antonio had a 30 year drought.  Think just how many office buildings were built in uptown Charlotte in the last 25 years????  That is why I say we are living in the best of times development wise in Charlotte right now. 

3.4 downtown Tampa dog park  we need one uptown. 

5. lots of surface lots in downtown Tampa

6.7.8.9. is all the Water Street development a 50 acre downtown development.  first phase 420 apartments, 2 hotels JW Marriott and an Edition with condos on top, and the first new office tower 20 stories in downtown Tampa in 25 years.     Check out more photos in the Tampa St Pete thread 

  Plus a downtown Publix's Greenwise store first full sized grocery store downtown.  (that is a store like a Whole Foods but by Publix) 

2nd to Last photo the TECO streetcar connecting downtown Tampa to Ybor City mainly for tourists but some commuters could use it.  Though they were working on the train line so I had to take a bus bridge.  Also noticed how the driver had to blow his horn multiple times for cars in the way (preview of Charlotte streetcar) no hits but a couple near misses. 

last photo is free range roosters in Ybor City we need some uptown LOL. 

 

 

 

[KJHburg]

we need a container food hall or development.  This one is in a 10,000 acre master planned community called Lake Nona SE of Orlando next to their town center.  

This would work in town NoDa, Camp Northend, LoSo etc or the re-imagined Ballantyne or even in the new River District.   (dog friendly too)  Unfortunately the Sunshine State failed me in the afternoon no sun.    

Boxi Park Lake Nona 

https://boxiparklakenona.com/

On yeah a huge stainless steel dog and this would go good with Huge stainless steel head we have in Whitehall. 

http://www.lakenona.com/

[rancenc]

If Chattanooga can win this coveted retail establishment in their downtown, then the QC can do the same!!

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2020/jan/23/downtown-chattanoogdollar-general-carry-fruit/513803/

 

[KJHburg]

2 hours ago, rancenc said:

If Chattanooga can win this coveted retail establishment in their downtown, then the QC can do the same!!

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2020/jan/23/downtown-chattanoogdollar-general-carry-fruit/513803/

 

believe it or not there is one in downtown Raleigh.  I will check it out next time I am there I forget it is there.  

here is a video of it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0C3h3rtUaQ

 

[Dale]

On 12/11/2019 at 10:49 AM, Matthew.Brendan said:

One light rail line does not make “ease of transit” a true statement. 

Meant Amazon didn’t consider lack of transit options a black mark for Nashville.

[urbanlover568]

Amsterdam before and after :

Photos from the Urban Cycling Institute. 

.

[videtur quam contuor]

Buried utilities everywhere. The overhead wire is to suspend and power the street light. WWII was terrible and the cost of life was unspeakable. One advantage to the rebuilding was modern infrastructure without ties to the past.

Also pollarded trees.

[KJHburg]

We need one of these what a great fundraiser.   From Cotswold store to uptown then maybe ending on Hawkins Street in Southend.

https://www.wral.com/krispy-kreme-challenge-returns-for-16th-year/18912760/

[urbanlover568]

On 1/26/2020 at 10:53 AM, tarhoosier said:

Buried utilities everywhere. The overhead wire is to suspend and power the street light. WWII was terrible and the cost of life was unspeakable. One advantage to the rebuilding was modern infrastructure without ties to the past.

Also pollarded trees.

Don't need a WW to redevelop areas. Charlotte demolished half of uptown and a war didn't cause that. 

[KJHburg]

Things Charlotte can learn from the formerly largest city in NC of Wilmington?  Embrace your past and when new construction comes along make it blend it well.  Notice the new RiverPlace condo and apartment tower is brick matching most of the brick of the older high rises downtown.  Embrace the water.  Of course having a major river by downtown is not Charlotte can have but greenways we can and should have going in every direction from uptown.  Downtown Waffle House Wilmington 1 Charlotte 0.  It would do GREAT in uptown Charlotte with bar hoppers, families, people wanting affordable food and their coffee is great.    2nd photo is new construction blended with the older building next door. 4th 5th  photos are the new RiverPlace condo and apartment complex with ground floor retail.   Photo 6 new Pier 33 apartments.  As Wilmington is the only city on the NC coast nice to have waterfront apartments and I am sure they are in line with Southend prices.   Yes they do have a new stucco hotel the Embassy Suites on the north end of downtown with rooftop bar.  

last photo is the historic Murchinson Building  11 stories built in 1914next to the brand new RiverPlace tower  12 stories built in 2019/2020 look how the brick blends in well. 

Wilmington is booming consider a visit here only 3 hours from the QC and a lot less crowded and less expensive than Charleston. 

[rancenc]

Looks like Richmond VA's city council has decided not to pursue a new arena and subsequent development.  Based on comments from the Richmond Urban Plant group, this is a serious step backward for the city and the region.

https://arenadigest.com/2020/02/12/city-council-halts-richmond-arena-development-project/

 

[KJHburg]

file this under what NOT to do and we should never let our homeless population get to the point that San Francisco is currently.   I remember when San Francisco was much cleaner and the streets were not full of active drug dealing.   Until I hear it is that way again I will stay away.    The sad thing about all of this in San Fran it is mostly avoidable but due to city laws and enforcement this is what happens.  

this is from the San Fran Biz Times and this is the president of the Chamber of Commerce.

“San Franciscans are frustrated. Visitors are shocked,” Rodney Fong, the chamber’s president and CEO, told those attending the CityBeat breakfast, which sported the tagline, "Wake up, San Francisco!"   “Our homeless neighbors are living in absolute misery. There are over 4,000 San Franciscans on the streets right now. Most of them suffer from mental health issues or drug abuse. “It’s time for all of us in this room to say, ‘enough is enough,’” Fong said to applause. “Our children are stepping over trash on the way to school. I’m sick and tired of how our streets look.  “There are communities and families on the street that have formed, we should not and cannot tear them apart. We have a social, moral and civic obligation to take care of those communities to make sure they have shelter, service and support,” Fong said. “We must take action now.”   Under StreetCareSF, the chamber called for expanded conservatorship to provide court-ordered treatment for those who are unable to care for themselves due to severe mental illness. The chamber’s poll found 86% of respondents said they would support expanded conservatorship.   The chamber also wants enforcement of existing laws against open-air drug dealing. The chamber said 78% of respondents support that idea.   StreetCareSF calls for increasing police staffing levels to keep pace with San Francisco’s population growth, which 80% of poll respondents supported.  The chamber wants an audit of San Francisco’s homeless services and spending. That idea was supported by 86% of poll respondents.   The city’s business leaders also want merchant corridors and neighborhood streets to be better cleaned. The CityBeat poll found 85% support that measure.  The chamber is also teaming up with the Hotel Council of SF and SF Travel to align the council's existing CleanSafe365 campaign with the city's budget priorities, specifically to make street cleanliness and safety and homeless services the top priority.   San Francisco Mayor London Breed, speaking at the breakfast, called on the business community to support her efforts to get a measure on the November ballot that would boost housing construction in the city.   “Across this city, too many of us have seen our families and friends move away in moving vans, and this is an opportunity to do something about it,” Breed said. “Too many of you have seen your employees leave San Francisco, because you can’t afford to raise a family here.”   Breed’s proposed charter amendment would allow affordable housing — and many market-rate projects for middle-class residents — to move much more quickly through the city’s approval process. The mayor also recapped many of the city’s efforts to address homelessness.   “Let’s be clear, we have not accomplished nearly enough,” Breed said. “Over the past two years, we helped over 4,000 people exit homelessness, and we are well on our way to meeting our goal of building a thousand new shelter beds and every night we house over 10,000 formerly homeless residents.   “We’ve done all this and more, and yet when we look outside at our streets, it doesn’t even look like we’ve scratched the surface,” Breed said. “If we are going to truly make a difference, we have to act boldly and with a great sense of urgency.   “This means pushing policies that may make some uncomfortable, like continuing to expand our mental health laws at a state level to really help people that are suffering from mental illness,” Breed said to applause. “It means adding more mental health beds and sobering centers and shelters wherever we can in this city and building more housing throughout San Francisco.""

Edited February 16, 2020 by KJHburg

[Matthew.Brendan]

Maybe President Bloomberg could clean up San Francisco /troll

[CTiger]

Went up to Boston this weekend and spent some time in Somerville.  I thought Bow Market was an awesome spot and something that Charlotte could use as a good example of adaptive reuse.  This is a former storage facility where they turned all of the storage units into small little stores.  The ground floor had a brewery and some street-food-style restaurants, and the second floor was primarily soft goods retail.  A huge courtyard for public space and hanging out.  No parking deck to be found, but good bike lanes make for easy getting around.  

Link

https://www.bowmarketsomerville.com/

[urbanlover568]

Tampa's second office building is about to break ground with 110K or retail and 500K of office and tons of greenspace. 

 

Water Street's plan