Duke Energy Plaza Headquarters | 40 Story formerly Charlotte Metro Tower

[Dale]

Just now, Crucial_Infra said:

I know nothing obviously but I think this happens and is a new tallest. When you've got a chance for an iconic tower, you gotta take your shot. I get people's concerns about density and skyline balance but once these epic site locations are taken, they're gone forever. And there aren't many left on Tryon. 300 South Tryon will be there for a hundred years. Maybe 101 N Tryon could be torn down at some point but again my point is this is such a great spot for Duke, they've gotta make a splash. 

NCNB Corporate Center was ABSURD at the time if we're being honest but didn't take long at all for it to fit in. 

Charlotte used to be poor man's 1980's Minneapolis with NCNB.

[cltbwimob]

18 minutes ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

I actually got banned for suggesting that.

I would have banned you for suggesting that, but alas I haven't been afforded such power by the powers that be.   

Dont mess with Charlotte's crucial infra.

[Guest]

56 minutes ago, cltbwimob said:

I would have banned you for suggesting that, but alas I haven't been afforded such power by the powers that be.   

Dont mess with Charlotte's crucial infra.

tell me about it 

[KJHburg]

When the then NCNB Corporate Center aka BofA CC debuted and was announced it 60 stories and 871 feet vs the then tallest One First Union aka One Wells Fargo now at 590 feet and 42 stories.   Trust me no complained at the time about the new tallest building (except possibly some of the FU folks) so a 1000 foot tower is only 130 feet taller which is less than the jump we did in 1992 which was a 281 foot jump height.   I hope the new tallest happens and hope Duke does it a company with no building to suit their size that they own.  Let it Rise! Rise Up Charlotte! 

[SydneyCarton]

2 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

When the then NCNB Corporate Center aka BofA CC debuted and was announced it 60 stories and 871 feet vs the then tallest One First Union aka One Wells Fargo now at 590 feet and 42 stories.   Trust me no complained at the time about the new tallest building (except possibly some of the FU folks) so a 1000 foot tower is only 130 feet taller which is less than the jump we did in 1992 which was a 281 foot jump height.   I hope the new tallest happens and hope Duke does it a company with no building to suit their size that they own.  Let it Rise! Rise Up Charlotte! 

I agree.  Duke is the hometown hero.  BofA has major presences in many cities.  Duke should be the shining star of the QC skyline in my opinion.

[nakers2]

 My theory, if this ends up being Charlotte’s new tallest building, and it’s as iconic as we should expect it to be, it might change the “design standards“ for any new towers in Charlotte, think about it, after this one gets built, do you honestly think another company is going to build a new tallest right after? It’s possible, but I doubt it, the next towers will be shorter guaranteed, but to stand out in the skyline, they will have to be built with more “architectural discipline“ as I like to say.

[KJHburg]

Look at Austin TX they have had a new tallest building in rapid succession 

1984, 2004, 2008, 2010 and one under construction that will be the new tallest in 2019 and another one likely to happen a few years after that topping out 847 feet 

Charlotte on the other hand has had a new tallest in 1974, 1988, 1992 to the current day.   Time for Charlotte to have  a new tallest and it won't take away anything from the Pelli designed Bank of America Corporate Center.  Our corporations have grown and Duke is the largest investor owned utility in the country.  

[ssh214]

I guess I’m sold on it from a visible standpoint and from a point that it’s time for a new tallest... but I just don’t see it in terms of timing unless they’re moving people from Raleigh (is there an amount of time that they guaranteed to keep a certain number of jobs there after their merger? And if so does that timing coincide with the potential completion of this tower?). And what’s gonna happen to the current DEC? Somebody posted somewhere I think that Wells is moving people to the suburbs... DEC is gonna be empty with all of these new towers unless if a new company happens to do a major relocation and are sold on anchoring the building. (I’m not trying to be negative at all, I’m excited if this building actually does happen but I’m just curious about the effects)

Edited June 6, 2018 by saamh

[KJHburg]

again Duke leases LOTS of space but owns very little except this building on S Church St photo below I took this week.

They have 500,000 sq ft or so in Duke Energy Center they lease from Wells Fargo.   They have 400.000 sq ft in 400 South Tryon building, they have 110,000 sq ft in SouthPark's Piedmont Town Center (from Piedmont Natural Gas they now own) plus renewable division is on a floor in NASCAR Plaza   plus the aging out of date 13 story cement building on S Church size unknown.

That is  over 1 Million sq ft they lease in just 3 buildings uptown and to attract the best and brightest minds in today's employment market and go forward it will make total sense to consolidate these huge leases in to their own signature building.  The DEC is only that by default it was built as the Wachovia Corporate Center not with Duke in mind.  Wells maybe consolidating space into a building they own which is DEC and possibly shuffle people around.  

Below this own they building not worthy of the largest investor owned utility in the USA and as someone suggested they might redevelop this or knock it down.  And this building land is a lot more valuable now next to Legacy. As someone said I have an obscure photo to make my point LOL 

PS I do think some jobs from Raleigh might trickle down here too increasing the need for space. 

 

Edited June 6, 2018 by KJHburg

[atlrvr]

Duke had to keep at least 1,000 jobs in Raleigh until 2017, per the merger agreement concessions with the state regulators.

KJ, there are also hundreds of job in the 401 S College bunker.  The data center equipment moved to Univ City, but few people actually did.

[ssh214]

6 minutes ago, atlrvr said:

Duke had to keep at least 1,000 jobs in Raleigh until 2017, per the merger agreement concessions with the state regulators.

KJ, there are also hundreds of job in the 401 S College bunker.  The data center equipment moved to Univ City, but few people actually did.

So I guess the assumption is the new tower will most likely combine the people from 401 S College, DEC, and Raleigh... which makes sense for Duke to do. How many people from Duke work in DEC currently?

And again I am really curious then what will happen to DEC in terms of who will pick up the empty office space in that excellent building (how many square feet does Duke lease from Wells?).

[KJHburg]

^^^ Yes quite a few people in that small building behind the data center that Duke has and is selling.  (that is the perfect site for a convention hotel) I was surprised to hear that.

As for backfilling DEC space the top floors where the Duke CEOs would be quickly leased probably by a law firm or someone needing one of the most prestigious spaces in Charlotte.  The rest of the space I would think Wells would occupy it as it would be cheaper space for them as they own the building. 

The biggest blocks of existing space in uptown right now are in Charlotte Plaza where School of Law vacated and the 300 South Brevard building where AT&T Bell South used to be.  First Citizens Bank Plaza has a good bit of space but is whittling it down.   Our banks are all growing in uptown right now and if Duke moves just half of those Raleigh employees that would create a need for space.   By the way the Duke offices in downtown Raleigh are in an older Class B tower built in 1977.  Even up there Progress was building a new building then Duke bought them they leased the entire new building to Red Hat Software (which was great for downtown Raleigh) but left the now Duke employees in the older 1977 tower.  The 1977 tower up in Raleigh needs a renovation.  

[Guest]

2 hours ago, KJHburg said:

^^^ Yes quite a few people in that small building behind the data center that Duke has and is selling.  (that is the perfect site for a convention hotel) I was surprised to hear that.

As for backfilling DEC space the top floors where the Duke CEOs would be quickly leased probably by a law firm or someone needing one of the most prestigious spaces in Charlotte.  The rest of the space I would think Wells would occupy it as it would be cheaper space for them as they own the building. 

The biggest blocks of existing space in uptown right now are in Charlotte Plaza where School of Law vacated and the 300 South Brevard building where AT&T Bell South used to be.  First Citizens Bank Plaza has a good bit of space but is whittling it down.   Our banks are all growing in uptown right now and if Duke moves just half of those Raleigh employees that would create a need for space.   By the way the Duke offices in downtown Raleigh are in an older Class B tower built in 1977.  Even up there Progress was building a new building then Duke bought them they leased the entire new building to Red Hat Software (which was great for downtown Raleigh) but left the now Duke employees in the older 1977 tower.  The 1977 tower up in Raleigh needs a renovation.  

300 South Brevard would have to offer a fleet of sex robots gratis for anyone to sign a lease there. I feel bad for Stream Realty who is in the hole for $60.5M so far.

[SydneyCarton]

This sounds very promising.

[Guest]

23 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

This sounds very promising.

the sex robots?

3 hours ago, KJHburg said:

^^^ Yes quite a few people in that small building behind the data center that Duke has and is selling.  (that is the perfect site for a convention hotel) I was surprised to hear that.

As for backfilling DEC space the top floors where the Duke CEOs would be quickly leased probably by a law firm or someone needing one of the most prestigious spaces in Charlotte.  The rest of the space I would think Wells would occupy it as it would be cheaper space for them as they own the building. 

The biggest blocks of existing space in uptown right now are in Charlotte Plaza where School of Law vacated and the 300 South Brevard building where AT&T Bell South used to be.  First Citizens Bank Plaza has a good bit of space but is whittling it down.   Our banks are all growing in uptown right now and if Duke moves just half of those Raleigh employees that would create a need for space.   By the way the Duke offices in downtown Raleigh are in an older Class B tower built in 1977.  Even up there Progress was building a new building then Duke bought them they leased the entire new building to Red Hat Software (which was great for downtown Raleigh) but left the now Duke employees in the older 1977 tower.  The 1977 tower up in Raleigh needs a renovation.  

Yea... Wells would never drop out of a building they own, especially their most high profile building in the country (Don't @ me with anything in minneapolis or san fran, I'm not in a good mood today). I don't for a second believe the rhetoric that they are leaving uptown. I'll check in with my Wells real estate guy to confirm.

Edited June 6, 2018 by Guest

[SydneyCarton]

1 hour ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

the sex robots?

 

I was talking about the new Duke Tower, but the robots sound interesting too.

[Dale]

7 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

I was talking about the new Duke Tower, but the robots sound interesting too.

They're trying to take away all our fun ...

http://www.newsweek.com/sex-robots-health-pedophila-sex-crime-958489

[tozmervo]

5 hours ago, KJHburg said:

The biggest blocks of existing space in uptown right now are in Charlotte Plaza where School of Law vacated  

And if anybody needs the lead on an architectural firm that's intimately familiar with the Charlotte school of law space I would be happy to assist 

[nakers2]

I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high for this tower, but it seems like the stars are aligning for something major on this site. 

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense though, either it will be considerably shorter thank the DEC, as to not interfere with it's presence on the skyline, or it will need to be considerably taller as to not "blend in", in other words, no 600-800 footer that might be masked by the DEC at some angles. 

With that being said, I know some on this forum are concerned about having a skyline that isn't balanced, but I still maintain the Charlotte has one of the most aesthetically pleasing skylines in the US, and even the world. Some angles might make Uptown's southern end look askew, but with Legacy and Tryon Place down there as bookends, I'm not terribly concerned. Not to mention coming down Graham Street, or Statesville Ave/Rd, a new tower would be right in the center of the cluster, and frankly that's one of my favorite approaches. 

[SydneyCarton]

I think that worries about a balanced skyline are misplaced.  Charlotte has a relatively new skyline, and yet, it's a rapidly growing city.  Therefore, even if Duke becomes the new tallest, it likely won't retain that status indefinitely.  

Edited June 7, 2018 by SydneyCarton

[cltbwimob]

1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

I think that worries about a balanced skyline are misplaced.  Charlotte has a relatively new skyline, and yet, it's a rapidly growing city.  Therefore, even if Duke becomes the new tallest, it likely won't retain that status indefinitely.  

I think the worry about balance is not so much about whether there will be a new tallest, but the placement of tall towers in general.  Of Charlotte's soon to be 7 towers that crest 500 feet, 3 are clustered around DEC at one end of the skyline and BofA and Hearst are at the other end.  It gives an appearance of lack of density when towers between the two "bookends" are, in some cases, only about half as tall as BofA, DEC, Hearst and Legacy.  I personally would rather have a new tallest-or any new tower over 600 ft-right between DEC and BofA rather than right beside either one of them but obviously Duke owns the land they own and building on land they already own makes sense.  More concerning to me is the design of the new tallest.  Regardless of where it goes, I hope that its a signature piece of architecture and not just a 900-950 ft box.

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

The height alone will make it a landmark.  I hope it’s an iconic design and the build/quality is one that can be admired.  Luckily, the build quality and design doesn’t get much better than their current DEC location.  So, if they do end up building their own tower, I don’t see them downgrading per se.  DEC probably has some of the best c-level suites in the city.  I hope the design is innovative and unique to this city.  As an energy company, it would be cool if they could incorporate solar panels in the facade and maybe wind turbines on the rooftop.  I would like it to be the highest level of LEED certification too.  My other biggest concern is how it engages the public from a street-level perspective.  A good example funny enough is DEC…the other DEC…Devon Energy Center.  They have a ground floor restaurant and coffee shop.  Also, they have a restaurant on the 49^th floor which also acts as their observatory.  The tower has tours which includes a walk around the center and an elevator ride to the top floor.  We’ve talked about attractions on here before…I personally would love if they had a little science museum on the ground floor but dedicated to everything energy.  It would educate people on the different ways Duke creates it (nuclear, coal, bio, hydro, oil/gas/solar/wind, etc).  Hands-on experiments to what happens to the “grid” when storms occur, stuff like that.  I’m partial to science stuff though, I love it lol.

[Dale]

Just please no suitcase handle up top.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Dale said:

Just please no suitcase handle up top.

I'm 2 degrees of separation from someone that saw the 36 floor drawings, it definitely didn't have a handle, but had a couple floors of triangular embellishments on each corner. Unfortunately the drawings were withdrawn from the City pretty quickly, so I never got a hold of them.

Edited June 7, 2018 by Guest

[CLT704]

9 minutes ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

I'm 2 degrees of separation from someone that saw the 36 floor drawings, it definitely didn't have a handle, but had a couple floors of triangular embellishments on each corner. Unfortunately the drawings were withdrawn from the City pretty quickly, so I never got a hold of them.

If this thing is 65 floors then please, by the grace of God, do not have that triangle design. It sounds hideous. 

 

I would like something like Wilshire Grand Center.