The Ellis – 33 Floor Apartment Tower – Lennar does what Levine couldn't.

[turbocraig]

New lighting scheme caught my eye tonight.  I got a video but it’s too big to post.  The strips stay lit solid for maybe 10 seconds then fade from left to right, rinse and repeat.

 

[EnyoPhase]

[DavieNative]

It's kinda a strange looking building but it's another nice addition to uptown. Not sure that it will age great but oh well.

[RANYC]

Things off to an inauspicious start for the Ellis.  An adjacent corner riddled with bullets during the early stages of leasing?  Not good.  The uptown residential market is still thin enough (in my opinion as a core urban dweller since 2004) that the news of such incidents are profoundly impactful.  The city must own the narrative when this stuff comes up, and find ways to put it out there that such incidents are an extreme exception while also not letting it dominate a news cycle.  I wish I could get a sense for leasing activity at this project.

1 hurt after gunfire erupts in uptown Charlotte parking lot – WSOC TV

[atlrvr]

As of today:

115 units have signed leases, which is about 27% leased.

2 BR's doing a bit better than 1 BR's.

2 months free rent.

Not bad for only open ~3 months.

[KJHburg]

Interesting about the 2 bedrooms could be 1 of 2 things many roommates to share the expense as half a 2 bedroom rent a lot cheaper than 1 bedroom. Or people needing a home office.  However I would think the roommate situation is the driver. 

[KJHburg]

from the vast empty blocks of First Ward there stands a high rise the Ellis.  I still think my idea of community gardens with veggies and so forth should be done on the farmland I mean vacant land of 1st Ward until something happens.    Imagine one of these blocks as community gardens with all kinds of vegeatables being grown.  

[Mgelbach]

Rooftop pool looks amazing!

[RANYC]

Sorry - but I've tried - and I still very much dislike this bldg.  I was driving around Southpark earlier today and simply couldn't imagine something like this being tolerated aesthetically in that area.  And for the person who authors this message thread who threatens to censor criticisms of this bldg because maybe it's just a real estate competitor - I work in Finance and Consulting and have nothing to do with apartments or leasing complexes.  These UP threads are full of passion and opinion, and I've shown up in enough threads to counteract any insinuation that I've some singular focus on hating the Ellis.  Ultimately, however, there's nothing we can do about this bldg, but can only hope that others are built to give it richer context.

[stw52]

1 hour ago, RANYC said:

Sorry - but I've tried - and I still very much dislike this bldg.  I was driving around Southpark earlier today and simply couldn't imagine something like this being tolerated aesthetically in that area.  And for the person who authors this message thread who threatens to censor criticisms of this bldg because maybe it's just a real estate competitor - I work in Finance and Consulting and have nothing to do with apartments or leasing complexes.  These UP threads are full of passion and opinion, and I've shown up in enough threads to counteract any insinuation that I've some singular focus on hating the Ellis.  Ultimately, however, there's nothing we can do about this bldg, but can only hope that others are built to give it richer context.

I agree. I don't like the tower portion of this, but do appreciate the ground level and possible interactions with the public along 1st Ward Park side. That said, what I don't like, others love and that is ok.  May be when the tower is surrounded by similar height towers, it will begin to blend, but for now, it sticks out, and not in a good way. 

[videtur quam contuor]

I like the color, so lacking in other projects. I appreciate the ambition to forge into a new area for development and go in as a large scale project. I like the location where Levine cannot say it is impossible to accomplish. I vote yes.

[JacksonH]

13 minutes ago, tarhoosier said:

I like the color, so lacking in other projects. I appreciate the ambition to forge into a new area for development and go in as a large scale project. I like the location where Levine cannot say it is impossible to accomplish. I vote yes.

I think this tower is making some people realize they really do like beige 

[cltheel.sdl]

I think one thing I've realized I hate the most about this building is the lack of screening of the elevator shaft.  They didn't even try to make it blend in with the rest of the building or otherwise screen it.

[DownEast]

I'm definitely a fan. It's big, colorful and almost clumsy looking. Uptown has none of this. The next closest thing to this would be the Ascent, maybe. (Which I also like. Cool Aqua-esqe Chicago vibe) South Park is nice. It's clean, classy with a lot of earth tones. But it reminds me more of a Hilton Head with it's "everything must be brown and uniform" look. 

[Norm2]

2 hours ago, cltheel.sdl said:

I think one thing I've realized I hate the most about this building is the lack of screening of the elevator shaft.  They didn't even try to make it blend in with the rest of the building or otherwise screen it.

I agree. A shaft should never be exposed. Really wished they could have been able to cover it up.

[RANYC]

5 hours ago, JacksonH said:

I think this tower is making some people realize they really do like beige 

Not sure what you mean by "beige."  I assume boring, commonplace, blending in; context-sensitive perhaps?

Believe me, disliking this particular building has nothing to do with preferring beige.  This building just strikes me as having really cheap-looking cladding. 

It has uninspiring shades of grey (another type of boring beige) with aimless flecks of mustard yellow. 

I'm all for bold and differentiated looks and cuts and angles and uneven lines.  I've inserted an example.  Maybe no one wants to invest that in Charlotte quite yet, and that's fine, so I say just keep the building at 8-10 stories. 

But the Ellist, a 30+ story prominence just doesn't do it for me, and having to look past Levine's garage to get the glimpse of the Ellis from the North, just punctures my enthusiasm for urban Charlotte just a bit.

 

Edited June 5, 2021 by RANYC

[Nick2]

It's something different. I like different. Sue me? Lol

[KJHburg]

I like the Ellis tower for several reasons.  However I respect other people's opinions which may be different.  Once in this country differing opinions were treasured and encouraged now it seems it has to  be one way or the other.

But these are the reasons I like this project:

Huge number of apartments and retail space in a vast low energy underutilized area of uptown.  Kudos to LMC for having the vision of what will be in this area.  The height, the almost Jenga type design and the location that can jump start this low density area.  I think the design is good not my favorite in town but a good solid  design.  Can you see the parking garage? Nope hidden inside the block. 

And since someone mentioned Hilton Head the home of my 2nd home I will defend the town of HHI.  HHI did have bland design to fit into nature when it get started developing in the 1970s ( but not anymore)  Strong  tree ordinances, parks and land preservation plans and miles and miles of bike trails   Lot of teardowns of the 1970s style homes have happened.  Because the town of HHI has one of strongest tree ordinances in the country and has been named one of the best biking towns in the country (60 miles and counting) on a 12 mile long island by 5 miles is a model for many places.  Plus a FREE  trolley system connecting all the major resorts and activity nodes.  Lots of redevelopment of older bland shopping centers into vibrant mixed used area (Shelter Cove Towne Center) <<< end of HHI rant LOL

anyway count me a fan of the Lennar Multifamily tower The Ellis and hope it is joined by many more in the future.  This tower itself is an urban pioneer.  Photos from today. 

[QCxpat]

11 hours ago, KJHburg said:

I like the Ellis tower for several reasons.  However I respect other people's opinions which may be different.  Once in this country differing opinions were treasured and encouraged now it seems it has to  be one way or the other.

But these are the reasons I like this project:

Huge number of apartments and retail space in a vast low energy underutilized area of uptown.  Kudos to LMC for having the vision of what will be in this area.  The height, the almost Jenga type design and the location that can jump start this low density area.  I think the design is good not my favorite in town but a good solid  design.  Can you see the parking garage? Nope hidden inside the block. 

And since someone mentioned Hilton Head the home of my 2nd home I will defend the town of HHI.  HHI did have bland design to fit into nature when it get started developing in the 1970s ( but not anymore)  Strong  tree ordinances, parks and land preservation plans and miles and miles of bike trails   Lot of teardowns of the 1970s style homes have happened.  Because the town of HHI has one of strongest tree ordinances in the country and has been named one of the best biking towns in the country (60 miles and counting) on a 12 mile long island by 5 miles is a model for many places.  Plus a FREE  trolley system connecting all the major resorts and activity nodes.  Lots of redevelopment of older bland shopping centers into vibrant mixed used area (Shelter Cove Towne Center) <<< end of HHI rant LOL

anyway count me a fan of the Lennar Multifamily tower The Ellis and hope it is joined by many more in the future.  This tower itself is an urban pioneer.  Photos from today. 

I lived in NYC for many years, and one of my favorite paintings at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) was Piet Mondrian's "Broadway Boogie Woogie".   I first saw this painting in an art appreciation class during my undergraduate days at Chapel Hill.   After I moved to NYC,  it was thrilling to see the actual painting at MOMA  -  a sort of jazzy yet refined precursor of lines of computer code.   

What I like about The Ellis, designed by KTGY Architecture + Planning,  is its jazzy yet simultaneously elegant geometric rhythm.  It's an ambitious and daring work for Charlotte, and I think we owe a debt of gratitude to LMC for this razzle-dazzle addition to Charlotte's beautiful skyline. 

Judge for yourself.  Here's an image of Mondrian's stunning painting "Broadway Bogie Woogie" (1942-43).   

Edited June 6, 2021 by QCxpat

[videtur quam contuor]

Oh, what a gift from QCExpat!

I have loved Mondrian since  learned of him in my Art Appreciation class in college. This work, Broadway Boogie Woogie, is said to have been inspired by his view from his Manhattan apartment. He looked down and the schools of yellow taxis moved with interspersed vehicles along the street. The color blocks represent the tops of building as seen from above and the traffic with colors, mostly yellow, and lights at intersections. It is a famous one. I saw a collection of his works In a DC museum (cannot remember which one) quite a while a go and it was a delight to bathe in his imagination. 

I see the connection now. 

[Blue_Devil]

My biggest problem with this building is the windows not having depth to them. The Hawk in SouthEnd is also a big gray box, yet looks finished due to how the windows have a small amount of depth. I think that would have done wonders here. 

[RANYC]

15 hours ago, KJHburg said:

I like the Ellis tower for several reasons.  However I respect other people's opinions which may be different.  Once in this country differing opinions were treasured and encouraged now it seems it has to  be one way or the other.

But these are the reasons I like this project:

Huge number of apartments and retail space in a vast low energy underutilized area of uptown.  Kudos to LMC for having the vision of what will be in this area.  The height, the almost Jenga type design and the location that can jump start this low density area.  I think the design is good not my favorite in town but a good solid  design.  Can you see the parking garage? Nope hidden inside the block. 

And since someone mentioned Hilton Head the home of my 2nd home I will defend the town of HHI.  HHI did have bland design to fit into nature when it get started developing in the 1970s ( but not anymore)  Strong  tree ordinances, parks and land preservation plans and miles and miles of bike trails   Lot of teardowns of the 1970s style homes have happened.  Because the town of HHI has one of strongest tree ordinances in the country and has been named one of the best biking towns in the country (60 miles and counting) on a 12 mile long island by 5 miles is a model for many places.  Plus a FREE  trolley system connecting all the major resorts and activity nodes.  Lots of redevelopment of older bland shopping centers into vibrant mixed used area (Shelter Cove Towne Center) <<< end of HHI rant LOL

anyway count me a fan of the Lennar Multifamily tower The Ellis and hope it is joined by many more in the future.  This tower itself is an urban pioneer.  Photos from today. 

Need to draw an important distinction here.  I'm absolutely in love with the idea of dense residential in the 1st ward.  We're probably all in agreement on the fundamental concept of what LMC is looking to do.  My only issue is with how they did it - the design and look, and most importantly, the materials of this building...and the prominence of what I think is a very cheapish look.  But I fully accept that it's just my opinion and others have the right to disagree and will disagree.  I do think our longing for 1st ward to bustle and have residents might color the lens by which we see this building.  I'd love to get someone's informed viewpoint on the quality of the materials used in the cladding of this structure.

[Mgelbach]

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

Great pics, that first one almost looks like one of those old renderings.  The Ellis needs a friend over there though.  That lot showing in the 2nd picture would be prime (one with the cell/radio tower).  Having that dedicated market street go all the way from 7th market to Ellis lined with retail would be fantastic.  It's the type of catalyst that first ward park needs.

Was over in that area the other week...man, that Google fiber building that used to be Dixie Tavern needs to resort back to a restaurant or something.  It's cool that they renovated and made it nice in there (not even sure what they do in there lol), but a pizzeria or brewpub would kill it there on the park.  

Edited June 7, 2021 by CharlotteWkndBuzz

[ertley]

1 hour ago, CharlotteWkndBuzz said:

...It's the type of catalyst that first ward park needs.

Was over in that area the other week...man, that Google fiber building that used to be Dixie Tavern needs to resort back to a restaurant or something.  It's cool that they renovated and made it nice in there (not even sure what they do in there lol), but a pizzeria or brewpub would kill it there on the park.  

I've always thought the Google Fiber building looks so out of place, marooned, there by itself. My fantasy is that the city would actually develop (or more accurately allow a private developer to) First Ward Park's 7th Street frontage--only a narrow/shallow parcel--basically the terraced, paved part on that side. 

I envision a pavilion-like building, mostly glass facades, housing a couple of restaurants or cafes--it could actually be a few stories and even have a roof terrace--that would help activate the park *and* provide a companion to the historic Google Fiber building, contextualizing it. The actual green space of the park wouldn't be reduced at all, and it would help make it a more natural gathering place, especially if, say, there was a family-friendly cafe that would draw folks taking their kids to ImaginOn. Put the drinkers up top, with a view of the city...