Discovery Place

[SydneyCarton]

I've thought for a long time that Discovery Place should be razed and rebuilt as a much better facility in some other location (maybe near Imaginon or Ray’s Splash Planet, for example).   The current facility is antiquated and is a huge waste of prime space in my opinion.   A lot could be built on the site of DP and its huge garage.

 

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article239356488.html

Edited January 20, 2020 by SydneyCarton

[nicholas]

1 minute ago, SydneyCarton said:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fox46charlotte.com/news/city-leaders-consider-demolishing-discovery-place.amp

Unless they have plans for something otherworldly, this would be a huge mistake.  What else draws families to the north side of uptown?

[Madison Parkitect]

It seems like the plan would be to build a new Discovery Place either on the same site or another location in Uptown. We've discussed it on one of the other threads.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

I've thought for a long time that Discovery Place should be razed and rebuilt as a much better facility in some other location (maybe near Imaginon or Ray’s Splash Planet, for example).   The current facility is antiquated and is a huge waste of prime space in my opinion.   A lot could be built on the site of DP and its huge garage.

 

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article239356488.html

It is not a huge waste of prime space. Thats crazy. It itself is PRIME. It should never move anywhere. The plan is to vertically integrate and possibly allow the sell of air rights for development. This is our best and most popular museum and the only place it should be is on Tryon Street.

 

Edited January 20, 2020 by Guest

[videtur quam contuor]

I believe, and I hope most people here and elsewhere also believe, that integrating children and families into the life and fabric of downtown is only for the best.

(this applies to any city)

[j-man]

2 hours ago, nicholas said:

Unless they have plans for something otherworldly, this would be a huge mistake.  What else draws families to the north side of uptown?

Well that’s the point. Discovery Place was good for when it was built but it is aging and could really be upgraded to a bigger, better and more vibrant facility. I think there are a couple of nice lots that this could go on on the North Side of Uptown. I think closer to the light rail would be ideal. 

[The Force Sleeps]

Wasn't there talk a year or so ago about updating DP similar to what they're doing with the main library across the street? What happened to that? I thought an architect had been selected and everything.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, nicholas said:

Unless they have plans for something otherworldly, this would be a huge mistake.  What else draws families to the north side of uptown?

Its $400M, that's more expensive than Spectrum Arena was to build. In other words, yes, yes its other wordly.

[SydneyCarton]

2 hours ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

It is not a huge waste of prime space. Thats crazy. It itself is PRIME. It should never move anywhere. The plan is to vertically integrate and possibly allow the sell of air rights for development. This is our best and most popular museum and the only place it should be is on Tryon Street.

 

MoMA is constantly expanding and reinventing itself as are The Met, The AMNH, The Frick, The Morgan Library, The NYPL, The Whitney, etc.  If those world-class institutions can, I don’t see why DP can’t.

I think that Charlotte can do better than the current iteration of DP, and I think that this location warrants a higher use now than it did in 1981.   This site (including the garage) could support new offices and hotels which would thrive in that location.   A bigger and better DP would attract every bit as much of a crowd if it were located by Ray’s Splash Planet, Imaginon, or in a new Panthers entertainment district.

That’s just my opinion.

 

 

 

Edited January 20, 2020 by SydneyCarton

[Guest]

1 hour ago, j-man said:

Well that’s the point. Discovery Place was good for when it was built but it is aging and could really be upgraded to a bigger, better and more vibrant facility. I think there are a couple of nice lots that this could go on on the North Side of Uptown. I think closer to the light rail would be ideal. 

They own two prime blocks of land, they don't need to move. 

[j-man]

7 minutes ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

They own two prime blocks of land, they don't need to move. 

I’m confused. If they own two more blocks why wouldn’t they move to one of those two? 

[Crucial_Infra]

12 minutes ago, j-man said:

I’m confused. If they own two more blocks why wouldn’t they move to one of those two? 

They’re currently sitting on those two blocks 

[Guest]

23 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

MoMA is constantly expanding and reinventing itself as are the AMNH, The Frick, The Morgan Library, The NYPL, The Whitney, etc.

I think that Charlotte can do better than DP, and I think that this location warrants a higher use now than it did in 1981.

That’s just my opinion.

 

 

 

I think you will have a different opinion when you see the new Discovery Place, with a residential tower built on top of it facing Church Street. You are not using your imagination enough. To augment the hefty price they will sell air rights for development...

Let me give an example in NYC terms, ur favorite city. MoMa has gobbled up space after space on its block, including most recently, the development of 53W53. The 1050' residential tower was built on Air Rights of the 17,000 sq foot lot that was owned by, none-other-than, MoMa.

For perspective, this is what $100M in good architecture gets you in Charlotte, 115,000 sq feet. 

They want to build something for $400M. 

Edited January 20, 2020 by Guest

[Guest]

Discovery place was the most visited Museum in North Carolina. Lets give it some love. They want to build the best STEM education center, and Science Museum in the USA. They want this to be something Charlotte can be proud of. Don't be trying to move it off Tryon Street, that's silly.

Edited January 20, 2020 by Guest

[Madison Parkitect]

A new Discovery Place that costs $400M can go wherever it wants to, that'll be the biggest museum draw in the south if they're spending that much. Excited to see it happen.

[Guest]

Just now, Madison Parkitect said:

A new Discovery Place that costs $400M can go wherever it wants to, that'll be the biggest museum draw in the south if they're spending that much. Excited to see it happen.

exactly

[DMann]

My biggest take away from what RDF indicated is that the air rights could be sold.  That would fetch a price that could make a $400M new DP on the same site much less expensive.  I talked with a friend who remembered when it and its garage went up and he told me there was a debate at the time about the garage.  Some wanted to put pilings in that would allow a structure on top of the garage, but that did not happen.  

I believe that if those 2 blocks were to allow air rights to be sold you could find a twin high-rise condo tower built over parking and the new, improved DP.

[SydneyCarton]

1 hour ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

I think you will have a different opinion when you see the new Discovery Place, with a residential tower built on top of it facing Church Street. You are not using your imagination enough. To augment the hefty price they will sell air rights for development...

Let me give an example in NYC terms, ur favorite city. MoMa has gobbled up space after space on its block, including most recently, the development of 53W53. The 1050' residential tower was built on Air Rights of the 17,000 sq foot lot that was owned by, none-other-than, MoMa.

For perspective, this is what $100M in good architecture gets you in Charlotte, 115,000 sq feet. 

They want to build something for $400M. 

 

 

If there’s a plan to build a new DP on that site with something above it, that would make sense.   As per MoMA, I’d be pleased to see 1,050 feet of this soaring above a new DP on Tryon.  Maybe it could be the new Truist HQ.  They’ll need more space eventually.

Edited January 20, 2020 by SydneyCarton

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

 

If there’s a plan to rebuild a new DP on that site with something above it, that would make sense.   As per MoMA, I’d be pleased to see 1,050 feet of this soaring above a new DP on Tryon.

now you got the right idea. I doubt anything goes over 300 feet, but you get the point.

[SydneyCarton]

That sounds great.  I thought that they’d just build a new stand-alone five story structure, which, to me, would be a waste of space on that site.  But a new structure with a 30 story tower above it would be fantastic.

Edited January 20, 2020 by SydneyCarton

[Miesian Corners]

Can we please type it out as "Discovery Place"?

[Guest]

Can we please type it out as "Discovery Place"?

Doctor Pepper it makes the world taste better.




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[tozmervo]

27 minutes ago, Miesian Corners said:

Can we please type it out as "Discovery Place"?

I'm an advocate for Disco' Place

[SydneyCarton]

56 minutes ago, Miesian Corners said:

Can we please type it out as "Discovery Place"?

I didn’t feel like writing the whole thing, and I didn’t think about my chosen abbreviation, “DP,” until I read your post.  Point well taken.

Edited January 21, 2020 by SydneyCarton

[urbanlover568]

Hope this happens!!!! Loved going there! That's what got me interested in STEM! Maybe they can double in size!