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Charlotte circa Spring 2008

dubone

By dubone
in Charlotte

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

Posted
Posted

Charlotte circa Spring 2008

There is so much happening now in Charlotte, but most of it comes online 2-3 years from now. What will this city be like two and a half years from now?

Transportation:

- The south light rail line will have been in operation for more than a year

- The north line will be halfway through construction

- The trade street streetcar will be beginning construction

- Gateway Station will be halfway through construction

- 485 will be open except for the short section from from 77 north of Northlake to 85 near concord mills.

- The airport's fourth runway will be open

- the new Intermodal yards will likely be open by 485 and the airport

- Connector will be open between 85 and the airport (little rock road)

- Absolutely nothing new will have been done with 485 or 77 or independence blvd in south charlotte

Parks and Streetscape:

- Little Sugar Creek Greenway will be halfway through construction between Dilworth and Optimist Park

- 3rd Ward park will be completed

- Elizabeth Avenue streetscape will have been completed and tracks built for the upcoming streetcar

Development:

- Wachovia's new tower and arts complex will be nearing completion

- Trademark and Avenue will have been complete for nearly a year

- the Vue will be nearing completion

- Courtside, Court6, MStreet, 8th Street Townes, and Renwick will all be complete in First Ward

- TwoTenTrade/Epicentre tower will be nearing completion

- The Citidan towers will be under construction

- CMC's Children's Hospital will have been open for more than a year

- Construction will likely be going on for other Furman projects (7th/McDowell and 3rd Ward Parkside)

- Construction will likely be going on for other Spectrum projects (300 S Tryon? and Trade/Graham)

- Construction will possibly be going on for Novare's second project.

- The Park will be beginning construction "next month"

- Absolutely nothing new will have been done with Levine's First Ward Urban Village

Retail:

- Midtown Target and Home Depot Expo will have been in operation for half a year

- Best Buy and the rest of Midtown will be a few months from completion

- Whole foods in Elizabeth will be completed and possibly the Eastern Federal Movie Theatre

- Epicentre's retail will likely be complete

- Lowes will be just starting operations in South End

- the Ritz-Carlton will have just opened

Population:

- [someone else do this one, i don't pay enough attention to it]

What would you guys add?

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Miesian Corners City

Miesian Corners

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Pineville City Council and Mayor backtrack on their earlier idiotic decision to halt the LRT at 485 and are now demanding that CATS extend the very successful South LRT into downtown Pineville.

What?! And ruin the quaint, small town character of Pineville! Why, if LRT comes in, the next thing you know they'll be building huge shopping malls, strip centers, and car dealerships. Horrors.

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nyxmike Hamlet

nyxmike

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- The Park will be beginning construction "next month"

HahAhaha

And Pineville is pretty stupid - What puzzles me most is that businesses in downtown Pineville would be thriving (I don't remember seeing much activity - but that was 2 yrs ago) if there was a light rail station, yet they were against it. :huh:

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

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they were against having the light rail for the same reason that the town of davidson wants desparately to not be the end of the line.... they don't want their downtowns to become the Park-and-Ride for all the south charlotte commuters. I think pineville was a little backward in their decision-making though, as they could have found some way to mitigate their concerns but still have access to the benefits that the line could have provided.

In some ways, though, the whole line benefitted from not going across 485. That would be an expensive bridge, and bridges cost a lot these days. The main impetus for the line is to get drivers off 77 and part of 485... so that is served decently by stopping across from carolina pavilion.

Back to the circa 2008 discussion... imagine the skyline image from the brookshire on the northside or from NoDa. the skinny, almost non-existent skyline will now have Courtside, Epicentre, (Hearst, BofA Corporate, IJL and Carillon as it has now), Avenue, Trademark, and The Vue. we will finally have the makings of an east west skyline! And it is only 2 and a half years away!

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Newnan Hamlet

Newnan

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Oh you Charlotteans! I hate to break it to you, but as your city gets bigger, you're going to have more sprawl. Your quaint little towns "outside" the hustle and bustle of the city will soon have it share of strip malls, shopping centers, subdivisions, and not to mention traffic. Even though you can make the growth better and smarter, you're still going to have your share of sprawl. Trust me, I know. I live in Atlanta and while I love all the growth, I have to admit It's a little depressing to see a a quaint little town out side the city be invaded with all that crap. I just pray you can somehow sustain the growth the best you can. I just wanted to give you some advice.

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

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that somewhat comes from left field as far as this thread goes... but sure, i think i agree with you. by 2008, northwestern union county will be packed with viral sprawl. the area around northlake will also certainly be packed with similar subdivisions. Concord mills growth will continue to swallow up southwestern cabarrus county.

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RiverwoodCLT Burg

RiverwoodCLT

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I hope someone tell the NCDOT the needs here, or 2008 will be a bigger traffic jam.

Uptown will look a lot different than today, more high-rises.

Southend may be seeing more high rise condos.

Hope something is done with the vacant big boxes stores all over town.

Pineville will be begging for LRT to come downtown.

Rock Hill will be onboard to extend the LRT to their town.

I77 will be packed with traffic.

Independence Blvd will look like it is today.

Auto-mall at I485 and Independence.

With the higher cost of gas we may see more infill projects close to uptown.

Union county will see a slow down of devlopement.

East side, you will need a tank to go there. Eastland Mall is turn into a fort. We will have to learn to speak spanish to get around the east side and South Blvd.

:alc:

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carolina_fan Unincorporated Area

carolina_fan

Posted
Posted

Charlotte circa Spring 2008

There is so much happening now in Charlotte, but most of it comes online 2-3 years from now. What will this city be like two and a half years from now?

Transportation:

- The south light rail line will have been in operation for more than a year

- The north line will be halfway through construction

- The trade street streetcar will be beginning construction

- Gateway Station will be halfway through construction

- 485 will be open except for the short section from from 77 north of Northlake to 85 near concord mills.

- The airport's fourth runway will be open

- the new Intermodal yards will likely be open by 485 and the airport

- Connector will be open between 85 and the airport (little rock road)

- Absolutely nothing new will have been done with 485 or 77 or independence blvd in south charlotte

Parks and Streetscape:

- Little Sugar Creek Greenway will be halfway through construction between Dilworth and Optimist Park

- 3rd Ward park will be completed

- Elizabeth Avenue streetscape will have been completed and tracks built for the upcoming streetcar

Development:

- Wachovia's new tower and arts complex will be nearing completion

- Trademark and Avenue will have been complete for nearly a year

- the Vue will be nearing completion

- Courtside, Court6, MStreet, 8th Street Townes, and Renwick will all be complete in First Ward

- TwoTenTrade/Epicentre tower will be nearing completion

- The Citidan towers will be under construction

- CMC's Children's Hospital will have been open for more than a year

- Construction will likely be going on for other Furman projects (7th/McDowell and 3rd Ward Parkside)

- Construction will likely be going on for other Spectrum projects (300 S Tryon? and Trade/Graham)

- Construction will possibly be going on for Novare's second project.

- The Park will be beginning construction "next month"

- Absolutely nothing new will have been done with Levine's First Ward Urban Village

Retail:

- Midtown Target and Home Depot Expo will have been in operation for half a year

- Best Buy and the rest of Midtown will be a few months from completion

- Whole foods in Elizabeth will be completed and possibly the Eastern Federal Movie Theatre

- Epicentre's retail will likely be complete

- Lowes will be just starting operations in South End

- the Ritz-Carlton will have just opened

Population:

- [someone else do this one, i don't pay enough attention to it]

What would you guys add?

Thanks, dubone! This view is really helpful for keeping all the developments we talk about in perspective.

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MZT Burg

MZT

Posted
Posted

The Arlington should have bitten the bullet a few years ago, and just rented out some of the ground level space below cost on a short term lease. At least generate some activity. All the empty windows and FOR LEASE signs make it look as if it's being avoided.

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  • 4 months later...
mediamongrel Hamlet

mediamongrel

Posted
Posted

Retail in 2008:

1. Still no Saks.

2. Eastland Mall will be anchored by only Sears, Fred's and Burlington Coat Factory.

The biggest gun shop in the county will still be located on Wilkinson Blvd. (irony?)

LRT will have 2 completed lines with an average ridership of 100-200 people.

I-77 will still have 4 lanes and I-485 will still have 2-3 lanes in the south arm.

The lottery wont solve any education problems.

Pat McCrory will be elected AGAIN.

The Bobcats will make the playoffs as a 4th seed w/home court advantage and will still struggle to fill seats.

Harris Teeter will open up their 11th location on Rea Rd.

and the most predictable...people at Blakeney or one of these mini-communities will start beotching about how they dont want a Super Wal Mart down the road because it will destroy their small town environment.

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spectacle21 Whistle-Stop

spectacle21

Posted
Posted

The biggest gun shop in the county will still be located on Wilkinson Blvd. (irony?)

LRT will have 2 completed lines with an average ridership of 100-200 people.

I-77 will still have 4 lanes and I-485 will still have 2-3 lanes in the south arm.

The lottery wont solve any education problems.

Pat McCrory will be elected AGAIN.

The Bobcats will make the playoffs as a 4th seed w/home court advantage and will still struggle to fill seats.

Harris Teeter will open up their 11th location on Rea Rd.

and the most predictable...people at Blakeney or one of these mini-communities will start beotching about how they dont want a Super Wal Mart down the road because it will destroy their small town environment.

sheesh! All of this is just a tad...hmmm...apocalyptic, don't you think?

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