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monsoon

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 You're positioned above an area that rages until 2am with no direct access to the hotel from College or Trade.

Dumb Question - where is the entrance for the tower?   I assume they have one at the back base near the parking deck/by Light Rail wall but I never gave it thought before.

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I was thinking the exact same thing, I have no clue where the entrance will be? Where would the lobby be?

Along trade, just past FTC station underpass. Just take a walk/drive by.

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Do you mean just before the underpass??? or do you mean just pass it if you are heading west on trade? but yeah, yikes, yeah to ah59396's point, it wouldnt feel luxury at all if thats where I was being dropped off by my town car, definitely glad its not a luxury brand here.

 

Right under the CVS right?

Edited by Jayvee
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Exactly, yeah no thanks....that bus station....man oh man the sketchiness of the characters around there.

 

Yeah I agree.  I'm fairly confident to trudge along where ever I feel like it and I've rode the bus from uptown back to Elizabeth many a nights, but that place is SUPER sketch after about 10pm, doesn't matter how well lit or how many cops they pile in there.

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Yeah I agree.  I'm fairly confident to trudge along where ever I feel like it and I've rode the bus from uptown back to Elizabeth many a nights, but that place is SUPER sketch after about 10pm, doesn't matter how well lit or how many cops they pile in there.

Very unfortunate to be honest, we are trying to live in a society here...why does it have to be that way.....however that is way off topic.....

 

LETS GET SOME RENDERINGS OF THIS THING

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While I agree, this isn't the prime opportunity for another luxury hotel, my disappointment is just the scale of the hotel. We, and the city in general, always talk about lack of uptown hotel rooms. With this it's only a little over 300 rooms total. When I heard "dual branded hotel" in one tower, I surely thought it would be something more in the 500 room range. Thus putting it more in the 30 story territory. I feel confident the architecture will be decent, but I just think it's a bit of a lost opportunity based on location and need. I will certainly take what's proposed over what is there now, however. I think we're all tired of seeing the rusted rebar eyesore. 

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I will say, given the fact its a HUGE benefit (and cost savings I will assume) that a foundation is already there for something really tall, I am pretty surprised they didn't go taller than 20 stories. I would think as a developer you don't get a better opportunity than this....the foundation is already there!

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I wonder if there's a logistic limitation with the more frequent comings-and-goings of a hotel vs. apartments or condos. Maybe the entrance plan here couldn't handle that amount of traffic if it were a hotel as large as the planned condo tower. 

Think of the elevators needed to feed 2 hotels with a higher floor count.  The footprint is not that big.

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When I said luxury, I wasn't suggesting ritz carlton or jw marriott style but more like a W Hotel.  Around 250-350 rooms.  I realize that may have been on the smaller scale of W Hotel though.  It is more of a hip brand and that really fits the epicenter.  Kind of like aloft and apparently AC Hotels.  The aforementioned lack of parking spaces may have effected how big they could make the hotel though.  With only just over 300 parking spaces.  You can't really afford to make the hotel more than 300 rooms.  Which is around what the two hotel's are combined.   

 

Originally planned for an apartment building the engineers/architects probably didn't think about building a large amount of extra spaces.

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When I said luxury, I wasn't suggesting ritz carlton or jw marriott style but more like a W Hotel.  Around 250-350 rooms.  I realize that may have been on the smaller scale of W Hotel though.  It is more of a hip brand and that really fits the epicenter.  Kind of like aloft and apparently AC Hotels.  The aforementioned lack of parking spaces may have effected how big they could make the hotel though.  With only just over 300 parking spaces.  You can't really afford to make the hotel more than 300 rooms.  Which is around what the two hotel's are combined.   

 

Originally planned for an apartment building the engineers/architects probably didn't think about building a large amount of extra spaces.

I think there was around 750 spaces originally allocated, but since the building flopped, they lost a lot of them to the epicenter complex, and the Center City Commuters. 

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Regarding various comments about hotel brands. The big hotels companies don't own most of their hotels. They are franchised. While the companies may look for locations. It's owners who mainly look for a location and negotiate for a brand that fits etc.

 

It's a lot more complicated than Marriott picking and choosing with absolute control.

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While I agree, this isn't the prime opportunity for another luxury hotel, my disappointment is just the scale of the hotel. We, and the city in general, always talk about lack of uptown hotel rooms. With this it's only a little over 300 rooms total. When I heard "dual branded hotel" in one tower, I surely thought it would be something more in the 500 room range. Thus putting it more in the 30 story territory. I feel confident the architecture will be decent, but I just think it's a bit of a lost opportunity based on location and need. I will certainly take what's proposed over what is there now, however. I think we're all tired of seeing the rusted rebar eyesore. 

 

I'm skeptical about the architecture, and I'm assuming it will be a fairly contemporary but unexciting design (prove me wrong though!). But regardless, I think there is opportunity to put in a nice retail spot on Trade. There's a ton of space to work with there.

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I'm skeptical about the architecture, and I'm assuming it will be a fairly contemporary but unexciting design (prove me wrong though!). But regardless, I think there is opportunity to put in a nice retail spot on Trade. There's a ton of space to work with there.

I am skeptical too, but I am also hoping for the best. Where would the retail be on trade?? Isn't that just parking garage entry

Speaking of Hotels I saw the Hotel across from the courthouse becoming a Marriott. The signage is going up. 

Yeah its going to be a Fairfield Inn, looks to fully branded by July

 

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/maps/travel/cltut-fairfield-inn-and-suites-charlotte-uptown/

Edited by Jayvee
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^ True.  And the Residence Inn on Mint is always full.  No reason uptown couldn't support another of the brand.

 

I'd like to see the Hilton expanded.  The space is available (currently a surface lot behind AT&T).  It could easily double the number of rooms of the hotel on that site.

I know there are plans to build a parking deck for the hilton on that lot, one that will support a 200-300 room expansion. 

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Where would they expand to put all those rooms?? Also, that lot inbetween CTC and AT&T....thats not going anywhere right? (unfortunately)

See the blue part of thispost-17104-0-61166600-1403620188_thumb.p

See how they are already expanded over the light rail?

They would expand the rest across the light rail tracks and have a building over the expansion. 

Edited by Guest
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Also, that lot inbetween CTC and AT&T....thats not going anywhere right? (unfortunately)

 

The lot is owned by the NC Railroad (along with the CTC parcel it was their interchange yard at the end of their line. You can still see some rails in the asphalt up there). The GOP Legislature really wanted to privatize the NCRR last year, luckily saner heads prevailed and they compromised with a few smaller steps like requiring that the NCRR sell of the parcels it owns that are no longer on their right of way (like this one).

 

I suspect that we will see this parcel marketed in this cycle.

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The lot is owned by the NC Railroad (along with the CTC parcel it was their interchange yard at the end of their line. You can still see some rails in the asphalt up there). The GOP Legislature really wanted to privatize the NCRR last year, luckily saner heads prevailed and they compromised with a few smaller steps like requiring that the NCRR sell of the parcels it owns that are no longer on their right of way (like this one).

 

I suspect that we will see this parcel marketed in this cycle.

God I hope so, it's an eyesore now. Being up on Fahrenheit and seeing that beautiful view, but looking directly down and seeing that lot sucks.

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