210 Trade | EpiCentre

[KJHburg]

2 hours ago, Blue_Devil said:

So if Tepper builds his entertainment district, do we push to allow casinos? 

Only if the Cherokees can build it. 

[Matthew.Brendan]

Yes uptown definitely needs a signature attraction that people would visit maybe once or twice a year. That's the ticket.

[csweet]

Would they ever think to tear down and start from scratch? 

[Madison Parkitect]

1 hour ago, Matthew.Brendan said:

Yes uptown definitely needs a signature attraction that people would visit maybe once or twice a year. That's the ticket.

We already have the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Edited October 14, 2020 by Madison Parkitect

[KJHburg]

2 hours ago, csweet said:

Would they ever think to tear down and start from scratch? 

would be hard to do as the entire complex in atop a parking garage shared by all plus you have 2 hotel towers already on site.  But I am sure with enough money anything can happen but don't see that happening in the short term. 

[KJHburg]

walked on the 2nd level only today first time since March and I would estimate the occupancy at 40% or so.   Very sad.  But also an opportunity.  Funny thing I saw a few people walking through amongst the boarded up storefronts or empty spaces.   Honestly some of those bar spaces on the upper floors should be converted to offices with outside patios another feature in demand in the post pandemic world.    Since chains seem to be very viable now at least some they should be heavily recruited for some of the spaces.    How about a QuickTrip urban format store or the DGX Dollar General's urban store with some food items.   Downtown Wilmington and Raleigh and Nashville all have DGX.  saw several security guards there.   How about a pop up holiday market inside those empty stores??  

Instead of the city trying to lure an entertainment district near the stadium lets work more on this place we can not have a hulking wasteland in the heart of uptown. 

[navigator319]

Let it burn to the ground. Need to follow the principle of creative destruction. This POS is the fault of private industry. Should take no city resources from gateway area plan or any other areas of uptown or the greater city in general.

[KJHburg]

1 minute ago, navigator319 said:

Let it burn to the ground. Need to follow the principle of creative destruction. This POS is the fault of private industry. Should take no city resources from gateway area plan or any other areas of uptown or the greater city in general.

actually the city gave a sweetheart deal to the original developer Ghazi so the city does have an interest though no ownership.  2 high rise hotels are apart of it sitting atop a parking garage.    This is my point the city should NOT be in the business of subsidizing entertainment center think Cityfair and now this place. their track record is horrible. I would like to see some junior anchors there like a TJ Maxx but the buildings especially the central building would need to be rebuilt.  Think of the Metropolitan with stacked big box stores like Marshalls or Trader Joes.  

In terms of the talk of entertainment district on the practice fields and so forth I would ONLY be for that if a huge chunk is left as open space parks which this city is woefully short on. 

[kermit]

Yea, the husk of the epicenter is remarkably well-located for the post-virus era. If the free-market can't work its magic here, then I may be driven to socialism....

[SgtCampsalot]

19 hours ago, kermit said:

Yea, the husk of the epicenter is remarkably well-located for the post-virus era. If the free-market can't work its magic here, then I may be driven to socialism....

This! This tragic situation from Covid will finally give the Epi owners an easy opportunity to shift away from service/entertainment.  No excuse not to other than corporate bureaucracy failing at their jobs. 

The entire city/metro dislikes Epi; the public narrative is that it's too far gone and cannot be changed or saved, when just a shift in retailers/use is all it needs. 

[mad_park]

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/four-more-businesses-evicted-epicentre-charlotte/Q5UCDU6OURHJVC4MZ4X26KCJUE/?outputType=amp

Four more businesses evicted from the EpiCentre in Charlotte

Looks like Vault, the movie theater, Grabbagreen, and one other business are out. Shifting to office is going to be tough with the remote work trend that companies may be sticking with long term. 

[15895]

When I loved  in Charlotte as recently as 3 years ago, it was still the place to be. (SouthEnd and NoDa too) 
 

A place where people took light rail, got off to the big lights and bustling “New York” type vibes (I heard that often). People would go to the movies and really spend a long time there. UNCC students flooded the line to Epicenter. 
 

Even before the pandemic, to my surprise, people were advocating to tear it down. From casual observance, it seems a combination of young folk being to woke and hip not to go and older office workers feeling unsafe by the neighboring bus station. 
 

I’m very confused why young people love to live uptown but they literally spend absolute 0 time there. Even at catalyst, my friend goes out until 3am every night. He never ever stays in uptown. It’s 70% NoDa, 25% SouthEnd and 5% Plaza and somewhere far down on South Tryon where there are a few breweries. He even shops at Metropolitan for groceries. I mean, he spends 0 time in uptown other than to go to the parking deck or Starbucks. (But oddly, everyone is SO proud of the skyline and I hear so many young people constantly talk about being a big city because of the skyline, etc. but you all don’t like uptown so.....)

it’s actually very annoying. I know it’s the pandemic, but it’s quite obvious going to NoDa or SouthEnd or even here in DC, it - almost - feels normalish. I go to Charlotte often to see my boyfriend who lives in catalyst. It’s uncomfortable walking around uptown. His friend lives in Uptown 550 or whatever. Horrible walk. Romare Park is sketchy a lot of the times at night. I’ve literally seen gang fights (there was a fight earlier in the day. Police broke it up. Later that night, appeared two groups of people. 10 cop cars came, one yelled “you never seen black people disagree before”. And the cops left. As they were fighting...)

 

I know this is a long incoherent rambling rant that may be hard to follow. I’m not being one of those “oh I moved away to XYZ city and blah blah blah.” I’m just very annoyed at advocates of turning down my former hangout spot that I spent nearly a decade at having a good ole time waiting for more places in uptown. And now so many want it gone. Even wanting a Macy’s is just dumb to me. Who wants to go uptown for a Macy’s vs. a movie theater....

Anyway. Ignore me. 

Edited December 26, 2020 by AirNostrumMAD

[RANYC]

1 hour ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

When I loved  in Charlotte as recently as 3 years ago, it was still the place to be. (SouthEnd and NoDa too) 
 

A place where people took light rail, got off to the big lights and bustling “New York” type vibes (I heard that often). People would go to the movies and really spend a long time there. UNCC students flooded the line to Epicenter. 
 

Even before the pandemic, to my surprise, people were advocating to tear it down. From casual observance, it seems a combination of young folk being to woke and hip not to go and older office workers feeling unsafe by the neighboring bus station. 
 

I’m very confused why young people love to live uptown but they literally spend absolute 0 time there. Even at catalyst, my friend goes out until 3am every night. He never ever stays in uptown. It’s 70% NoDa, 25% SouthEnd and 5% Plaza and somewhere far down on South Tryon where there are a few breweries. He even shops at Metropolitan for groceries. I mean, he spends 0 time in uptown other than to go to the parking deck or Starbucks. (But oddly, everyone is SO proud of the skyline and I hear so many young people constantly talk about being a big city because of the skyline, etc. but you all don’t like uptown so.....)

it’s actually very annoying. I know it’s the pandemic, but it’s quite obvious going to NoDa or SouthEnd or even here in DC, it - almost - feels normalish. I go to Charlotte often to see my boyfriend who lives in catalyst. It’s uncomfortable walking around uptown. His friend lives in Uptown 550 or whatever. Horrible walk. Romare Park is sketchy a lot of the times at night. I’ve literally seen gang fights (there was a fight earlier in the day. Police broke it up. Later that night, appeared two groups of people. 10 cop cars came, one yelled “you never seen black people disagree before”. And the cops left. As they were fighting...)

 

I know this is a long incoherent rambling rant that may be hard to follow. I’m not being one of those “oh I moved away to XYZ city and blah blah blah.” I’m just very annoyed at advocates of turning down my former hangout spot that I spent nearly a decade at having a good ole time waiting for more places in uptown. And now so many want it gone. Even wanting a Macy’s is just dumb to me. Who wants to go uptown for a Macy’s vs. a movie theater....

Anyway. Ignore me. 

I appreciate your comments and candor. 

I moved to Charlotte in December 2018, and was referred to the Epicenter by work colleagues proposing places I should check out to get a feel for Charlotte.  One weekend, I did make my way to EpiCentre with friends visiting from out of town, and we all despised much of what we saw.  Number one was its design...which appeared to turn its back to the rest of Uptown and its streetscape...the design made this area aimed at urban amusement and engagement appear to be all too "contrived."  Number two, the patrons.  Just wasn't inviting.  We wound up in South End that same weekend.  Much more enjoyable time.

Edited December 26, 2020 by RANYC

[urbanlover568]

Epicenter is what grew Charlotte's metro. Most people can't afford to eat at Ruth Chris or The Capital Grille on a regular occasion.  Before epicenter, there was not a place to eat/work/and play in uptown. It was a sterilized office uptown.  I used to frequent Epidenter almost every other week and the eateries there were fantastic. Epicenters downfall was the spike in crime. My friend got brutally mugged by the bus station. In the new remote age, proximity to office space will not matter. It will be entertainment/things to do. NODA and Southpark will thrive. I wish Charlotte would adopt Durham or Asheville's urban planning strategies. 

[JRCLT]

Epicenter is what grew Charlotte's metro. Most people can't afford to eat at Ruth Chris or The Capital Grille on a regular occasion.  Before epicenter, there was not a place to eat/work/and play in uptown. It was a sterilized office uptown.  I used to frequent Epidenter almost every other week and the eateries there were fantastic. Epicenters downfall was the spike in crime. My friend got brutally mugged by the bus station. In the new remote age, proximity to office space will not matter. It will be entertainment/things to do. NODA and Southpark will thrive. I wish Charlotte would adopt Durham or Asheville's urban planning strategies. 

I heavily agree with you on that. There just isn’t any common “budget” retail or a much retail at all if we’re honest. There are no McDonald’s, Burger King, Cookout, fast food chains at least within the 277 ring. It’s hard to describe what uptown is missing because it does have restaurants and some retail. Perhaps it’s because they are higher end? I also think stores that are usually found at malls like south park that could be in uptown are absent so foot traffic is minimal. Since uptown is just an office park CBD with a little here and there definitely more interesting than other office parks I can see why uptown has sort of died during the pandemic. If no one works in those offices then there is not many reason to be there. The malls are a very suburban concept. South Park on the other hand is getting a lot of development and it is a sort of a shopping district with housing being built around it. It feels like Charlotte is very spread out and disconnected and those centers of activity are relatively far from each other in terms of pedestrian scale and limited transit. South Park doesn’t have a solid connection to uptown I’m terms of transit and I believe it’s a destination area.

I was hesitant in posting it considering it makes little since to me, but maybe some of you might understand at least somewhat of what I’m trying to say.

[urbanlover568]

4 minutes ago, JeanClt said:

I heavily agree with you on that. There just isn’t any common “budget” retail or a much retail at all if we’re honest. There are no McDonald’s, Burger King, Cookout, fast food chains at least within the 277 ring. It’s hard to describe what uptown is missing because it does have restaurants and some retail. Perhaps it’s because they are higher end? I also think stores that are usually found at malls like south park that could be in uptown are absent so foot traffic is minimal. Since uptown is just an office park CBD with a little here and there definitely more interesting than other office parks I can see why uptown has sort of died during the pandemic. If no one works in those offices then there is not many reason to be there. The malls are a very suburban concept. South Park on the other hand is getting a lot of development and it is a sort of a shopping district with housing being built around it. It feels like Charlotte is very spread out and disconnected and those centers of activity are relatively far from each other in terms of pedestrian scale and limited transit. South Park doesn’t have a solid connection to uptown I’m terms of transit and I believe it’s a destination area.

I was hesitant in posting it considering it makes little since to me, but maybe some of you might understand at least somewhat of what I’m trying to say.

I know many in uptown that only live there for work and go to NODA for entertainment. Remote work is changing everything. Those friends are relocating to more attractive areas in Charlotte or other cities ie. Asheville and Durham. NODA/University has light rail now and apartments are being built lightning fast. 

[SoDoSoPa]

12 minutes ago, JeanClt said:

South Park doesn’t have a solid connection to uptown I’m terms of transit and I believe it’s a destination area.
 

South Park has one of only three transit centers in Charlotte, I think it was the first one built here. 

[Desert Power]

16 hours ago, urbanlover568 said:

Epicenter is what grew Charlotte's metro. Most people can't afford to eat at Ruth Chris or The Capital Grille on a regular occasion.  Before epicenter, there was not a place to eat/work/and play in uptown. It was a sterilized office uptown.  I used to frequent Epidenter almost every other week and the eateries there were fantastic. Epicenters downfall was the spike in crime. My friend got brutally mugged by the bus station. In the new remote age, proximity to office space will not matter. It will be entertainment/things to do. NODA and Southpark will thrive. I wish Charlotte would adopt Durham or Asheville's urban planning strategies. 

There is a lot of problems with the epicenter, but it being next to that bus station doesn't help at all. Too many trouble makers like to congregate there. Combine it with drunk, easy targets next door....

24 minutes ago, JeanClt said:

There are no McDonald’s, Burger King, Cookout, fast food chains at least within the 277 ring.

There is a Burger King at the Transit Center and a Bojangles in the Convention Center I believe.

Edited December 27, 2020 by Desert Power

[JRCLT]

South Park has one of only three transit centers in Charlotte, I think it was the first one built here. 

Yeah I thought that would be brought up. People just don’t really like taking the bus. People have expressed their concern for the CTC, (a bus hub) in this thread and its correlation to violence. The Transit Center doesn’t help very much when it comes to connection IMO. I may be wrong, but I haven’t seen much bus activity or people riding the bus to go to the mall or other places in South Park. It may be just me though and I’m just not seeing the whole picture.

Also to answer another response in one quote: [mention]urbanlover568 [/mention]

Yeah I’m well aware of BLE connecting those areas. It’s a start in connecting Charlotte without a need to heavily rely on a car when your home is just nearby and a few minutes walk from a station.

Remote working is actually controversial from what I have hear though. Some people love it and others hate it. Productivity usually goes down when working from home. People like the separation of work and personal life. Where work can be a stressful task versus home more likely for relaxation. It just depends on the person and their job I guess. Some companies may change to remote because benefits outweigh the cons but I think others will return to offices as well.

There is a Burger King at the Transit Center and a Bojangles in the Convention Center I believe.

Really? Actually now that I recall I think there’s a Buffalo Wild Wings at NASCAR Plaza.


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[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

This thread is funny.  This is how I interpret some of these comments above. “Epicentre got ghetto”. 

People on here know my stance. I think the epicentre can still be revitalized. Prior to Covid, the owners were wanting a shift in tenants anyways.  This has only sped up the process. Renovate/makeover and rebrand. Change the epicentre name. 

What’s the timeline on the reimagined CTC vision. What about the Moxy hotel. Development will help that area.  Safety in numbers. The Epicentre is within eight plus hotels a block or so or less.  Closest venue to the arena.  Light rail stop.  I really bet everyone was salivating at the idea of this open air retail entertainment district at the beginning of this forum. It needs some TLC but back in it’s heyday, the energy/vibe was unmatched in Uptown. It was the most ubered pickup/drop off location in all of Charlotte one year. Whether you like the epicentre or not people visited this place a lot. I hope the owners are willing to put in the time and money to make this place an attraction again. Shops, restaurants, amenities. Stuff that is open during the day. Less clubs. Uptown’s workforce will come back. CEOs didn’t build towers to stay empty. WFH is a luxury/perk. 

Edited December 27, 2020 by CharlotteWkndBuzz

[urbanlover568]

1 hour ago, CharlotteWkndBuzz said:

This thread is funny.  This is how I interpret some of these comments above. “Epicentre got ghetto”. 

I don't think my friend being mugged and physically assaulted is funny. I know some businesses who made deliveries in the area told their drivers to be armed due to the crime.  The exodus of businesses started before COVID and unless the crime isn't addressed and dealt with, the exodus will likely continue. 

[SoDoSoPa]

3 hours ago, JeanClt said:

Yeah I thought that would be brought up. People just don’t really like taking the bus. People have expressed their concern for the CTC, (a bus hub) in this thread and its correlation to violence. The Transit Center doesn’t help very much when it comes to connection IMO. I may be wrong, but I haven’t seen much bus activity or people riding the bus to go to the mall or other places in South Park. It may be just me though and I’m just not seeing the whole picture.
 

I always see people waiting there, but it's mostly employees of the mall and surrounding areas.  I think that is where the disconnect is, public transit should be primarily for people to get to and from work.  You could make the argument for access to critical services as well, but mass transit's intended use isn't' really shopping.

Edited December 27, 2020 by SoDoSoPa

[SoDoSoPa]

1 hour ago, urbanlover568 said:

I don't think my friend being mugged and physically assaulted is funny. I know some businesses who made deliveries in the area told their drivers to be armed due to the crime.  The exodus of businesses started before COVID and unless the crime isn't addressed and dealt with, the exodus will likely continue. 

A quick look at https://www.crimemapping.com/ shows there are way more assaults and crime in the SP mall area than around the CTC.  I know that get's in the way of the narrative you are pushing, but take a look for yourself. 

[urbanlover568]

11 minutes ago, SoDoSoPa said:

A quick look at https://www.crimemapping.com/ shows there are way more assaults and crime in the SP mall area than around the CTC.  I know that get's in the way of the narrative you are pushing, but take a look for yourself. 

Feel free to visit Epicenter's remaining tenants if you want. I won't step foot in the area. Life is about choices, if you choose to go there, that is of your choosing. 

 

Epicentre has more violent crime than anywhere in Charlotte. Now, police plan changes.

Edited December 27, 2020 by urbanlover568

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

4 hours ago, urbanlover568 said:

I don't think my friend being mugged and physically assaulted is funny. I know some businesses who made deliveries in the area told their drivers to be armed due to the crime.  The exodus of businesses started before COVID and unless the crime isn't addressed and dealt with, the exodus will likely continue. 

Calm down, guy/gal...wasn’t aimed at you. I’ve had plenty of friends that have worked there over the years including one being mugged too. I know it’s serious. I’m just saying in this sensitive world we live in, ppl are being politically correct on here...just call it as it is and don’t beat around the bush. 
 

I agree with you, the problem started way before Covid. Hence my original comment the owners wanted to do transition tenants for a long time. Enso didn’t like where it was headed and got out early. Downhill ever since.