210 Trade | EpiCentre

[HopHead]

Don't know if this may be a sign of good things to come in the near future, but the 210 Trade crane has started moving again after many days of staying in the same spot.

That site has been a ghost town for a while. It was probably just the wind blowing it

[KulBC]

Not sure if this is of any relavance to anyone, but I was on emporis yesterday and noticed that they have 210 trade listed as on hold. Obviously this is the case, the question now is how long will it be on hold?

[Neo]

Not sure if this is of any relavance to anyone, but I was on emporis yesterday and noticed that they have 210 trade listed as on hold. Obviously this is the case, the question now is how long will it be on hold?

This is not a question as it was answered in the last few pages of this thread.

[83alphaunder]

Don't know if this may be a sign of good things to come in the near future, but the 210 Trade crane has started moving again after many days of staying in the same spot.

Actually you are not going crazy. It has been moving. They are completing the curve of the amenities deck if you look at the webcam. However they are not working on the tower itself. We got another few weeks before all he problems get resolved on the tower.

[Appetite for Construction]

Well, after a month and a half, not much has been done on the pedestrian bridge connecting EpiCentre to the LRT station, but this morning there were several workers on the bridge. Hopefully they'll get the bridge open soon ...

[HopHead]

Looks like they are on the final floor for Aloft...

[gamecocksfan]

I have been waiting for the announcement of what would replace Fox Sports Grill. For a while we played the guessing game, but still no answer. Has anybody heard anything else?

[DealMan]

The tenant that is currently proposed to go into the Fox Sports Grill space has not executed a lease deal, however if you scroll back through the pages their name is included in the group of tenants that has been listed.

[nyxmike]

The tenant that is currently proposed to go into the Fox Sports Grill space has not executed a lease deal, however if you scroll back through the pages their name is included in the group of tenants that has been listed.

Howl at the Moon??

[HopHead]

Thought it was interesting that even ESPN took the time to do a little blurb on Whisky River: Earnhardt sets bar high with grand opening of Charlotte nightclub.

I think the picture at the top with the belt buckles is pretty cool.

[Andyc545]

Looks like Howl at the Moon will be opening on June 5, 2008 officially. You can see construction photos of their space here.

Edited April 16, 2008 by Andyc545

[Commoner]

It looks like some kind of invite-only event is going on at Epicentre tonight. Anybody have any details?

[Appetite for Construction]

It looks like some kind of invite-only event is going on at Epicentre tonight. Anybody have any details?

The event is going on at Whisky River; went after work to check the place out and was told that a private party was going on tonight. Looked like a pretty big deal, red carpet was rolled out from the escalator to College Street. Maybe Junior is hosting some of his friends at the bar before the grand opening?

[Spartan]

Well, after a month and a half, not much has been done on the pedestrian bridge connecting EpiCentre to the LRT station, but this morning there were several workers on the bridge. Hopefully they'll get the bridge open soon ...

Yeah, I'm sick of walking on the street. All those people walking around, having to cross the street at intersections, the sun, and the lack of air conditioning. The horror.

[Guest]

Yeah, I'm sick of walking on the street. All those people walking around, having to cross the street at intersections, the sun, and the lack of air conditioning. The horror.

All the Pedibridges are outdoors for epicenter... I do agree that the idea of pedibridges are stupid, but the one from LRT is neccessary. Take that out and people have to walk down the stairs toward the arena, walk accross the street, and then walk up a lot of stairs. I understand that shouldn't be that tough, but long walks to get places is definately a deterent to people. Honestly the most visible exit from CTC will be this pedi bridge, and it will do a nice job feeding people through epicenter. Lets not forget that epicenter is going to be a much more attractive walk than walking down the arena steps and straight up trade street.

Edited April 17, 2008 by Guest

[Spartan]

Ok the one from the LRT is essential, and I applaud the good folks at the Epicentre/210 Trade for finding an exception to my anti-ped bridge policy. The odds of this needing to be repeated anywhere in the city are virtually no existant. There is still the one going across College St, and that one should be removed, and my comments above apply to it

[monsoon]

....Lets not forget that epicenter is going to be a much more attractive walk than walking down the arena steps and straight up trade street.

Isn't this the fundamental design flaw that Charlotte keeps making over and over. Except for a few blocks on N. Tryon, Charlotte lacks any kind of real stroll district. Trade street is one of Charlotte's premier streets yet one that has been converted over the last 30 years despite billions of dollars of redevelopment into a street that is a pretty dismal place to walk down from a pedestrian point of view.

[Guest]

Ok the one from the LRT is essential, and I applaud the good folks at the Epicentre/210 Trade for finding an exception to my anti-ped bridge policy. The odds of this needing to be repeated anywhere in the city are virtually no existant. There is still the one going across College St, and that one should be removed, and my comments above apply to it

With exception of the the air conditioning comment, unless they have some sort of outdoor AC. While I definately oppose the idea of pedibridges, its better than Nascar Hall of Fame's double decker. I just hope they'll get an idea from this and add a bottom floor door below it as well. Oh how I hate that side of Bofa Plaza.

[Guest]

Isn't this the fundamental design flaw that Charlotte keeps making over and over. Except for a few blocks on N. Tryon, Charlotte lacks any kind of real stroll district. Trade street is one of Charlotte's premier streets yet one that has been converted over the last 30 years despite billions of dollars of redevelopment into a street that is a pretty dismal place to walk down from a pedestrian point of view.

Don't even get me started on Trade Street. For being one of the two original important streets in charlotte, it really is an awful place. And all they keep doing is adding single use structures along the street. It will definately get more dense with the Federal Courthouse, Arena Hotel, Ritz, 210 but they need to put their foot down and demand pedestrian scale features.

Charlotte's blocks of single use structures with glass walls fronting the street have always bothered me. Even Tryon in all its wide side walked glory has little going on south of the square. Hopefully the Ritz and Epicenter will help change the fabric of trade street. They are planning to have retail on all four sides of college and trade, so that should definately be a big step in the right direction.

[dubone]

If rumors are true that the Omni will attempt to open up their street level somehow, and if the redesign of Founder's Hall's facade goes well, then East Trade could be helped considerably. I think the Epicentre/Ritz block will end up being decent, but certainly not a model to follow. There is a fundamental conflict between the type of slope present on E Trade and singly-developed blocks. It becomes almost impossible to do the structural elements necessary for a block-large project while fitting in human scale retail along the street. I think they are at least decent, because you do have multiple places to access retail from that street, but it is not directly at street level due to the deck.

The issue is that when we have awesome human scale street fronts, they get wiped out. The arena project didn't even pretend to want to save those century old storefronts, or any element of them. They just became landfill. The remaining ones across the street had major controversy when CATS agreed to rent the space because of the rate (slightly higher due to the upfit necessary in an old building).

While the arena did try to provide that type of retail and frontage along Trade, it just has no way of competing with the authenticity of those old individual storefronts, and of course, the result is a rather uninteresting place.

Epicentre has done a whole lot wrong, but they have come closer to getting it right than many other places, and many of the things they did wrong were things you can understand how they might evolve to get there.

They need to encourage as many kiosks in this area as possible to help add back the street level interest.

[Spartan]

While the arena did try to provide that type of retail and frontage along Trade, it just has no way of competing with the authenticity of those old individual storefronts, and of course, the result is a rather uninteresting place.

Whats frustrating to me is that the row of restaurant(s) underneath the Arena could easily be improved to feel less bland, if only they would take some queues from Europe. I think restaurant owners in this country are thrown off by wide sidewalks. They can't handle anything over 6'. The tables there just need to be pushed a little closer together, and "walled in" to create a more well defined space. Perhaps some small potted shrubs or a low fence of some kind. Then if Dunkin would do the same, and that other burger joint (if it ever opens) will follow suit you could have a pretty decent street in that area. The fact that there used to be more authentic buildings there doesn't surprise me. This town loves to tear down old things more than any place I've ever been.

What Epicentre has done, is the same mistake that everyone makes, and that is making this thing focus totally on itself. It doesn't appear to embrace the street at the level I think we'd all like to see. It ignores Trade St, which is a major flaw. Obviously the hill there makes an unusual contraint, but that kind of thing can be worked around. I suppose College Street will be decent enough, except for that damned ped bridge.

[tiblerbrit]

Well the Business Journal confirms today that a two story, 11,000 sq ft retail space will be created in the base of Charlotte Plaza at the corner of College and Trade. It is currently being marketed by CBRE.

[HopHead]

Well the Business Journal confirms today that a two story, 11,000 sq ft retail space will be created in the base of Charlotte Plaza at the corner of College and Trade. It is currently being marketed by CBRE.

Any thought what kind of retail may be going in that space? That square footage is probably too small for a B&N or Borders.

[Raintree21]

Whats frustrating to me is that the row of restaurant(s) underneath the Arena could easily be improved to feel less bland, if only they would take some queues from Europe. I think restaurant owners in this country are thrown off by wide sidewalks. They can't handle anything over 6'. The tables there just need to be pushed a little closer together, and "walled in" to create a more well defined space. Perhaps some small potted shrubs or a low fence of some kind.

Are there any city ordinances that prevent this? Something saying you can't block the sidewalks or place anything further than a certain distance out onto the sidewalk? Perhaps that is what is preventing "sidewalk cafes."

[dubone]

Absolutely there are, just view the streetscape standards thread. http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/Uptown-C...tsc-t45909.html

But there are still allowances for a fairly large cafe section on wide sidewalks. I think Spartan is referring to coraling them in the same spacial area, but making them feel more like they are in a place rather than just exposed to the massive corridor.

I am very happy that Charlotte Plaza is participating in the goals to get office tower lobbies converted to retail. That amount of lobby space takes money to heat and cool, but serves no real purpose. If you have a very modestly sized lobby, and put in retail space on the leftover space, you end up with something that generates activity, rent and interest in the building. I'm glad that College street is going down that path. It could make a massive difference compared to what is there now.