3rd Ward Midrise Projects

[dubone]

It looks like they held a logo design contest, so I guess it is a local non-chain hibachi place. If it is good and closer to a Kabuto than a Maki at the Mall then I'm happy and will actually go.

[atlrvr]

Childress Klein has put it's apartment project for the surface lot at W MLK and Mint St into the permitting phase. This is the site where the TWELVE hotel was originally planned by Novare and fronts the new park.

Building elevations show 21 floors (1 lobby level, 5 levels of parking, 1 club level, 14 levels of apartments). The good news is the parking garage levels will have units facing the park, so no exposed parking deck from the front of the building (similar to The VUE).

Building height is 227' to the roof plus another 8' or so of screening cornice, so about 235' total. So it will visually be a step down from Catalyst which is 27 stories and 372', but certainly not short.

Building has first 2 floors of cast stone/brick then the rest is stucco, I think similar to what 330 S Tryon uses. Top 3 floors are a different shade.

No retail which is a huge shame, though there are going to be 372 units, which is a lot of people. That is going to be a very active park.

[ah59396]

Any renderings available?

[HopHead]

Can't complain about the size of that building. With 372 new units in that block you would have to think that the retail spot in the parking deck HAS to now fill up sometime soon. Always thought that would be a killer spot for a sports bar, especially on Panthers (any maybe on day, Knights) game days.

[Guest]

Can't complain about the size of that building. With 372 new units in that block you would have to think that the retail spot in the parking deck HAS to now fill up sometime soon. Always thought that would be a killer spot for a sports bar, especially on Panthers (any maybe on day, Knights) game days.

It was supposed to be the new Picassos at one point.

[HopHead]

It was supposed to be the new Picassos at one point.

That's what I thought too... Obviously that fell through for one reason or another (I'm guessing maybe the delay in the park/baseball stadium and no hotel in the Novare developmen). I'd like to see Picasso's there still. I think it's an underrated sports bar (love their pizza and wings).

[49er]

I always thought Charlotte had a first floor retail requirement for new construction. Does the rest of the block exempt this building?

[Guest]

I think leasing office would count sadly

[dubone]

After reading earlier the reference to 14-story apartments in the CBJ, I was concerned it was an underuse of the land. 21 stories seems reasonable, and I am glad they are moving forward with basically a high rise apartment building. I like that it will step down slightly but not be dwarfed by Catalyst.

372 units is good news and certainly makes sure that Bearden Park is activated, and helps adds to the community supporting Brevard Court/Latta Arcade, and other South Tryon restaurants and amenities.

If they are going with real stucco, it will hopefully look better than the Hampton Inn on Caldwell I'm picturing with that description.

[atlrvr]

I don't really have the rendering to share, and what I saw was grainy black and white. The closest building to it aesthetically is 230 S Tryon, though probably closer in color scheme to Royal Court (brick base, medium stucco mid, and lighter stucco top floors). Ground floor will actually be a leasing office and then a bunch of sample floor plan units used for prospective residents to view. There are lots of buildings in Buckhead that look like this, which makes sense since the architect is RJT+R out of Atlanta.

[ah59396]

^ Thanks!

[yorkconstruct]

Let me help you guys out. Follow this link http://www.plans-online.com/project_detail.php?proj=6757. You can find 50% CDs (construction documents) here.

[ah59396]

wow this site is awesome. That building is a monster.

[Guest]

Edited May 17, 2012 by Guest

[Norm2]

It is nice to see proposals for massive buildings again on here!

[atlrvr]

Thanks for posting.....much better than the scan of a scan versions that I saw, but definitely consistent with what I had seen.

[HopHead]

The building isn't anything fancy, but I kind of like it. Now if 3rd Ward could get one or two more buildings like this, that would really add to the uptown population and pedestrian activity.

[tiblerbrit]

Looks like the middle sections of the building might be brick. I really hope so. In the construction documents it said 3-coat stucco would also be used (just didn't specify which floors), which is the higher quality stuff. Did someone who looked more extensively at the documents figure out if the building will be majority brick or stucco?

[atlrvr]

Yes....the bottom two floors are stamped panels that simulate brick/stone. Everything above is 3-coat stucco. The only difference between the middle and top 3 floors is a color change, but both are 3-coat stucco.

[dubone]

I didn't realize that the width of that lot would allow for such a squarish building at 21 stories. I think the traditional elements are fairly classy, and certainly is much more massive than I was imagining.

This seems like a great project to fill out the southwest side of the park, albeit with a lack of street retail.

[DCMetroRaleigh]

I am stoked for this project! Let the center city construction revival begin!

[dubone]

It is exiting to see urban apartments being approved and ready to go.

There used to be lots of talk of 'when will Charlotte get high rise apartments'. Obvious Catalyst was the first, but this will now be the first purposely built to be apartments. This trend is positive as long as our society stays in this mode of a higher percentage of population renting over buying. It is nice to see things just pop out of no where and suddenly they are being built.

I hope 3rd Ward and other uptown areas have reached a tipping point of livability that other dense apartment projects will be able to put up and be absorbed into the market, and not just parcels that were previously identified for stalled condo projects. There are quite a few prime parcels around the park and ballpark, but also in other parts of downtown.

[49er]

It's a great building, but I'm going to stop holding my breath for a retail renaissance downtown. Charlotte continues to allow for mega projects such as this to be built without future consideration for retail uses at street level. It has always been my understanding that there was a retail requirement in the UMUD, but maybe that was satisfied with the remainder of the block.

[Guest]

Actually UMUD's retail requirement is met by the leasing office which is considered retail. With that said, should this go Condo in the future, the leasing office could easily be retrofitted to be street level retail.

[dubone]

As long as the space is there on the ground floor, economics will drive a conversion at some point over the coming decades. Far better than the parking decks on the ground that are hard to retrofit. Although a key to the longterm ability to convert to retail will be a highish ceiling, so hopefully they include that.

I'm nervous that the stadium will forego street retail, and become yet another superblock institutional building that stops momentum. If these people have to get out and drive for basic neighborhood services, it will be a loss to the potential of the neighborhood.

Obviously, there are a lot of those neighborhood services already nearby toward Tryon (Rite [sic] Aid, dry cleaners, casual and upscale restaurants), so it isn't really a complete loss.