3rd Ward Midrise Projects

[Guest]

I honestly just can't get past the fact that someone developed podium parking in uptown. I just can't. It makes me IRRATE. If they had kept the stoops that were originally designed into this thing, I might calm down a little. But they didn't, Its a block long blank wall. I freaking hate it. The art is great, the landscape is okay, I'm happy that there will be benches. But for christ sakes, how come Morehead can get an interesting streetscape and Uptown freaking Charlotte cannot.

 

[dcharlotte]

12 minutes ago, Jayvee said:

The developer created a great place for the homeless to sleep on the left. Horrible design. 

[CLT2014]

Yeah, so I'll probably never walk over there. What an ugly block. I'd rather live by Gateway I think. Those are basically on their own random island of no activity unless there is a Panthers or Knights game. 

Also, a 1/1 unit is leasing for $1,700 to $1,950 at this place.... yeah, I think I'd rather buy than watch my rent go up 10% per year at this over priced place. Great spot for the banker post-college crowd for their two year stint and signing bonus when they feeling like they are rolling in cash.

Edited March 8, 2016 by CLT2014

[SgtCampsalot]

The developments around the stadium seem to believe that there's no point in adding anything to their own block because it's next to a stadium. 

[Prodev]

I have no issues whatsoever with this project. It was a surface lot that is somewhat disconnected from the rest of uptown. I don't think it's realistic to think this should have had retail on the ground floor. There's very little foot traffic here with the exception of gamedays and the people that park in the surface lots next door. Until the rest of these surface lots go away uptown, it's unrealistic to expect every project to be high rise. 

[Guest]

47 minutes ago, Prodev said:

I have no issues whatsoever with this project. It was a surface lot that is somewhat disconnected from the rest of uptown. I don't think it's realistic to think this should have had retail on the ground floor. There's very little foot traffic here with the exception of gamedays and the people that park in the surface lots next door. Until the rest of these surface lots go away uptown, it's unrealistic to expect every project to be high rise. 

Never said it had to be high-rise. Its a big enough site, that it just shouldn't have been podium, and at the very least, the stoops should have remained. There should be glass, and varying materials on the ground floor. A big expanse of brick/stone, even if it is somewhat interactive and interesting, is a no no. The spaces around it are going to fill up eventually. While the building is nice from the 2nd to the 6th. The street front is going to be a missed opportunity forever.

[kermit]

^ Agree, the topography created by the elevated tracks at the rear of the site make the podium facing Graham inexecusible. They  could have easily built a two story deck / podium thing on the track side of the structure.

[Prodev]

53 minutes ago, kermit said:

^ Agree, the topography created by the elevated tracks at the rear of the site make the podium facing Graham inexecusible. They  could have easily built a two story deck / podium thing on the track side of the structure.

The podium doesn't face a particular street. It covers the entire site and I'm guessing the topo was partially why they decided to do podium versus wrap, with the other reason being the density. The site is really only 1.8 acres after the MLK ROW dedication, so wrap product would have only gotten them between 180-200 units versus the 243 they built. I'm not saying the project is perfect, but I think there are far more offensive projects out there. 

[UPNoDa]

Not necessarily a midrise project but does anyone know what they are building over at Charlotte Pipe in 3rd Ward on S Clarkson and Post St?

[Guest]

Just now, UPNoDa said:

Not necessarily a midrise project but does anyone know what they are building over at Charlotte Pipe in 3rd Ward on S Clarkson and Post St?

Storage yard for Pipe and Foundry. :-( 

Having gotten to see the Beazer plans years ago, I wish that they hadn't have been a step above "Criminal enterprise" and actually a good company. It would be so nice to have a 1st Ward Garden District type project in this area, it would have been an awesome asset for uptown and added over 1,000 residents to uptown.

Edited April 18, 2016 by Guest

[Deleted.]

4 minutes ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

Storage yard for Pipe and Foundry. :-( 

Having gotten to see the Beazer plans years ago, I wish that they hadn't have been a step above "Criminal enterprise" and actually a good company. It would be so nice to have a 1st Ward Garden District type project in this area, it would have been an awesome asset for uptown and added over 1,000 residents to uptown.

What are the Beazer plans? 

 

Is there ever a chance Charlotte Pipe and Foundry will ever be redeveloped?

[Niner National]

2 minutes ago, Piedmont767 said:

What are the Beazer plans? 

 

Is there ever a chance Charlotte Pipe and Foundry will ever be redeveloped?

I doubt it honestly. Moving a factory like that would cost an insane amount of money.

[Spartan]

On 3/6/2016 at 5:34 PM, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

I honestly just can't get past the fact that someone developed podium parking in uptown. I just can't. It makes me IRRATE. If they had kept the stoops that were originally designed into this thing, I might calm down a little. But they didn't, Its a block long blank wall. I freaking hate it. The art is great, the landscape is okay, I'm happy that there will be benches. But for christ sakes, how come Morehead can get an interesting streetscape and Uptown freaking Charlotte cannot.

 

^^This. 

On 3/7/2016 at 8:33 AM, Prodev said:

I have no issues whatsoever with this project. It was a surface lot that is somewhat disconnected from the rest of uptown. I don't think it's realistic to think this should have had retail on the ground floor. There's very little foot traffic here with the exception of gamedays and the people that park in the surface lots next door. Until the rest of these surface lots go away uptown, it's unrealistic to expect every project to be high rise. 

You're right. Retail in this location would be a terrible idea. The distinction is not that it lacks retail, but that it lacks an active ground-floor use which can come in the form of residential units that have stoops with direct access to the street. The art and landscaping is nice, but at the end of the day it's still a large wall.

[Finkle]

Charlotte Pipe is building a training center on the property, they cannot do outdoor storage on that piece of property.

[Nick2]

Circa Charlotte has awesome views of uptown. It's a shame something taller didn't go here.

300 S Tryon and Ascent are pretty imposing from this angle. Is ascent topped out? If not, how close is it?

 

[NCMike1990]

17 minutes ago, Nick2 said:

Is ascent topped out? If not, how close is it?

Ascent topped out in July. More info here: https://www.multihousingnews.com/post/greystar-tops-off-mixed-use-development-in-charlotte/

[Matthew.Brendan]

4 hours ago, Nick2 said:

t's a shame something taller didn't go here.

Same can be said for pretty much everything recently built!

[AuLukey]

18 hours ago, Matthew.Brendan said:

Same can be said for pretty much everything recently built!

Charlotte doesn't need height.  It needs density.  This isn't Dubai or Manhattan where showing off is at a premium.  There is a TON of vacant (parking lot) land in uptown now.  So there isn't a demand for taller structures.  Our only real "tall" buildings were built by mega corporations that needed to assert their dominance.  Large corporations are beginning to sway away from that in favor of suburban sprawl.  I expect that Wachovia's decision to build that tower (now the DEC) was only a small hint of their ultimate demise to come.  It was an unnecessary luxury they afforded themselves after having reaped the rewards, and then the consequences, of flimsy lending. 

I don't anticipate another "tall" building in the next decade.  The Vue was an anomaly and it was lucky to have fully survived its construction; it barely hung on by a thread.  Our other taller building during the last boom was Two Ten Trade, which is now (finally) a ho-hum hotel building.  With HB2 continuing to tear away at Charlotte's desirability for large events, i would anticipate a steep decline in the demand for new hotel towers, so no mega-tall convention hotel will be in the works until after that debacle has finally been settled.

Uptown will continue to fill in and expand outward with more economically sized towers until most, if not all, of the vacant land is filled in.  Then, and only then, do I expect to see larger buildings taking over the place of smaller ones (The Mint, please please please start with The Mint!)  There just isn't any rationality to build tall when you can build out at this point.  Once the noose of 277 has been filled in, then we'll talk.  In the meantime, I'll accept any building at or over 5 stories that is of reasonable quality materials, has retail at the base, addresses the safety and needs of pedestrians, and follows the appropriate flow of our urban landscape.

[RiverwoodCLT]

 When you spend 5 to 10 million  for a building site, you have to build high rises because to build a 5 story building on 1 small 5 million site, it can not bring enough money to pay for the project.

Edited September 23, 2016 by RiverwoodCLT

[elrodvt]

2 hours ago, AuLukey said:

In the meantime, I'll accept any building at or over 5 stories that is of reasonable quality materials, has retail at the base, addresses the safety and needs of pedestrians, and follows the appropriate flow of our urban landscape.

I agree but believe the reason the buildings stop at 5-6 stories is exactly because they are not of good quality. Good is in the eye of the beholder I suppose but they are wood frame and from personal experience of much lower acoustic quality than concrete.

[AuLukey]

I agree but believe the reason the buildings stop at 5-6 stories is exactly because they are not of good quality. Good is in the eye of the beholder I suppose but they are wood frame and from personal experience of much lower acoustic quality than concrete.

Oh I totally agree. MOST stick built (aka 5 and under) development is useless garbage. However, quality materials CAN be used inside and out to establish a quality development in my mind. That's why I had a list of criterion that I expect each box to be checked off on. That is, in a perfect world.

But, being stick built allows for a cheaper price tag down the road --to make way for a larger structure-- both in purchase price and demo. IMO non-stick-built structures stand a much lower chance of ever being demolished, which is a shame if the development was designed irresponsibly.

[cjd5050]

9 hours ago, AuLukey said:

But, being stick built allows for a cheaper price tag down the road --to make way for a larger structure-- both in purchase price and demo. IMO non-stick-built structures stand a much lower chance of ever being demolished, which is a shame if the development was designed irresponsibly.

 

Interesting perspective.   

I wonder what the ROI lifecycle looks like for a stick built 5 story apartment building looks like.  How many years does it take for the developer to return a profit and at what point does it make sense to look at a demo and rebuild.

[caterpillar2]

After so many stories (I believe in Charlotte it's 6), floors must be concrete. That adds a lot to the cost, but the lack of footfall noise certainly makes it worth while. 

 

[KJHburg]

Beacon Partners  bought Cedar Hill Building at 800 W Hill Street. http://www.costar.com/News/Article/Beacon-Partners-Acquires-Historic-Cedar-Hill-Building/185462

[CLTProductions]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/development/article107573077.html

 

YESSS this is amazing

Edited October 12, 2016 by Jayvee