3rd Ward Midrise Projects

[U4ick]

Nice progress! My money is on being topped-out shortly after Memorial Day and

100% glass installation by July 4th?!?!

Bring on the rendering of TWELVE Novare!!!

[grodney]

they are doing foundation work currently, correct?

Not much. They are slowly digging out the old foundation walls from the previous building. Haven't seen anything else, other than the occasional pushing around of dirt.

[TONYCLT]

Taken Today:

If you look at the last plywood door it says 22 so they are currently on the 26th floor.

The Parking deck

[JerseyBoy]

What happens to the skywalk? Will they take it down or connect it to the new office tower?

[Andyc545]

Photo update:

Tower and Parking Garage (Notice how it is open like that at the end, they still have more to do on the garage- in fact I saw the footers going almost all the way to Mint St, so yes- this garage will be right up against the road.

Uptown in the background:

This is the footings for the retail that is in the bottom of the garage. Notice how there is a wall partitioning it from where the parking takes place:

If you are interested, I took a ton of construction photos here today. Check them out...

[atlrvr]

In the Charlotte Magazine article about Wachovia, there was a small blurb about Twelve with the author mentioning that Novare hoped to break ground in 2009. I wonder if they was straight from Novare's mouth, or if was conjecture on the author's part?

[dubone]

It would make sense if they did, considering they'd be wrapping up Catalyst at that time, and they seem to be on the path of doing one after another. Catalyst seems like it will be the one hit by the current market, but TWELVE, if they start next year, would have sales happening late that year and 2010, when we should expect the economy will be back to growing.

[83alphaunder]

So Half of the 27th floor is up now so we are a couple days away from the residential part being completely topped off. All we have left is like 1 floor on the sides and 1.5-2 floors in the middle of decoration, at least from what I understand of the renderings. So my question is, when are they going to start selling these condos exactly? I guess this is as close to spec tower as charlotte can get.

[JonesQC]

So Half of the 27th floor is up now so we are a couple days away from the residential part being completely topped off. All we have left is like 1 floor on the sides and 1.5-2 floors in the middle of decoration, at least from what I understand of the renderings. So my question is, when are they going to start selling these condos exactly? I guess this is as close to spec tower as charlotte can get.

My source tells me the the Sales Center is opening up June 21st.

[PwC Keith]

My source tells me the the Sales Center is opening up June 21st.

If the sales center opens June 21st how long will it be until they start taking sales? The Sales Center was open for a few months before they did the lottery for sales. I would think they'd want to show off some of the options before starting to take deposits, but thats just my thoughts.

[sleightofhand]

Just got this.

We have some exciting news to share with you - the Catalyst Sales Center is set to open and we will begin selling homes on June 21st!

Construction began at the site in 2007, and we are on schedule to complete the building in late 2008 with move-ins beginning in early 2009. The sales office is located at 222 S. Church St. and will feature a full-size model of a one-bedroom home, where you will be able to experience first-hand what a Catalyst home will be like. Soaring ten-foot ceilings, sweeping floor-to-ceiling windows, contemporary finishes, innovative technology, Whirlpool

[Charlotteman]

..... what a Catalyst home will be like. Soaring ten-foot ceilings, sweeping floor-to-ceiling windows, contemporary finishes, innovative technology, Whirlpool

[ES Charlotte]

Sounds great. But I hope Novare doesn't repeat those hideous cement ceilings a la Avenue.

And while cement was/is an issue at the Avenue, am I the only one that thinks the exterior of Catalyst rather resembles a gray, grimy commie block building? For goodness sakes I hope they paint that raw cement.

I guess you havent been to Atlanta lately. Its EVERYWHERE Novare is!

[grodney]

I was walking down MLK today and saw the hand-painted sign on the top floor that says "27". I hadn't seen these mentioned before (so sorry if I missed it), but it looks like on the OxBlue that they've been doing it to display the floor number they are working on. You have to zoom in on the top-right of the building, and then you'll see it. Floors like 17 and 19 (in March) are much easier to read than the 27.

Is this just for the webcam, or would there be some other purpose?

[JBGB]

Sounds great. But I hope Novare doesn't repeat those hideous cement ceilings a la Avenue.

And while cement was/is an issue at the Avenue, am I the only one that thinks the exterior of Catalyst rather resembles a gray, grimy commie block building? For goodness sakes I hope they paint that raw cement.

I for one love cement ceilings. My wife and I stay at the Tweleve hotel in Atlanta everytime we go and I think the cement ceilings are great.

[83alphaunder]

I for one love cement ceilings. My wife and I stay at the Tweleve hotel in Atlanta everytime we go and I think the cement ceilings are great.

I don't know how anyone could love "cement" ceilings. Speaking that cement is the aggregate part of the mixture that after water (in the case of hydraulic cement) is applied and it is poured, it sits, cures and hardens making concrete, I don't think cement ceilings would be very sturdy. I'm fairly certain its the Concrete ceilings that you guys do not like. I for one don't mind them, I think they are very industrial, minimal, and interesting. Concrete rooms do a pretty good job holding a nice steady temperature as well.

[Mobuchu]

Yeah, I personally love the exposed concrete. I know some dont like it, but the majority of the people I have spoken to in Ave like it. It gives a little more of a modern look to the units. Exposed concrete finishes have recently been highlighted in magazines like Dwell and Metropolis that celebrate modern and green design.

[grodney]

I don't know how anyone could love "cement" ceilings. Speaking that cement is the aggregate part of the mixture that after water (in the case of hydraulic cement) is applied and it is poured, it sits, cures and hardens making concrete, I don't think cement ceilings would be very sturdy. I'm fairly certain its the Concrete ceilings that you guys do not like.

Cement:

Definition 1a at m-w.com is "CONCRETE".

Definition 1c in the online American Heritage is "Concrete".

Technically correcct? Maybe not. Used and accepted? Yep. Perhaps this is one of those cases where something was mis-used long enough that the mis-use became accepted. I don't know. If it is, well, it's not great, but it happens.

I kind of like concrete ceilings, but I've never had to live with one. I think Catalyst sure has the potential to be the same as Avenue.

Edited June 5, 2008 by grodney

[83alphaunder]

Cement:

Definition 1a at m-w.com is "CONCRETE".

Definition 1c in the online American Heritage is "Concrete".

Technically correcct? Maybe not. Used and accepted? Yep. Perhaps this is one of those cases where something was mis-used long enough that the mis-use became accepted. I don't know. If it is, well, it's not great, but it happens.

I kind of like concrete ceilings, but I've never had to live with one. I think Catalyst sure has the potential to be the same as Avenue.

Just trying to be a little bit obnoxious. On another note, to people who have lived in Avenue and other places that do have the exposed concrete, are there any restrictions to hanging things from the concrete, Pictures, Fans, etc. I am very interested in Catalyst and if that is the case are there going to be any restrictions. Granted I realize it is your own condo.

[dubone]

The sales people at Ave said that you can hang stuff in the concrete, but there are rules as to the depth you can go into the concrete.

In the units I went into, the vertical concrete space was not too bad, since it was usually just a select wall or two that ends up just looking like a focal point. I've heard that you can put a layer of sealer or polyurethane on it and it looks a lot more polished and intentional. The ceilings are harder to love, because they have the plywood pattern in them and unlike the walls, were not sanded down and smoothed by Novare. I think they are one of those things that fit with a younger demographic that may be more accepting of the loft-like or modern styles. Concrete is at least a real and solid material, whereas drywall is just paper and a chalky mineral.

I can see it both ways on the ceilings, but the random concrete walls I think are a very good thing.

On the outside, how does the exposed concrete look after, say, five years? Does anyone from other cities like Atlanta have pictures to show? Is it one of those things where concrete ages relatively well, whereas painted surfaces deteriorate?

[JonesQC]

The Catalyst website has been updated with a few renditions" of the pooldeck, clubroom, and lobby. All which are fairly on par with the Avenue IMHO. I wish they had a rendering of what the workout room will be like.

Pool:

Lobby:

Clubroom:

[AuLukey]

Pool:

Is it just me or does the building look like it's painted yellow? I'm assuming it's just lighting, but that color yellow would make this building stand out a little bit more. And I'm not sure if that's in a bad way or not!

[Charlotteman]

Is it just me or does the building look like it's painted yellow? I'm assuming it's just lighting, but that color yellow would make this building stand out a little bit more. And I'm not sure if that's in a bad way or not....

I agree. The soft yellow hue shown on these renderings is quite pleasant!

At least it doesn't look like a swimming deck from a 1950s Moscow building..lol The commie block-esque concrete as seen on the Catalyst might be interesting to some people, but to me it's just damned ugly.

sidenote: not meaning to step on anyone's toes, as hopefully everyone knows I love all ya'll. But do we have to waste posts on sophomoric arguments about whether the ceilings at Avenue are cement or concrete? The average Joe on the street uses the two words interchangeably.....just my 2 cents.

[SentioVenia]

Floorplans are now posted on the Catalyst website here.

[joshuacc]

I also love the concrete, the granite is terrible though. That super busy granite to me is just incredibly tacky. It's for sure the Hummer and Louis Vuitton of countertops. I guess it's all just a matter of personal taste.

I really like what Ray Kappe does with concrete, livinghomes.net has some good examples.