Triad Tower

[cityboi]

I would much rather see this building built downtown but I guess its better than nothing at all. They are expecting alot of growth in the airport area with the opening of the FedEx Hub so it doesnt surprise me that developers want more office space in the airport area which is being dubbed as the "Triad's downtown"

I do find it strange though how the tower will be between the flight paths of the current runway and the future runway for FedEx. Keep in mind, while the tower is officially planned to be 14-stories, the plan could change to 25-stories depending on interest in the project. That would almost double the height of the building thats in the rendering.

check out this link to see a virtual tour 3d animation. Check out the promotional 3d animation link too. They are pretty cool animations.

http://www.triadtower.com/features.html#

[sax184]

I would much rather see this building built downtown but I guess its better than nothing at all.

Actually, it's worse than nothing, and the reason is because if it is built, it will help to suck office space out of our existing city cores in Winston-Salem and Greensboro.

Go to Durham and look at the "pickle" or "syringe" (pick your nickname) building over by South Square mall/Target and see how poorly that came out, how it did nothing for the area, and then go visit downtown Durham and understand what type of opportunity was missed in placing that building where it is.

[cityboi]

Actually, it's worse than nothing, and the reason is because if it is built, it will help to suck office space out of our existing city cores in Winston-Salem and Greensboro.

Go to Durham and look at the "pickle" or "syringe" (pick your nickname) building over by South Square mall/Target and see how poorly that came out, how it did nothing for the area, and then go visit downtown Durham and understand what type of opportunity was missed in placing that building where it is.

actually it wouldnt suck office space out of the downtowns. Companies intersted in locating in this building are companies that want to be near the airport. Wether this particular building is built or not, the companies would still look for locations near the airport. This building could affect older office space near the airport though. The problem is there is too much vacant office space in downtown Greensboro and Winston-Salem to make it feasible to build more downtown office towers.

[cityboi]

The 14-story tower that is planned near Piedmont Triad Intl Airport off of I-40 and Highway 68 have just grown taller and has more amemities. The tower is now projected to be 22-stories and will have not only office space but apartments and condos. A two story aqaurium is in the plan as well as a handful of restaurants. Also Faulk Prpoerties (developer of Triad Tower) say an IMAX theater could be included.

"Updated plans for the taller building include apartments, condos, underground parking, a handful of restaurants, a two-story aquarium -- and, possibly, an Imax theater" Faulk Properties plans to break ground within the next 3 to 6 months

http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...C0101/606290325

[sax184]

Instead of a 14-story tower surrounded by suburban parking dreck near the PTI flightpath, we're getting a 22-story tower surrounded by suburban parking dreck near the PTI flightpath? If this is progress in Greensboro, then progress in Greensboro is defined as "more crap."

[intcvlcphlga]

Instead of a 14-story tower surrounded by suburban parking dreck near the PTI flightpath, we're getting a 22-story tower surrounded by suburban parking dreck near the PTI flightpath? If this is progress in Greensboro, then progress in Greensboro is defined as "more crap."

Agreed. Greensboro has always defined progress by the number of new lanes on the highway or the amount of suburban strip malls and office parks. On a positive note, while the building is ugly, it's not quite as ugly at 22 floors as it was at 14.

[ezcheese]

it is exactly this kind of south-charlotte-style sparwl that greensboro should not be emulating.

[monsoon]

I have to agree. This is a project that should be going up in downtown Greensboro. Given the renderings show a tower completely surrounded by parking lots, no walking access to anything, and its just going to put a lot more automobiles on the road to support, its a bad idea. This seems like 1980's planning to me.

[cityboi]

I have to agree. This is a project that should be going up in downtown Greensboro. Given the renderings show a tower completely surrounded by parking lots, no walking access to anything, and its just going to put a lot more automobiles on the road to support, its a bad idea. This seems like 1980's planning to me.

There may not need to be walking access to anything outside the building because everything would be inside. The building will include a two story aqaurium with big salt water tanks, residential, retail, restaurants, a public observation deck and maybe an IMAX theater. I do agree, I would rather see this downtown but I dont know if highrise planning outside of downtown is a bad idea. We see this in anumber of major US cities today such as Atlanta and Houston. More recently the 40 plus story tower planned for the western edge of Raleigh. Its not something that was just done in the 80s but its still going on all across the country today in urban cities.

[krazeeboi]

Look at Atlanta in particular. It's downtown is not as strong as it should be for a metro its size, in part because of competition from edge cities that have a couple of 20+ story towers. This tower belongs downtown. There was an air of doubt throughout the entire article.

[SouthJersey7]

So is this 100% decided yet or is it still up in the air?

[cityboi]

construction will begin within 6 month. Its not a matter of if its going to happen, Its a matter of when. Faulk has prbabally secured enough leasing contracts and interest to go aheads with his plans. The man is not an idiot. He isnt going to sink $100 million in this project and hope businesses and people will move in. I think the success of this project will become a berometer of what can happen downtown. If developers are scared to go with big residential/office tower plans in downtown, this project may change their attitude about it. For that reason alone I hope this project will be a huge success. Design wise, I wish the building was completely reflective glass.

[NcSc74]

The 14-story tower that is planned near Piedmont Triad Intl Airport off of I-40 and Highway 68 have just grown taller and has more amemities. The tower is now projected to be 22-stories and will have not only office space but apartments and condos. A two story aqaurium is in the plan as well as a handful of restaurants. Also Faulk Prpoerties (developer of Triad Tower) say an IMAX theater could be included.

"Updated plans for the taller building include apartments, condos, underground parking, a handful of restaurants, a two-story aquarium -- and, possibly, an Imax theater" Faulk Properties plans to break ground within the next 3 to 6 months

http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...C0101/606290325

Seems as if te developer has DFW envy. What I mean is he is trying to start a building trend around the airport. Greensboro or the Triad isn't quite ready for an aviation city. Man if this was downtown think of the buzz it would cause. The design is blahhh but I would hope it would change if were downtown.

[krazeeboi]

And unfortunately, PTI isn't as competitive as it used to be. DFW and Atlanta have very strong airports.

In my opinion, this takes attention away from downtown, or at most won't have a thing to do with it. Downtown, the necessary infrastructure and potential clients are already present. Even though aesthetically the tower is nothing to rave about, I could add significantly to street-level activity downtown and would at least give Greensboro's skyline a great boost. Wrong location, wrong location, wrong location.

[intcvlcphlga]

There may not need to be walking access to anything outside the building because everything would be inside. The building will include a two story aqaurium with big salt water tanks, residential, retail, restaurants, a public observation deck and maybe an IMAX theater. I do agree, I would rather see this downtown but I dont know if highrise planning outside of downtown is a bad idea. We see this in anumber of major US cities today such as Atlanta and Houston. More recently the 40 plus story tower planned for the western edge of Raleigh. Its not something that was just done in the 80s but its still going on all across the country today in urban cities.

It was done in the 80s and it's still done today. It was a bad idea then as it is now. Cities like Raleigh, Atlanta and Houston may be doing it, but none of those cities are very urban and not the best models to emulate.

[Beany]

I agree I wish it were downtown as well. However, FALK wants to build it there for a reason. This will be for companies who are looking for amenities such as being close to the airport, being easily accessible to all three Triad cities and easy access to the interstate. In a way downtown is a different market. I don't see anything wrong with building an office tower near the airport.

The residential component seems a bit weird though. I know I wouldn't want to live so close to the flight path of airplanes. But who knows?

[Route]

I cannot begin to get excited about this because of the location. Would be a perfect addtion to downtown. With all that is happening down there, why in the world is Greensboro putting all these new hotels and this tower away from downtown. It's just stupid. The area where this tower will be is the ugliest 8 lanes of I40 you can ever imagine. You view from the top will be nothing but highway, Waffle Houses, McDonald's, etc.

[cityboi]

I agree I wish it were downtown as well. However, FALK wants to build it there for a reason. This will be for companies who are looking for amenities such as being close to the airport, being easily accessible to all three Triad cities and easy access to the interstate. In a way downtown is a different market. I don't see anything wrong with building an office tower near the airport.

The residential component seems a bit weird though. I know I wouldn't want to live so close to the flight path of airplanes. But who knows?

Some people also brought up airplane noise as well.......The Building will have state-of-the-art sound proofing.

I also agree that the airport and downtown are two different markets. Some companies will never move downtown for reasons that were mentioned and he just wants to cater to the needs of those companies. Downtown is a little more difficult when it comes to building largescale/highrise office and residential. As I said before, I wish Triad Tower were downtown but the prupose of the tower is not meant for a downtown location.

[monsoon]

We see this in anumber of major US cities today such as Atlanta and Houston. ...

Atlanta and Houston have been poster children for really bad planning, It's a shame the Triad has decided to emulate what was done there.

[Creasy336]

I cannot begin to get excited about this because of the location. Would be a perfect addtion to downtown. With all that is happening down there, why in the world is Greensboro putting all these new hotels and this tower away from downtown. It's just stupid. The area where this tower will be is the ugliest 8 lanes of I40 you can ever imagine. You view from the top will be nothing but highway, Waffle Houses, McDonald's, etc.

ugliest 10-11 lanes

[SouthJersey7]

Even worse yet this tower will probably create more sprawl, instead of driving downtown redevelopment

[DCMetroRaleigh]

construction will begin within 6 month. Its not a matter of if its going to happen, Its a matter of when. Faulk has prbabally secured enough leasing contracts and interest to go aheads with his plans. The man is not an idiot. He isnt going to sink $100 million in this project and hope businesses and people will move in. I think the success of this project will become a berometer of what can happen downtown. If developers are scared to go with big residential/office tower plans in downtown, this project may change their attitude about it. For that reason alone I hope this project will be a huge success. Design wise, I wish the building was completely reflective glass.

They are gonna BEGIN construction in the winter?

[sax184]

Atlanta and Houston have been poster children for really bad planning, It's a shame the Triad has decided to emulate what was done there.

Agreed. Atlanta and Houston aren't cities worth emulating.

[jasoniman24]

I cannot begin to get excited about this because of the location. Would be a perfect addtion to downtown. With all that is happening down there, why in the world is Greensboro putting all these new hotels and this tower away from downtown. It's just stupid. The area where this tower will be is the ugliest 8 lanes of I40 you can ever imagine. You view from the top will be nothing but highway, Waffle Houses, McDonald's, etc.

I agree, I think this building should be downtown too. It's time for a change in the Greensboro skyline. As far as the view, Don't forget about the tank farms . But, for the lucky people on the N, NW side of the building, they may be able to at least see Sauratown Mountain, or Pilot Mountain on a clear day.

[cityboi]

I just think there is nothing at all wrong with building a tall building outside of downtown. I just dont see the poor planning here. Believe it or not, as the FedEx hub opens, there will definatly be a need for office space in the airport area wether we like it or not. Sure I'd like to see it downtown but a skyscrpaer near the airport is better than no skyscraper at all. Every major U.S. city has skyscrapers outside of their downtowns. They vary in height but I just believe just because the building is tall, that doesnt justify it as poor planning. As for the comments about draining downtown, the airport and downtown are two totally different markets and I dont see those markets as competition.