Belk Place: Carolina Theater and Hotel Intercontinental

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, JacksonH said:

Got it now.  Thanks!

Welcome! That said I'm sure the rendering isn't completely up to date, or the site plan for that matter, speaking that it appears there are 4 elevator openings vs. 3 in the site plan

Edited April 14, 2020 by Guest

[likewyatt]

This is such a badass project. 

[JacksonH]

17 hours ago, Tyree Ricardo said:

Welcome! That said I'm sure the rendering isn't completely up to date, or the site plan for that matter, speaking that it appears there are 4 elevator openings vs. 3 in the site plan

Yeah, and I also noticed the lobby staircase is in a different direction than the illustration.  It's parallel to 6th St. in the illustration, but perpendicular on the plan

Edited April 14, 2020 by JacksonH

[QCxpat]

Today 3:15 p.m.

Edited April 14, 2020 by QCxpat

[Urban Cowboy]

Unreal what just the 3 of them have accomplished. They deserve a medal.

[Yeahdoug]

The hotel tower that Bob, Bill and Jim built. 

[QCxpat]

Today 11:45 a.m.

Edit - Meant to mention that  yesterday I talked with the Site Manager, Bob, who told me that there will be a 2nd tower crane which will stand on the extreme southwest corner of the site next to The Foundation for the Carolinas (formerly, Montaldo's Dept. Store).  One of the purposes of the 2nd tower crane is to lift the 1st tower crane out of the elevator shaft now under construction (pictured above).  In addition, the Site Manager said that, unfortunately,  the 2 large willow oaks on N. Tryon St. will have to be taken down as work proceeds  because, otherwise, they would encroach on the hotel's facade.  Also, there are more workers on site than appear in the photos.

Edited April 16, 2020 by QCxpat
explanatory note

[videtur quam contuor]

This is the example of a socially distant worksite. Or, this is the example of a socially distant worksite. Your choice.

[go_vertical]

How tall will the elevator shaft need to be before the tower starts? 

[Blue_Devil]

56 minutes ago, go_vertical said:

How tall will the elevator shaft need to be before the tower starts? 

Full 400 feet.

[Cadi40]

1 hour ago, Blue_Devil said:

Full 400 feet.

Seriously? I’m no Bob the Builder but they can’t build the tower as the elevator shaft rises? 

Edited April 16, 2020 by Cadi40

[UrbanCharlotte]

9 minutes ago, Cadi40 said:

Seriously? I’m no Bob the Builder but they can’t build the tower as the elevator shaft rises? 

It is common for the elevator core to be a bit ahead of the rest of the tower... not 400' though. You can see they are placing rebar cages for the perimeter columns. 

[KJHburg]

5 hours ago, QCxpat said:

Edit - Meant to mention that  yesterday I talked with the Site Manager, Bob, who told me that there will be a 2nd tower crane which will stand on the extreme northwest corner of the site next to The Foundation for the Carolinas (formerly, the Montaldo's Dept. Store).  One of the purposes of the 2nd tower crane is to lift the 1st tower crane out of the elevator shaft now under construction (pictured above).  In addition, the Site Manager said that, unfortunately,  the 2 large willow oaks on N. Tryon St. will have to be taken down as work proceeds  because, otherwise, they would encroach on the hotel's facade.  Also, there are more workers on site than appear in the photos.

this is big news about this 2nd crane going up there.  Thanks for asking @QCxpat literally Bob the builder.  

[QCxpat]

Today 1:45 p.m. - spoke with the Site Manager today.  He told me that the Intercontinental Hotel's cantilever over the old Carolina Theater will be 16 feet deep.  The original Carolina Theater marquee will be reinstalled in a section of the hotel's lobby along with a recreation of the theater's Renaissance Revival facade, which will serve as a portal into the refurbished theater. 

Edited April 16, 2020 by QCxpat

[videtur quam contuor]

I hope the engineers have their figures correct on this one. Micropiles foundation, cantilever 400' building, smallest foundation site, historic theater abutment. Slow work is acceptable on such considerations.

[elrodvt]

That sounds pretty awesome?

[Blue_Devil]

25 minutes ago, elrodvt said:

That sounds pretty awesome?

I all honesty, this project would be world class in almost any city

[elrodvt]

^Any idea what makes this spring up within the mediocrity? 

[Madison Parkitect]

16' cantilever? That's fun.

[Yeahdoug]

This building def has a NYC vibe to it. I love it. 

Edited April 17, 2020 by Yeahdoug

[ertley]

14 hours ago, elrodvt said:

^Any idea what makes this spring up within the mediocrity? 

I'll tell you why: It's precisely *because* of the presence of the theatre building, and the necessity of designing around it, that made this project surpass the usual concept of a glass rectangle and a mediocre adornment at the top. If the city had allowed the developer to simply demolish the theatre building, they would've been able to design a much less challenging, simpler, easier (and yes, cheaper), but less interesting structure--and they abso-f---ing-lutely would've done it.  

There's surely a strong overlap between folks who don't care about historic preservation, or even the rights of small property owners, and those who don't have strong aesthetic sensibilities, so people who care about those things must always challenge at every turn possible their attempts to clear cut entire blocks or large parcels of land--if you want interesting, unique architecture. If you keep as much of the existing structural environment of a city that's truly worth keeping, you not only preserve a variety of architecture, which alone helps preserve a city's unique character, you force the architects and engineers to design less from templates or stock plans or their own preconceived ideas, but create specific and unique designs for each place at hand. 

IMO

[gman430]

 

[QCxpat]

Today 12:00 noon

Edited April 17, 2020 by QCxpat

[CLT>]

11 hours ago, ertley said:

I'll tell you why: It's precisely *because* of the presence of the theatre building, and the necessity of designing around it, that made this project surpass the usual concept of a glass rectangle and a mediocre adornment at the top. If the city had allowed the developer to simply demolish the theatre building, they would've been able to design a much less challenging, simpler, easier (and yes, cheaper), but less interesting structure--and they abso-f---ing-lutely would've done it.  

There's surely a strong overlap between folks who don't care about historic preservation, or even the rights of small property owners, and those who don't have strong aesthetic sensibilities, so people who care about those things must always challenge at every turn possible their attempts to clear cut entire blocks or large parcels of land--if you want interesting, unique architecture. If you keep as much of the existing structural environment of a city that's truly worth keeping, you not only preserve a variety of architecture, which alone helps preserve a city's unique character, you force the architects and engineers to design less from templates or stock plans or their own preconceived ideas, but create specific and unique designs for each place at hand. 

IMO

Sadly this is a VEd glass box that will be a great project overall, but significantly less impressive than the stakeholders had originally intended. The lobby (hopefully) will be great, and having the theatre available for the events it will be available for will be a game changer for many nonprofits. I'm excited about this project but its significantly cheaper and better than it was meant to be and that was all due to a second hotel partner coming in and demanding cost reductions. The theatre is sucking a lot of the budget and will definitely surprise people, especially the seating/floor system!

The seating/floor system will be similar to this:

 

Edited April 18, 2020 by CLT>
added link

[QCxpat]

Today 4:15 p.m.

Notice "Market 42" a/k/a The Ellis peaking up over the old main library - left side of photo 

Edited April 21, 2020 by QCxpat