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Belk Place: Carolina Theater and Hotel Intercontinental


Andyc545

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  • 2 weeks later...

There was an Article in the Charlotte Living I picked up at Mama Ricottas yesterday about the Carolina Theatre. In it is says Encore will be the first Residential tower in the USA to have Car Elevators, is that a fact?

I was under that impression until I saw something in Architecural Record about 200 Eleventh Avenue going up in New York which also will have a car elevator. They have already started construction on this condo in NYC and are already 14 stories above ground. So I don't think that Encore can make this claim anymore.

http://www.200eleventhavenue.com/

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There was an Article in the Charlotte Living I picked up at Mama Ricottas yesterday about the Carolina Theatre. In it is says Encore will be the first Residential tower in the USA to have Car Elevators, is that a fact?

Depends on how you define it, I suppose. Parking in the unit is certainly different, but there are several examples of fully automated parking in the US with elevators and racking, etc. Not taking anything from Encore, which is clearly a unique project...just an observation.

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Depends on how you define it, I suppose. Parking in the unit is certainly different, but there are several examples of fully automated parking in the US with elevators and racking, etc. Not taking anything from Encore, which is clearly a unique project...just an observation.

Yeah, I used to have to park in one when I worked in NYC. The only thing I have wondered is what happens when this thing breaks down? I remember when the elevator in NYC broke while I was at work and they told me to come back tomorrow. Since I lived in NJ and not within walking distance to a train station I had to spend the night in the city. So what happens when the elevator in this building breaks down and residents cant get their cars out for a couple of days? Since, I'm sure there wont be many contractors who can fix this type of elevator at the drop of a hat here in Charlotte. I'm sure the developer has thought about this but I would not be surprised if this problem came up sooner or later for the residents. It would be cool if the condo association provided a clause that it would provide each resident with a rental car if the elevator was ever inoperational.

But I guess I will never have to worry about this. I will have to be an admirer of this neat building from the outside as I will probably never have the means to afford one of these units. Oh well Ill keep playing the lottery. But this building will add a lot to this location in Uptown and I cant wait for construction to start.

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I also wonder about C0 (carbon monoxide) and other exhaust, how is this filtered/vented out. Also How about noise, not just from the car, which some cars are pretty loud, but I imagine a elevator that carries a couple of tons could be pretty loud.

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The only thing I have wondered is what happens when this thing breaks down?

When things break, it comes to a standstill. There was a dispute between a parking garage with elevators and the city that leased it so the company changed all the codes which shut everything down until they reached an agreement. No one was able to get to their cars at all.

I also wonder about C0 (carbon monoxide) and other exhaust, how is this filtered/vented out. Also How about noise, not just from the car, which some cars are pretty loud, but I imagine a elevator that carries a couple of tons could be pretty loud.

As for ventilation, there are plenty of different methods for removing the exhaust. Each fire station in the city has an exhaust system that filters out all of the nasty diesel exhaust from the fire apparatus so I imagine that a few cars won't be a big deal.

If people are paying $1+ million for their condo, I think it would be safe to assume that they will have pretty decent insulation and won't hear the elevator.

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lol, I'm clearly not an very observant fellow :) . Seems to me that could drop the price by $100,000 or whatever and not have a Porsche.

In addition to the Porshe, you can also choose to have a professional personal cook for a year, season pass box seats to Panthers games for a season, or something else, I forget. It's little stuff when you're buying a 5 million dollar condo.

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^It's not just an elevator. There will be a owner controlled car garage on each floor and they will throw in a car that produces 10x the greenhouse gases of most vehicles on the road. Talk about wretched excess, this is it. I am surprised there is any support on this forum for such a project.

Compare this to the mindset in say London where the government is working to put a greenhouse gas surcharge on porsches that are driven into the central city.

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I do think its a silly marketing stunt, and what it tells the buyer is the unit is $50k overpriced in the first place.

That said, they are offering a Porsche Cayenne or Cayman....the Cayenne of course has poor fuel economy, but the Cayman has 22/31 mpg, which is probably better than average for all the cars on the road. Secondly, given the location, it would be a logical conclusion that the average owner will drive a lot less than most people living in suburbia, and even a decent number will probably walk to work.

Perhaps not the most enviromentally friendly building ever, but it will beats the pants off most other projects lauded on this site in terms of environmental impact.

Regarding the car elevtor as a gimick...I hope no one is suggesting that they prefer the alternative, which would be the demolition of the theatre to build a ramp/conventional garage. I don't think no parking is yet an alternative in Charlotte.

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Regarding the car elevtor as a gimick...I hope no one is suggesting that they prefer the alternative, which would be the demolition of the theatre to build a ramp/conventional garage. I don't think no parking is yet an alternative in Charlotte.

In Charlotte, I'll take wasted space (parking) below ground or several stories up over wasted space at the street level any day. This project does not bother me at all.

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I second what atlrvr said. These people probably won't be driving that much to begin with. That's the very point behind living uptown in the first place. You're right at the action so there is no need to have to sit in traffic.

If you're paying $50mil for a condo, you know a sizable chunk of what you're paying is profit by the developer. There would be no reason for a builder to build condos if they didn't make money off of them. That doesn't mean the unit is over priced. When you buy a house in suburbia, guess what? The developer is making money. The only difference here is that they are using these free "goodies" out of that profit to help advertise the building. And so far it has worked. I've heard a few of my friends who don't keep up with any of this have saying "did you hear about that condo building that you get a free Porsche when buy a condo?" "Yea, it's being built on top of the Carolina Theatre." And that's just coming up in just regular conversations. So, in my opinion, this form of advertising has worked better than any other condo uptown if it has made it's way into dinner conversation.

And also remember the reals reason behind the car elevator, besides being a gimmick. First, you don't have to ever worry about somebody else parking in your spot in a parking garage. You don't have to take an elevator down to the garage and then walk to your car. Oh yea, and let's not forget that they did this in order to help save space on the lower floors to fit more condos and make it easier in the design for preserving the theatre itself.

Edited by aussie luke
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I second what atlrvr said. These people probably won't be driving that much to begin with. That's the very point behind living uptown in the first place. You're right at the action so there is no need to have to sit in traffic.

They'll still drive a lot. they have to show off to their friends and associates the fact they have a car elevator that will take them to their garage :D It'll be another toy to play with.

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They'll still drive a lot. they have to show off to their friends and associates the fact they have a car elevator that will take them to their garage :D It'll be another toy to play with.

At least moving day will be easy, assuming the elevators can hold a van or something. Even if it couldn't at least a person could pile their stuff on the parking space.

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At least moving day will be easy, assuming the elevators can hold a van or something. Even if it couldn't at least a person could pile their stuff on the parking space.

Somehow I doubt an owner of a $5 million condo would do their own moving! hehhee

The Porche with a condo idea is a goofy publicity stunt, but sillier things have succeeded in real estate deals.:)

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