Misc. Uptown Projects/News

[KJHburg]

wow that is a statement as I think Steak 48 is pretty good (just expensive) and I tell people they do everything for you but prechew the food.  My prediction this new STK will do pretty good uptown with the convention and banker crowd and those celebrating something or going to a special event.  

image from Biz Journal 

Edited September 7, 2022 by KJHburg

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

This is big time! When I first heard STK I first thought Deloitte tower at LU. This spot is interesting. Will do well.  Kind of wish they took the old Bentleys on 27 spot but understand from a visibility standpoint their location they chose. But great news and win for uptown. 

[KJHburg]

We know people on UP don't have strong opinions about urban design but if you do please fill out this for the Urbie awards done by CLT Development, Urban Design Center,  UNCC, City of Charlotte and other partners.   Make your preferences known.

https://charlottenc.seamlessdocs.com/f/uda2022

[DJ8hep]

We know people on UP don't have strong opinions about urban design but if you do please fill out this for the Urbie awards done by CLT Development, Urban Design Center,  UNCC, City of Charlotte and other partners.   Make your preferences known.
https://charlottenc.seamlessdocs.com/f/uda2022

Do you know if there is a way to see any of the aforementioned student projects online?

[KJHburg]

9 hours ago, DJ8hep said:

Do you know if there is a way to see any of the aforementioned student projects online?

Not sure where you can see I voted for the Charlotte urbanists group which is made up of a lot of college students that have built bus benches around town.  

[DJ8hep]

Not sure where you can see I voted for the Charlotte urbanists group which is made up of a lot of college students that have built bus benches around town.  

Perfect! I can definitely do that!

[KJHburg]

I dont know what to call this area north of 277 loop off N Tryon but the opposite side of the tracks from Optimist Park neighborhood.  To me I would call this an extension of uptown but what do I know just a Charlotte native here.  

""Washington, D.C.-based Jefferson Apartment Group broke ground this week on its first Charlotte apartment community, J Optimist Park.   JAG purchased the 5-acre property, at 200 Wadsworth Place, on May 19 from a private owner for $7.95 million, according to previous reporting by Charlotte Business Journal.   Its design will include red brick and ironwork on the exterior, and the interior will have touches of gingham pattern in a nod to the former fabric mill next door that is now home to Optimist Hall.   The six-story, 350-unit building will have a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units that range between 523 and 1,197 square feet. There will be a game room, fitness center, open coworking space, pet spa, a bike-storage room with maintenance bench, a pool and two courtyards. ""

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2022/09/08/jefferson-apartment-group-construction-j-optimist.html

 

https://jeffersonapartmentgroup.com/property/200-wadsworth-place/  just noticed on their map on this webpage N Tryon St is missing LOL 

Edited September 9, 2022 by KJHburg

[DMann]

Interesting location!!!!!   If'n College Street were to be connected to 16th St this would be perfect.  As of now, real sketchy.

[Reverie39]

16 hours ago, KJHburg said:

I dont know what to call this area north of 277 loop off N Tryon but the opposite side of the tracks from Optimist Park neighborhood.  To me I would call this an extension of uptown but what do I know just a Charlotte native here.  

""Washington, D.C.-based Jefferson Apartment Group broke ground this week on its first Charlotte apartment community, J Optimist Park.   JAG purchased the 5-acre property, at 200 Wadsworth Place, on May 19 from a private owner for $7.95 million, according to previous reporting by Charlotte Business Journal.   Its design will include red brick and ironwork on the exterior, and the interior will have touches of gingham pattern in a nod to the former fabric mill next door that is now home to Optimist Hall.   The six-story, 350-unit building will have a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units that range between 523 and 1,197 square feet. There will be a game room, fitness center, open coworking space, pet spa, a bike-storage room with maintenance bench, a pool and two courtyards. ""

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2022/09/08/jefferson-apartment-group-construction-j-optimist.html

 

https://jeffersonapartmentgroup.com/property/200-wadsworth-place/  just noticed on their map on this webpage N Tryon St is missing LOL 

This looks incredible. Actually a pretty vast building length-wise. I like the nod to the mill look, it's ever so slightly unique enough to distinguish itself from the endless other mid-rise apartments springing up everywhere.

[KJHburg]

Now this apartment complex going up right on N Tryon outside 277 loop is full sure an uptown location.  Can't remember the details on this one but I know it is apartments.  If y'all remember the details and renderings post them.  

[j-man]

Was this the one proposed years ago thag was supposed to be like 12 floors or so. I would guess it’s gonna be the same ole 5-8 but hopefully not. 

[KJHburg]

8 hours ago, j-man said:

Was this the one proposed years ago thag was supposed to be like 12 floors or so. I would guess it’s gonna be the same ole 5-8 but hopefully not. 

Looked it up in the tax records I think the developer is Silver Hills or something like that from Ohio and I do think it is 4-5 story wood frame apartment complex. 

[RANYC]

If the full length of Tryon Street were reimagined and decorated as one of the largest public squares or piazzas in the world with robust year-round "programming" and with its majestic oak canopy, I wonder what kind of boost that might be to center city's economic fortunes, desirability, and accessibility?

[KJHburg]

I believe we have some Class B office buildings uptown that might suffer with high vacancies soon given the flight to newer buildings.  400 South Tryon is one I am very concerned about as Duke Energy is going to moved out the building leaving it 75%+ vacant.  

Here is an article from Atlanta about the recent sale of Peachtree Center downtown to a new owner and the possibility of office conversion to residential.  It explains some of the mechanics about it:

""Smith: For me, I'm thinking about the two buildings at 225 Peachtree. They're so ideally situated to be multifamily, and to [help] get more people Downtown at this point.  

What are the challenges in doing that?

Smith: The first one that everyone goes to is the depth of the office space. If you look at an office building and you say, well, that's kind of a rectangular box. The depth is the shorter dimension, which is somewhere around 65 to 70 feet in a multifamily building. With an office building, it can be anywhere from 100 to 120 [ feet], typically. One of the great things about 225 is that it's only about 70 feet wide. So it's this really narrow office building. It's not necessarily great for office space today because it doesn't have the big open spaces that a lot of the different companies are looking for. But it's ideal because it's efficient for multifamily. It doesn't have a lot of the challenges that a deeper office building might have.

Fleming: Look at the old Norfolk Southern building [The Lofts at Centennial Yards South]. Talk about a unique office product with even tighter floor plates, something like 55 feet wide. They're these quirky little efficiency units. They sold out in record time. So we know [converting office to apartments] works in a distressed product. It's just getting that right mix of amenities. The amenity that's really going to help springboard the next evolution is finding a way to get a real local grocery store in the area. ""

 

anyone know the dimensions of the 400 South Tryon Building?   sounds like buildings that could be converted uptown IF needed and desired by the owners would be 129 West Trade, maybe the Interstate Tower where the City Club is located but that building is newer so probably not a candidate.  

https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2022/09/12/future-downtown-atlanta-peachtree-center.html

[atlrvr]

400 S Tryon is a terrible conversion candidate.  120' by 165' Not a lot of natural light from the narrow window facade.

400 S Tryon need to a complete gut/reskin, and come back to life as a new office building, like 3 Bryant Park in NY, but with "cutout patios" like the Regions Building.

[Poo Diddy]

The view from Little Arch's balcony of 400 S Tryon was fantastic before DE2 rose up.  I thought it was a fun "link" from their early years to current.  While I'm not normally in sync with 70's architecture I happen to love the look of 400 S Tryon.  The juxtaposition with the newer buildings is nice.  Now the view from Little's office of that vinyl fence excuse of a crown on top of Ally....

KJ that's an interesting note about residential vs office floor plates.  I'd be OK with a reskin of 400 if it was converted to residential.  Would be a cool project to watch progress

[KJHburg]

Unfortunately 400 South Tryon would not be a good building to convert to residential as @atlrvrnoted the dimensions are way too big and deep for a conversion.   120 by 165 feet the depth is too deep. 

[Poo Diddy]

On 9/16/2022 at 6:32 PM, KJHburg said:

Unfortunately 400 South Tryon would not be a good building to convert to residential as @atlrvrnoted the dimensions are way too big and deep for a conversion.   120 by 165 feet the depth is too deep. 

Right you are.  I read @atlrvr's comment too quickly and miss read the dimensions.  Thanks for the correction!

[Norm2]

I think I saw that the lights on the crown of Ally Center we're finally on a couple of nights ago.

[kermit]

Google has subleased its Google Fiber community building (301 E 7th st, old Dixie Tavern / Cotton exchange building) to WFAE who plans to use the site  as a "community engagement hub". WFAE has a deal in place for a 9 years in total. 

Good riddance to Google who largely wasted that space for years. Hopefully WFAE can create something that generates considerably more activity (it certainly could not be any worse).

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2022/09/20/wfae-moving-hq-to-uptown-charlotte-real-estate.html

Edited September 20, 2022 by kermit

[Madison Parkitect]

31 minutes ago, kermit said:

Google has subleased its Google Fiber community building (301 E 7th st, old Dixie Tavern / Cotton exchange building) to WFAE who plans to use the site  as a "community engagement hub". WFAE has a deal in place for a 9 years in total. 

Good riddance to Google who largely wasted that space for years. Hopefully WFAE can create something that generates considerably more activity (it certainly could not be any worse).

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2022/09/20/wfae-moving-hq-to-uptown-charlotte-real-estate.html

I think WFAE should look to Seattle's KEXP for an example of how to do this. They put a coffee shop, record store, and their recording studio in an old warehouse space along with some living room spaces. https://www.google.com/maps/@47.622815,-122.3551017,3a,75y,20.72h,88.16t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sAF1QipNJ9mozEY54HnaKn76p5QVJb_QvHyM7ZrEPbyK3!2e10!3e11!7i8192!8i4096

Wouldn't have to be coffee necessarily, but something like that to draw people in.

[RANYC]

41 minutes ago, Madison Parkitect said:

I think WFAE should look to Seattle's KEXP for an example of how to do this. They put a coffee shop, record store, and their recording studio in an old warehouse space along with some living room spaces. https://www.google.com/maps/@47.622815,-122.3551017,3a,75y,20.72h,88.16t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sAF1QipNJ9mozEY54HnaKn76p5QVJb_QvHyM7ZrEPbyK3!2e10!3e11!7i8192!8i4096

Wouldn't have to be coffee necessarily, but something like that to draw people in.

Does this mean Mike Collins & Charlotte Talks in front of a live, studio audience?

[CLT>]

14 minutes ago, RANYC said:

Does this mean Mike Collins & Charlotte Talks in front of a live, studio audience?

It used to be in a studio visible from the street at Spirit Square, and  they would often have donors to WFAE able to be in the studio for broadcasts.  

[tozmervo]

Anybody got a beat on why Polk Park was fenced up this morning?

[RANYC]

A press release in 2019 alluded to a park renovation to make it more accommodating to a variety of programming, including concerts, etc.    Perhaps the fencing signals work will soon begin.  I haven’t seen any renderings.  Will we lose the waterfall forever?

https://agencylp.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Polk-Park-Press-Release-080719.pdf

Edited September 22, 2022 by RANYC