Misc. Uptown Projects/News

[michaelef]

6 hours ago, tozmervo said:

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

hate to burst the excitement...

https://twitter.com/CLTgov/status/1573028412473675779?s=20&t=IhtfQxbZFqKbQd2KoLojOQ

[DonkeyKong]

10 minutes ago, michaelef said:

hate to burst the excitement...

https://twitter.com/CLTgov/status/1573028412473675779?s=20&t=IhtfQxbZFqKbQd2KoLojOQ

Major Rat problem.

[kermit]

On 9/22/2022 at 4:05 PM, DonkeyKong said:

Major Rat problem.

LOTS more rat traps in Southend and Dilworth lately also. I see traps at both commercial and SF residential, but multifamily appears to be getting the worst of it (based on # of traps, I have not seen any rats in the hood lately, just traps).

Edited September 26, 2022 by kermit

[videtur quam contuor]

There was a complaint in my block in Dilworth some years ago and the county pest team member opened the manhole in the center of the street and lowered a cake of poison on a cord down to the water level of the sewer. The cord can be retracted later and more cake/poison provided. I never saw the rats prior to the visit and none after and saw no further visits by the pest tech. My neighbor had a basement flood after heavy rain and rats in the basement were a side effect of the rising water.

[RANYC]

Article in the Louisville Business Journal about Downtown Jacksonville’s revitalization efforts.  Article appears to position Jacksonville as a downtown comeback story, which I fail to see when I visit.  

One developer-panelist’s quote was interesting: “Downtown development does not work without incentives.  New construction gets huge tax breaks; renovations get completion grants right now.  And this has proven to be what’s needed.”

Is Charlotte’s downtown too successful to even consider an incentives strategy, including incentives to the core city developments we want even on private land?  Would we ever have an appetite for rich grants and tax breaks for housing (or whatever it is we think we need) and small-scale retail throughout uptown’s core?

[kermit]

9 minutes ago, RANYC said:

Article in the Louisville Business Journal about Downtown Jacksonville’s revitalization efforts.  Article appears to position Jacksonville as a downtown comeback story, which I fail to see when I visit.  

One developer-panelist’s quote was interesting: “Downtown development does not work without incentives.  New construction gets huge tax breaks; renovations get completion grants right now.  And this has proven to be what’s needed.”

Is Charlotte’s downtown too successful to even consider an incentives strategy, including incentives to the core city developments we want even on private land?  Would we ever have an appetite for rich grants and tax breaks for housing (or whatever it is we think we need) and small-scale retail throughout uptown’s core?

Some shock and awe subsidies for small scale retail seem like a pretty straightforward exercise for Center City Partners. A grant program of sorts: ("fill out this application and get a free year of rent at one of these addresses") with CCCP paying the rent for a year would be both easy and effective I would think. Not sure why this hasnt happened yet. 

Edited September 26, 2022 by kermit

[RANYC]

36 minutes ago, kermit said:

Some shock and awe subsidies for small scale retail seem like a pretty straightforward exercise for Center City Partners. A grant program of sorts: ("fill out this application and get a free year of rent at one of these addresses") with CCCP paying the rent for a year would be both easy and effective I would think. Not sure why this hasnt happened yet. 

Is CCCP even set up to do something like this with a focus on uptown?  It strikes me as more of an event planning and advocacy organization, than a tactical econ development and investments group.

In 2021, CCCP pulled in $12 million in donations, $5.7 million of which came from the city.  It pays its CEO $530K in total compensation.  That’s far more pay than the city manager.

It spends tons of its annual revenue on salaries, but then contracts out for “program services” and managing an innovation fund for the balance.  I find CCCP mission and activities very fluffy, high-level, and confusing, but perhaps those who’ve been here longer can illuminate.

Edited September 26, 2022 by RANYC

[kermit]

3 hours ago, RANYC said:

Is CCCP even set up to do something like this with a focus on uptown?  It strikes me as more of an event planning and advocacy organization, than a tactical econ development and investments group.

In 2021, CCCP pulled in $12 million in donations…

I have no idea about what CCCP actually does these days (I think there is a annual report of sorts but beyond that???). But, their mission is uptown (and now Southend) development and they certainly have the money. The strategy I suggested should not require much more administrative overhead that finding a commercial broker to identify some useful enough retail storefronts to make a cluster and then writing a check. I would hope they could manage that.

Edited September 26, 2022 by kermit

[RANYC]

12 minutes ago, kermit said:

I have no idea about what CCCP actually does these days (I think there is a annual report of sorts but beyond that???). But, their mission is uptown (and now Southend) development and they certainly have the money. The strategy I suggested certainly would not require much more administrative overhead that finding a commercial broker to identify some useful enough retail storefronts to make a cluster and then writing a check. I would hope they could manage that.

So adding to CCCP a commercial rent subsidies operating segment?  At least it’s a bit clearer a mission.

Edited September 26, 2022 by RANYC

[kermit]

11 minutes ago, RANYC said:

So adding to CCCP a commercial rent subsidies operating segment?  At least it’s a bit clearer a mission.

I was thinking along the lines of a one year trial ballon. Frame it as ‘Covid recovery’ and see if it works.

[RANYC]

15 minutes ago, kermit said:

I was thinking along the lines of a one year trial ballon. Frame it as ‘Covid recovery’ and see if it works.

I wonder if just one year is enough support to get “higher-risk” small-business concepts over a hurdle to get the necessary financing and supplier confidence to actually launch?

I like the idea of CCCP “running” an incubation portfolio, using its resources and platform as a type of “shared marketing & business development” resource for its portfolio members.

Edited September 26, 2022 by RANYC

[Matthew.Brendan]

man every once in a while I'm tempted to start a custom map to track empty retail storefronts in uptown, the sheer # is staggering.

I figure there's gotta be numbers that track this... is that part of their yearly report?

[kermit]

52 minutes ago, Matthew.Brendan said:

man every once in a while I'm tempted to start a custom map to track empty retail storefronts in uptown, the sheer # is staggering.

I figure there's gotta be numbers that track this... is that part of their yearly report?

Here is the most recent report, which they call a Development Report: https://ctycms.com/nc-charlotte-ccp/docs/development-report-q3-2022-reduced.pdf

Its just a very boosterish listing of announced and underway projects, I don't believe there is anything in it that is even slightly critical (e.g. empty space). They do report on the amount of existing and planned retail in each district (4th Ward has 291,000 sq ft existing and another 48,000 planned according to the report).

Tracking empty retail space would be an excellent exercise, particularly since it could point towards some opportunities to coordinate in order to create some small shopping clusters.

Edited September 26, 2022 by kermit

[Madison Parkitect]

8 hours ago, RANYC said:

Is CCCP even set up to do something like this with a focus on uptown?  It strikes me as more of an event planning and advocacy organization, than a tactical econ development and investments group.

In 2021, CCCP pulled in $12 million in donations, $5.7 million of which came from the city.  It pays its CEO $530K in total compensation.  That’s far more pay than the city manager.

It spends tons of its annual revenue on salaries, but then contracts out for “program services” and managing an innovation fund for the balance.  I find CCCP mission and activities very fluffy, high-level, and confusing, but perhaps those who’ve been here longer can illuminate.

No, that's about right. CCCP is useless and pointless, except to raise money for themselves.

[j-man]

[JRCLT]

[turbocraig]

Looks like Element is getting a paint refresh.  Wonder if the white is the final color or just primer?

[midtownclt]

You mean BELL UPTOWN CHARLOTTE - it's no longer called the ELEMENT UPTOWN.

[turbocraig]

5 hours ago, midtownclt said:

You mean BELL UPTOWN CHARLOTTE - it's no longer called the ELEMENT UPTOWN.

Well that just sounds stupid. 

[KJHburg]

51 minutes ago, turbocraig said:

Well that just sounds stupid. 

when you paid top dollar for that building Bell Partners wants their name on it.  That is their brand and they are based in Greensboro. 

[RANYC]

I'm home early on this Tuesday afternoon, the TV is on, and I hear network news (Queen City News) summarizing an upcoming story that will explain why companies are choosing to exit Uptown...coming just after the commercials.  I'll "live-stream" bullet points on what I hear...I'm not expecting thorough, well-reasoned research & reporting:

• business continues to boom but not in areas you'd think like uptown
• corp america hasn't been the same since March 2020
• kicks off with centene - not in uptown - abandoning its office space
• centene is one of many examples of downsizing or leaving office plans altogether
• office space continues to grow in general in Charlotte but other parts of town are seeing a tighter real estate market 
• goes on to discuss the industrial real estate landscape and how that is expanding on the perimeter of city (again, remember the story lead-in was companies exiting Uptown)
• according to the Regional Business Alliance, 130 new "investment opportunities" are in the pipeline, 20% with an office space component
• story concludes with the statement that a softened office market in uptown creates space for smaller companies to come in 

The story lead-in said uptown and office space, but it ended up everywhere else, spanned various segments of commercial real estate, had no clear objective, strayed from its lead-in, lacked supporting evidence...

Network news is garbage.

Edited October 5, 2022 by RANYC

[KJHburg]

Did we ever find out what happened to the window being shot out at the One Wells Fargo or 301 South College aka Jukebox tower?  on the 16th floor.  

some miscellaneous shots

 

[videtur quam contuor]

Angry shareholder?

[DonkeyKong]

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

Did we ever find out what happened to the window being shot out at the One Wells Fargo or 301 South College aka Jukebox tower?  on the 16th floor.  

some miscellaneous shots

 

I would be surprised if we do.  There was a shoot out by the qt on south Blvd by clanton and it didn’t even make the news.  40+ rounds were fired.  Plus Cmpd’s media policy only makes things worse.

[CarolinaDaydreamin]

8 hours ago, KJHburg said:

 

 

 

 

 

I can't wait for the day Church St. parking decks are removed and redeveloped. It could be the best street in all of uptown if developed with retail and foot traffic in mind.