Misc. Uptown Projects/News

[CLTProductions]

So there is a lot of information on the web about the North Tryon Civic District.

The knight foundation has an entire section on their website "North Tryon Vision and Master planning process" where they have updates and even a YouTube video (Next Big Thing: North Tryon Area). It's not very informative but still. http://www.knightfoundation.org/grants/201448039/

Also I'm on my iPhone and this PDF won't load

http://ww.charmeck.org/Planning/Land%20Use%20Planning/NorthTryonAreaPlan/NorthTryonPlan(Adopted).pdf

I'm not sure if that North Tryon is North Tryon outside of 277 or the Covic district. I'll have to check it out later.

Those plans are pretty old, but wow would that be fantastic if that all got underway. That area needs to be revived SOOOOOOOO badly.

 

The original plan back when they built Carillon was for a Swissotel to be built over their loading dock entrance (off Church) and extending toward Trade to roughly where the treees are, but leaving the "park" at the corner.

 

The large surface lot at Church/4th has been owned by First Citizens bank for many many years. 

I thought the plan was always for it to be built on the site of the park?

Edited July 16, 2014 by Jayvee

[Prodev]

They were surveying the "hotel site" next to the Carillon building today......what is the status on the site, anyone know?

Noble Investment Group out of Atlanta was going to build a 150 room 9-story Homewood Suites on the site, but the pre-submittal meeting was last October, so I'd say it's unlikely that it's still alive. 

[km1789]

Can someone help me locate the slow motion video that was posted here a few weeks ago? It was a Vimeo link that was a few years out of date, but I cannot seem to find the thing anymore.

[ah59396]

I think it's on r/Charlotte, I won't go hunt it down right now, but it's only a couple pages back.

[navigator319]

The original plan back when they built Carillon was for a Swissotel to be built over their loading dock entrance (off Church) and extending toward Trade to roughly where the treees are, but leaving the "park" at the corner.

 

The large surface lot at Church/4th has been owned by First Citizens bank for many many years. 

 

Just back from walking the dog and there is a crew drilling holes down into the grass at this 'park' this morning.  I really hope its not a POS Homewood suites.  Anyway, something does seem to be moving forward here.

[atlrvr]

I don't know if this is good or bad news, but AT&T is vacating their Charlotte market (NC market???) headquarters at 300 S Brevard.  They occupying > 300,000 sq ft, which is 100% of the space except Lola's restaurant on the ground floor.

 

They move out October 2015.

 

Good News:

Large block of contiguous office space available

AT&T may be relocating Uptown (upsizing?)

 

Bad News:

Large block of space availabe (competition for new projects)

AT&T may be downsizing

 

It seems like if October 2015 is their drop-dead date, they aren't likely to be anchoring any new tower, as even Portman would be 1Q16 at the earliest if they were to start today.

 

Anyone hear rumors from workers there what is going on? 

[15895]

Would SouthPark or Ballantyne have office space available by the October 2015 timeline?

[Yurek]

Anyone hear rumors from workers there what is going on? 

 

I have no opinion about their HQ building but I really hate this one

 

 

Is looks like it hosts technical equipment or servers, I guess it would never go away or be remodeled.

Edited July 21, 2014 by Yurek

[ScottCLT]

I have no opinion about their HQ building but I really hate this one

 

 

Is looks like it hosts technical equipment or servers, I guess it would never go away or be remodeled.

Yeah, unfortunately this type of building can be found in many cities. Ugly as hell, but it serves a purpose...just wish it wasn't uptown.

[DMann]

I don't know if this is good or bad news, but AT&T is vacating their Charlotte market (NC market???) headquarters at 300 S Brevard.  They occupying > 300,000 sq ft, which is 100% of the space except Lola's restaurant on the ground floor.

 

They move out October 2015.

 

Good News:

Large block of contiguous office space available

AT&T may be relocating Uptown (upsizing?)

 

Bad News:

Large block of space availabe (competition for new projects)

AT&T may be downsizing

 

It seems like if October 2015 is their drop-dead date, they aren't likely to be anchoring any new tower, as even Portman would be 1Q16 at the earliest if they were to start today.

 

Anyone hear rumors from workers there what is going on? 

I have a friend who just retired from AT&T and asked him the above.  Here is his response.

 

This has been in the works for a long time. Since our NC President moved officially to Raleigh, we new it would happen soon. The building is leased and only partially full, so it make sense to move to owned buildings.

 

Less employees are needed for wireless technology, so are numbers are going down year over year. 

 

AT&T is not abandoning the Charlotte Market. Just moving personnel to AT&T owned buildings

[Urbanity]

Thank you, Keith Larson!

 

Funkiness can’t be the object of a “master planning process.” Funky doesn’t come from “Re-Imagining the Civic Commons.” You’re not going to find your funky on flip charts or through facilitated brainstorming sessions in sterile conference rooms.

 

The “organic development” they want is, after all, organic. The funk factor is, by its very essence, free range. And free range, like funky, is often a little ragged around the edges. Something the Uptown Crowd and Charlotte GuvCo are just not comfortable with.

 

Edited July 23, 2014 by Urbanity

[Miesian Corners]

^I agree with him for the most part--but then he ruined the piece when he used the term "GovCo".  Ugh.

[Windsurfer]

^I agree with him for the most part--but then he ruined the piece when he used the term "GovCo".  Ugh.

Larson doesn't want "funkiness" anyway. I remember several years ago I went to hear Cindy Sheehan speak (along with a bunch of other ex-hippies) He sicked his ultra-conservative audience on us. They showed up with megaphones and noise makers to drown us out. It was ugly.

[atlrvr]

Not to make this stray too much.....but I'm ok with Uptown not being funky, and more of a visitor/corporate destination.  Midtown NYC isn't funky by any stretch, but it still is a vital piece of the NY metro and supports funkiness elsewhere as 1) a significant tax generator, 2) as a significant wealth creator.

 

Lets not debate whether a banker's profession contributes or detracts from society, what I think is a 100% truth is that those bankers in their suits have a lot of money to spend and it directly supports art, local restaurants, indy theatre, investments into start-ups, etc, etc, etc.

 

I think the role of uptown is wealth and tax revenue creation, and to try to force funkiness there is 1) re-directing resources that could be going to NoDa, P-M, SouthEnd , wherever..., and 2) marginalizing what should be a dedicated core economic generator for the region.  In other words, focus on putting in Uptown what is going to build the most wealth, and let the funkiness occur (and promote/subsidize/whatever) in the neighborhoods that it should most organically happen

[ah59396]

Not to make this stray too much.....but I'm ok with Uptown not being funky, and more of a visitor/corporate destination. Midtown NYC isn't funky by any stretch, but it still is a vital piece of the NY metro and supports funkiness elsewhere as 1) a significant tax generator, 2) as a significant wealth creator.

Lets not debate whether a banker's profession contributes or detracts from society, what I think is a 100% truth is that those bankers in their suits have a lot of money to spend and it directly supports art, local restaurants, indy theatre, investments into start-ups, etc, etc, etc.

I think the role of uptown is wealth and tax revenue creation, and to try to force funkiness there is 1) re-directing resources that could be going to NoDa, P-M, SouthEnd , wherever..., and 2) marginalizing what should be a dedicated core economic generator for the region. In other words, focus on putting in Uptown what is going to build the most wealth, and let the funkiness occur (and promote/subsidize/whatever) in the neighborhoods that it should most organically happen

Agree with ALL of this. Uptown is awesome and pretty to look at, but that's about it. Everything I find interesting about Charlotte is located outside 277, and I expect that to continue.

[Urbanity]

Lets not debate whether a banker's profession contributes or detracts from society, what I think is a 100% truth is that those bankers in their suits have a lot of money to spend and it directly supports art, local restaurants, indy theatre, investments into start-ups, etc, etc, etc.

 

I think the role of uptown is wealth and tax revenue creation, and to try to force funkiness there is 1) re-directing resources that could be going to NoDa, P-M, SouthEnd , wherever..., and 2) marginalizing what should be a dedicated core economic generator for the region.  In other words, focus on putting in Uptown what is going to build the most wealth, and let the funkiness occur (and promote/subsidize/whatever) in the neighborhoods that it should most organically happen

 

I agree with this.  My own point for quoting the op-ed peice was the one point I quoted - you can't manufacture funk/grit/street cred into a city - it has to happen organically.

I think Uptown leaders have to focus on the bigger needs of Uptown mainly residential, top businesses, main visitor attractions (would love more museums) and adult entertainment (not xxx  but jazz clubs, bistro dining, coffee houses, and destination retail (apple store, a few high end boutiques, etc).    This would all serve to increase the marketing cache of the city for business relocations and convention /tourism biz. 

 

I just think it's funny that there has been talk (as referenced by Larson to create "funk" in Uptown as if it was something that can be sprayed on a blank wall.

[15895]

Hopefully we can integrate all those islands of interesting places together with uptown obviously being the center of it all. SouthEnd & Uptown ate the most blurred so far along with Midtown/Elizabeth & Uptown. Plaza & NoDa still seems a little isolated

Blue Line extension & Gold Line obviously will go a long way towards unifying NoDa, Plaza, Midtown, Uptown & SouthEnd as more of a single destination (Center City).

[CLTProductions]

Hopefully we can integrate all those islands of interesting places together with uptown obviously being the center of it all. SouthEnd & Uptown ate the most blurred so far along with Midtown/Elizabeth & Uptown. Plaza & NoDa still seems a little isolated

Blue Line extension & Gold Line obviously will go a long way towards unifying NoDa, Plaza, Midtown, Uptown & SouthEnd as more of a single destination (Center City).

Yeah the unification is what we need. Considering how much "Center City" is thrown around, it would be great if it was an actual thing rather than just a name and concept. Noda, Midtown/Elizabeth, South End & Plaza united with Uptown, that is a true Center City.

[CLTNative]

Not really funky, but still fun...From the Library's Facebook page:

 

MADE IN 1984: HOLLYWOOD MOVIES FROM 30 YEARS AGO presents:

JULY 26th (Saturday) --- Showtime at approximately 8:45 p.m.
GHOSTBUSTERS will screen outdoors at Carolina Theater Park, located at the corner of 6th Street and N. Tryon, directly across the street from Main Library.

 

 

In the summer of 1984 GHOSTBUSTERS was a sensation, and 30 years later it's just as sensational. After being evicted from the university where they studied the occult, three "paranormal investigators" set up shop as "ghostbusters", trapping ghosts and poltergeists for money. However, when they stumble upon a gateway to an evil dimension, the Ghostbusters must harness all their skills to save New York City from unleashed demons and the Stay Puft Marshmellow Man. Who you gonna call?

[kermit]

The CBJ reports some good news for downtown (and bad news for btyne):

"The bank recently took nearly 100,000 square feet of space off the market at its headquarters building, Bank of America Corporate Center, that it had previously listed as available to lease. At Ballantyne Corporate Park, BofA occupies the twin six-story Betsill and Sherrill buildings. It will vacate Betsill, which totals approximately 146,000 square feet."

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/real_estate/2014/07/bank-of-america-takes-more-space-uptown-vacating.html

[CLTProductions]

http://charlotterestauranttraffic.com/news/draught-charlotte-heads-opening-date/#.U9jtiIBdVXA

 

The new bar taking over the Hartigan's space seems like it will be opening soon. I don't think I would ever go there, but it seems nice enough.

[Niner National]

I think it might be successful. There are a fair number of people living over in that area and there isn't much going on over there and it is a fairly long walk to the middle of Uptown. When I lived off of Cedar, there were many nights I opted to not go out just because I didn't feel like walking to the bar and back or paying for a cab. This would have been a welcome option then.

[Urbanity]

I really like what they did with the space to be honest. 

[JoshuaDrown]

I live at 5th and Pine (The Vue) and would also walk over, especially once the new construction on South Graham get's built in. I like a bit of a low key place when I want to watch a game and have some good beer. I liked the ambiance of Dillinger's on Church, but it was too empty during the week and couldn't make it.

[nonillogical]

http://charlotterestauranttraffic.com/news/draught-charlotte-heads-opening-date/#.U9jtiIBdVXA

 

The new bar taking over the Hartigan's space seems like it will be opening soon. I don't think I would ever go there, but it seems nice enough.

I think it looks pretty good!

Wasn't Draft (or Draught) also the tentative name for the beer garden/growler shop going in at S Church & Lincoln?