First Ward Urban Village / North Tryon Vision Plan

[AnonymousCanadian]

 

https://charlotte.axios.com/287336/new-office-development-to-be-built-next-to-optimist-park/#:~:text=Charlotte-based White Point Partners,Brevard at the Belmont intersection.

[SydneycartonII]

You’ve got to love Clt!

The city keeps building and building, or should I say that like the Panthers, it “keeps pounding”!

Edited August 8, 2022 by SydneycartonII

[Madison Parkitect]

50 minutes ago, AnonymousCanadian said:

 

https://charlotte.axios.com/287336/new-office-development-to-be-built-next-to-optimist-park/#:~:text=Charlotte-based White Point Partners,Brevard at the Belmont intersection.

Sharp looking building.

[AnonymousCanadian]

https://charlotteledger.substack.com/p/a-stalled-north-tryon-project-restarts

Never going to be built. At least the Ellis hides most of it.

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

Why doesn’t this guy or his company get more heat or criticism from ppl for holding first ward hostage (not to mentioned his neglected parking deck venture with the University). It’s a damn crime that he owns a bulk of those lots and has done nothing. With movement finally starting on North Tryon, you’d hope he’d sell some of these lots for development. First Ward and First Ward park deserve better than being surrounded by a sea of asphalt. 

Edited August 8, 2022 by CharlotteWkndBuzz
Added pic for reference from the above link

[15895]

21 minutes ago, CharlotteWkndBuzz said:

Why doesn’t this guy or his company get more heat or criticism from ppl for holding first ward hostage (not to mentioned his neglected parking deck venture with the University). It’s a damn crime that he owns a bulk of those lots and has done nothing. With movement finally starting on North Tryon, you’d hope he’d sell some of these lots for development. First Ward and First Ward park deserve better than being surrounded by a sea of asphalt. 

Because not enough people care enough to make a fuss. 

Take a page from neighbors in Dilworth, Myers Park or something if you want to see government pressured into upping the ante in Levine. IMO one of the detriments of huge city limits is you have diluted YIMBY voices. And the people who are vocal advocates (IMO Jason Thomas for example) can get blowback even from pro-urban people in Charlotte.

Want change, make a fuss. 

Edited August 8, 2022 by AirNostrumMAD

[Matthew.Brendan]

Donating enough money to have hospitals and schools put your name on various buildings seems to also help earn social credits.

[tozmervo]

8 minutes ago, Matthew.Brendan said:

Donating enough money to have hospitals and schools put your name on various buildings seems to also help earn social credits.

Leon and Sandra Levine are NOT Daniel Levine

[Madison Parkitect]

Just now, tozmervo said:

Leon and Sandra Levine are NOT Daniel Levine

Leon and Sandra are the Dollar Store people who give a lot of money to philanthropy, and Daniel is an unrelated developer who doesn't develop.

[Matthew.Brendan]

My bad, thank you. Never assume!

Daniel is also the guy behind tearing down the perfectly good apartments at Providence/Fairview corner and letting that land sit empty for years now as well, yeah?

[Madison Parkitect]

Just now, Matthew.Brendan said:

My bad, thank you. Never assume!

Daniel is also the guy behind tearing down the perfectly good apartments at Providence/Fairview corner and letting that land sit empty for years now as well, yeah?

Yeah, I think he owns that one too. A big lot on a very prominent corner with a decent shopping center across the street and he's just letting it sit.

[abttown]

Serious question, and I'm trying to think of a tactful way to phrase this, but is Daniel Levine "all there"?  From the limited amount of articles/new reports I've read about the guy, he seems like he's charismatic and certainly has a prominent family name, but what's the deal with him?  It doesn't seem like he would be holding up his development opportunities out of spite for anyone, although maybe I'm wrong.  So many of Daniel's properties are ripe for development and just continue to languish for seemingly no discernible reason.  The property at the corner of Fairview and Providence is a great example of a Levine wasteland that could easily be turned into a luxury apartment complex.  Is he too prideful to sell off his land and let another entity develop? 

[15895]

19 minutes ago, abttown said:

Serious question, and I'm trying to think of a tactful way to phrase this, but is Daniel Levine "all there"?  From the limited amount of articles/new reports I've read about the guy, he seems like he's charismatic and certainly has a prominent family name, but what's the deal with him?  It doesn't seem like he would be holding up his development opportunities out of spite for anyone, although maybe I'm wrong.  So many of Daniel's properties are ripe for development and just continue to languish for seemingly no discernible reason.  The property at the corner of Fairview and Providence is a great example of a Levine wasteland that could easily be turned into a luxury apartment complex.  Is he too prideful to sell off his land and let another entity develop? 

I just imagined he's doing what's best for him and his families financial future. If anything, the property is just gaining value. So. 

[turbocraig]

16 minutes ago, abttown said:

Serious question, and I'm trying to think of a tactful way to phrase this, but is Daniel Levine "all there"?  From the limited amount of articles/new reports I've read about the guy, he seems like he's charismatic and certainly has a prominent family name, but what's the deal with him?  It doesn't seem like he would be holding up his development opportunities out of spite for anyone, although maybe I'm wrong.  So many of Daniel's properties are ripe for development and just continue to languish for seemingly no discernible reason.  The property at the corner of Fairview and Providence is a great example of a Levine wasteland that could easily be turned into a luxury apartment complex.  Is he too prideful to sell off his land and let another entity develop? 

Just from reading about his fits and starts (more fits than starts) over the couple decades I've lived here, I just assumed laziness and incompetence.  He just doesn't seem like a very motivated person to me.  But what do I know...

Even the Levine Properties website is rotting on the vine.  Only info is a couple of ancient renderings of First Ward Park.  No mention or drill-down of any other projects whatsoever.  

http://www.levineproperties.com/#

[kermit]

8 hours ago, abttown said:

Serious question, and I'm trying to think of a tactful way to phrase this, but is Daniel Levine "all there"?  From the limited amount of articles/new reports I've read about the guy, he seems like he's charismatic and certainly has a prominent family name, but what's the deal with him?  It doesn't seem like he would be holding up his development opportunities out of spite for anyone, although maybe I'm wrong.  So many of Daniel's properties are ripe for development and just continue to languish for seemingly no discernible reason.  The property at the corner of Fairview and Providence is a great example of a Levine wasteland that could easily be turned into a luxury apartment complex.  Is he too prideful to sell off his land and let another entity develop? 

I read an interview (maybe two) that implied he was very concerned about maximizing his ROI and maximizing his 'one shot' to 'save' 1st ward. The suggestion from the story was when he took possession of the first ward properties he talked himself up as a development genius and any project that was not 'perfect' for both the firm and the city was going to paint him as a failure. In hindsight this explanation is probably giving him too much credit and laziness is the Occam's razor.

You gotta be REALLY lazy to ignore years of fines from his contract with UNCC (for undelivered parking) and property taxes, even with a giant pile of family money to draw from.

Edited August 10, 2022 by kermit

[Matthew.Brendan]

15 minutes ago, kermit said:

I would have thought that fines from his contract from UNCC (for undelivered parking)

Is there any proof that any of these fines have actually been levied (hah) ?

[Madison Parkitect]

I've always assumed laziness too, he just went into the family business because "why not?" and he sort of does just enough to justify coming into the office.

[TCLT]

49 minutes ago, Madison Parkitect said:

I've always assumed laziness too, he just went into the family business because "why not?" and he sort of does just enough to justify coming into the office.

Wouldn't the laziest option be to just sell everything for a massive profit and sit at home and spend the generations worth of money he'd receive?

It's gotta be ego. His father was the one that gathered up all the land right? And he got handed a real estate holding business that he mistook for a development business and he's deluded himself into thinking he could usher in an era of glorious rebirth for First Ward and Uptown despite not being able to create anything more than gravel parking lots. How many renders and master plans has he released to great fanfare? And how many fluff articles has he conned reporters into writing about him? He seems to love attention, although he has been pretty quiet since the 10th street debacle fully failed. Did he finally gain some self-awareness or is his mouth just gagged due to litigation?

[Blakcatfan]

3 hours ago, Madison Parkitect said:

Leon and Sandra are the Dollar Store people who give a lot of money to philanthropy, and Daniel is an unrelated developer who doesn't develop.

Just for clarity, Daniel is actually Leon's nephew.  His father Al is Leon's brother.  The land in first ward is owned by Daniel, Al and Leon Levine (not sure if cousin Howard (Leon's son and former Family Dollar CEO) is involved, but they are all closely related, and have a lot of clout in the city.  
 

[KJHburg]

5 hours ago, Matthew.Brendan said:

Donating enough money to have hospitals and schools put your name on various buildings seems to also help earn social credits.

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by KJHburg

[CM2424]

This is the best example of why a land use tax makes a lot of sense

[sclark]

The headline and photo says it all: https://plancharlotte.org/story/daniel-levine-interview-first-ward-plan-charlotte  

[Blakcatfan]

Howard Levine is his cousin.  Leon is his uncle, and co-founder of Family Dollar.  Howard is Leon's son, and took over as CEO when Leon retired.   Daniel is Al's son.  Al passed away back in 2016, but the family trust is still part owner of the first ward property along with Danielle, and uncle Leon.  

Leon is in the one that has all of the Atrium stuff named after him.  

 

[Madison Parkitect]

23 minutes ago, sclark said:

The headline and photo says it all: https://plancharlotte.org/story/daniel-levine-interview-first-ward-plan-charlotte  

Yeah, that headline and photo combination is so funny.

[CTiger]

1 hour ago, sclark said:

The headline and photo says it all: https://plancharlotte.org/story/daniel-levine-interview-first-ward-plan-charlotte  

Quote

I’d rather do nothing than not do it well

Somehow he found that narrow intersection in the venn diagram of doing nothing and not doing it well.