almondjoy

All we have is a proposal and silence? We don't know if it will be built? Where have you been? Construction financing has been secured, a huge, well-known GC was selected for the job, a white monolith was imploded, a Dee-Dee-size hole was dug, several levels of parking have been built in the hole, several massive overnight concrete pours have taken place for the foundation of the tower and the deck, and it looks like we're about to be above grade with steel coming out of the ground anytime soon. Did a fairy fly over downtown, wiggle its nose, and make all of this happen, unbeknownst to the developers? Are they still trying to get zoning and figure out what to do with the existing structure while all this took place? Hmm.... I did read the article. It provides bullet points for creating great street-level retail. Fine. On this site, you have 3 streets. In the renderings, we have multi-story retail along all 3 streets, with internal corridors and plazas coming off those streets and more storefronts to accomodate 300,000 s.f. of space. Is there something wrong with that? I don't see blank walls anywhere - what renderings are you looking at? I see glass and storefronts and signage. The fact is you can't fit it all onto the streets, there HAS to be some facing the interior. So they made open-air plazas and corridors with outdoor seating. I think the architects did a good job stuffing 10 lbs of sh-- into a 5 lb bag. The other huge benefit of the design is that all the access points can be controlled for special events. For example, if they have the right license, you could take a drink from one bar and go out in the plaza with it, finish it, then go somewhere else. Or pay one cover charge at the gate at the street, if there is a charge, and get a wristband to go to any venue. I've seen this setup in other cities with similar developments. Retailers shun the downtown area because NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE LIVE DOWNTOWN YET. You will NEVER get Gap, Banana, Victoria's Secret, Barnes & Noble, or Borders to be first movers to ANY downtown that lacks residents unless the deal is heavily subsidized. They simply won't do it. If you've seen them somewhere like that, the developers bought the deal and it's a loss-leader for them. My educated guess is that Ghazi couldn't afford to do that, but will have the space available in 5 or 10 years when leases start to expire and more people are (hopefully) living downtown. And something that is attractive to chain outfits will always be attractive to local outfits too. I'd eat my hat if there wasn't a ton of local retailers dying to be there. The problem is two-fold: (1) The land was expensive, construction costs are sky-high, so the rent is almost certainly too expensive for a small company with limited capital to risk it in an unproven market, and (2) Construction and permanent lenders demand signed leases with national credit tenants to mitigate their risk, so that's what developers go after first, and everyone complains. Sorry, but that's reality. Everyone's just trying to off-load as much risk as possible, so this is what we end up with, and it happens all over the country every day. Metro, you keep talking in circles. I ask how you would improve the design to your standards, etc, and you reply: I'd like to hear specific changes you would make. What exactly is people-unfriendly? How would you make it more attractive to non-chain outfits? Steal the construction materials? I love the design and the concept, and I can't WAIT to live there. The whole thing tickles me to death, and I'm tired of following the intelligent conversations around here littered with misinformation and misguided, baseless criticism.

I've been following that thread and it's basically a history lesson, a wish list, and more complaining. No solutions for Epicenter, at least. So I go back to my original question: with the size of the site and a financially viable program in mind, what would you change about it to meet your requirements? How would you make it work?

Outdoor steps, elevators, walkways between upper levels of buildings...etc. I've seen similar developments with outdoor escalators too, so I wouldnt be surprised if they had those.

I hear a lot of complaining, but no solutions. What would you change about it? How would you fit enough retail/office/hotel/residential space to make it financially viable while meeting whatever requirements you're talking about? Let's hear some ideas already instead of the constant whining.

Look at the buildings dude. They aren't big enough to fit retail space on both sides AND an interior corridor that would be even remotely attractive or wide enough to handle any traffic. Everything is open air, and all storefronts are on the exterior.

You're referring to a different concept. The one that was in Concord Mills was what you would find in an airport. Fox Sports Grill is completely different...think Sullivan's with a sports theme.

The hotel will be a separate building along 4th street, and not part of the condo tower. http://www.theghazicompany.com/images/futu...mplex_large.jpg

Aside from their incessant advertising, they're doing a horrendous job of managing the press and public opinion. Save for that blurb about meeting presale requirements, they've been nonexistant in the news. They really should have planned some sort of PR blitz in the midst of all this 210 trade activity.

I don't think it's the rule on everything...a few of my friends have flipped contracts at several developments around town. Regardless, it is a built-in disincentive, but we'll see how it turns out... I reserved yesterday, it was packed with people, and sales are exceptionally strong. I think they did an outstanding job of creating the right mix of floor plans and pricing it very well.

I doubt it. In the contract it says you can't assign it and you can't advertise it in any way (except word of mouth) prior to closing. Plus it's 10% down for investors. I believe that would discourage most speculators as they actually have to close on the unit...