CHARtoSF

Monorail can be effectively used in some cities. Sydney, Australia has one that spans miles in a big loop through there downtown along main roads, which is about 30 of 40 feet above everything. I traveled on it several times back in 2005 when I was there and I must say that it seemed very well planned and implemented. There were stops along the line that kind of curved into buildings that were really neat. Was always a lot of people on it when I was on it. It cost one fee and you get on and get off wherever you wanted to. I was impressed.

Check out USA TODAY's weekend newspaper issue, good for Fri/SAT/Sun and look in the LIFE section, page 9. The entire page is dedicated to Charlotte's present and future attractions. Great to see some National exposure for Charlotte.

Wasn't sure where to post this so I'll put it here. If you pick up USA TODAY's weekend issue, which is good for three days, look in the LIFE weekend section and there's an entire page (p9) dedicated to Charlotte and all the new attractions getting ready to open. I ran across it by chance and I thought wow, it's been a long time since I've seen some National recognition love given to Charlotte.

I keep getting the MSA and the CSA confused, my bad. Anyways, thanks for the clarification.

Charlotte metro is over 2 million if I remember correctly. Can't remember the last time I saw those numbers. Also, I think the city is around 20th largest in the states. Anybody have any accurate info?

I believe the crane you are refering to is the one they will use to drive the caissons into the ground with. Once that's complete there will probably be one or two cranes like the ones all over uptown set up for verticle construction.

You are so right IMHO. If I were going to this event, I would want to park my car and do everything I wanted to do and not get back in my car until I was ready to leave. Charlotte has (by far) more to offer and do within close proximity (walking distance) to the arena than Greensboro has. There are lots and lots of restaurants and bars within walking distance to the arena, and when EpiCentre is completely open you will also have the option of a bowling alley and movie theater, even if they are not mega complexes the option is still there, plus additional retail, restaurants and bars. There's also the option to jump on the light rail line, which is right next to the arena, and go to a number of places south of uptown. This option will only become greater in the coming years. Plus you can count the existing museums with three more to be added soon, and the NHOF. All of this within walking distance, not to mention things I forgot. For me, the overall experience would matter the most. I think if you were to do a survey of people who have gone to this tournaments both in Greensboro and Charlotte, you would have far more wanting to go back to Charlotte.

I think once all the construction wraps up and all the stores and restaurants are full and running, this place will do just fine. Two years from now this place I think will be more popular than six months from now.

I think we are beginning to see the eventual development of Southend into a second skyline for Charlotte. Now that there is a new light rail line running right through the middle of Southend, this area is prime for development. I would really like to see a cluster of buildings 30, 40, and 50 stories tall built in this area eventually. This area if developed right, will only complement and enhance the uptown area, which is going to spill over 277 anyways as time goes on.

I hope they put up a Webcam to monitor the progress of this project as it is built. Does anyone with any connections to this project tell if they plan on having a Webcam installed somewhere soon? I'm sure there are plenty others like me who would love watch this building grow.

Does anybody with any inside connections to this Novare site know if they are going to mount a Oxblue Webcam somewhere to monitor the progress the construction? Just about all the other Novare projects have webcams. I hope this one gets one soon.

Guess what folks, Looks like the tower portion for 210 Trade is getting ready to start. I was checking the webcam today and they have moved a large storage container and what looks like piles of form skaffolding and other material on top of the theater section of the building. I'm guessing there going to get everything ready to start the remainder of this week and hopefully start construction next week.

I get the feeling that the layout of the lower levels, mainly the first two floors, is going to change. Since they are going to have the entire block to work with all the way to the light rail line because the parking deck will be imploded, how can you not make this a much better street level project than what was originally proposed? With all the flack this project has been getting throughout this thread about street level retail and interaction, I hope somehow the next proposed rendering will address this much better.