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More boutique hotel options outside of uptown in neighborhoods like NODA, Plaza Midwood, Elizabeth, Dilworth, Southend, etc..... There are just no options for overnight stays in these areas which have the bulk of the music venues, bars, restaurants and entertainment options outside of uptown. Right now there are just Uptown hotels and ones clustered on Interstate exits. I would think there would be a pent up demand for options in these areas. i know whenever I have friends coming into town they ask about hotel options in these areas and I have to direct them to hotels uptown instead.

I think the neighborhood association of all three neighborhoods (Villa Heights, Optimist Park and Belmont) were trying to bill the area as "The Eco-District." http://www.power2charlotte.com/energy-initiatives/neighborhood-energy-challenge/eco-district.aspx

As a resident who lives in Villa Heights for the past year I really like my neighborhood and neighbors. There are a lot of residents that have moved in within the past couple of years and the neighborhood has changed a lot from what I have heard from some of the first people that bought in the area. There have been several minor incidents in the neighborhood but the communtiy association is very active and is working hard to make it safer. However; after listening to friends that live in Plaza Midwood and NODA I actually feel much safer where I am and as of now havent had any issues. My neighbors that were original residents are generally older working class and very very friendly and watch out for each other. The newer residents that are my neighbors are very diverse, gay, young families with kids, artists/musicians....etc (even a young couple from Scotland). Aaron Pomis who is running for a seat on the School Board lives down the block and is very involved in the neighborhood. Its funny since I moved I know everyone around my block and that is something I never had living in the suburbs or even in Dilworth. I have never felt unsafe walking at night from NODA or Amelie's. I think due to the downturn in the market it will take longer for this area to transition as fast as it was before but that is just fine with me as it gives the area a little soul and I love the older residents that live near me. Also, Ive noticed that the lot sizes in Villa Heights are so much bigger than the surrounding neighborhoods (I have almost half an acre) which makes a big difference living this close to downtown. Hopefully new people will continue to move into the area to provide greater diversity and the Light Rail Extension, Peddlers Post, CAST, NODA Brewery, the Hookah Bar, and Birdsong Brewery should help due to their proximaty. So heres to saying I may not live in NODA but its NODAish and its a great little neighborhood that is kinda hidden. Lets face it Charlotte could use a little more urban grit it adds to the character of urban life here.

Ok, I was mistaken. I thought that this land incorporated the property the Treolar building was on. I wasn't aware of the proposal to move it on to the property. Hopefully even though this will not be incorporated in the design it will provide an incentive for someone to come in and renovate this structure. I stand corrected.

I can't believe Charlotte would want to demolish another older building in downtown. I know this building is currently run-down and I'm not sure if it has any historical significance. However; one of the things I hear about our city from outsiders is how plastic it looks. We have torn down all of our older structures to replace them with something new and shiny. Why not save this building and work to incorporate it into the park. I have always thought it was an amazing looking structure. It's sad to see another one succumb to the wrecking ball. I wish our city leaders would value preservation more. At least they will keep the Dixie's Tavern building but I think both should have been incorporated into the design to preserve the few older structures we have left in our center city. Do you think that Charlotte has a tear-it-down mentality because there are so many newcomers in the city that do not value the history of the area; because developers are given a blank check by our leaders; because as a southern city we strive to break our ties to a stereotypical southern past and try to convey an "New South" progressive image to the outside world; or all of the above? I personally dont think that destroying your ties to our history and past is very progressive thinking, but Charlotte, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, etc. seem to think it works. As the Levine Museum of the New South says "from Cotton fields to Skyscrapers." Everyone look how far we have come, we have big buildings and lots of bling, and dont worry about our history we have forgotten all about it and so should you. Sorry for the rant I just hate to see another one go.

Today the Charlotte Observer ran a story about Charlotte Pipe and Foundry potentially moving their operations to Stanley County. This would leave a huge piece of valuable real estate open downtown. Their facility is located off of South Clarkson behind the Morehead Commons Site. They have about 40 acres on both sides of I-277. I drive by this location everyday and I think it is an eyesore coming into uptown. I hope that this gets grabbed up and developed, it would make a great addition to Uptown and could clean up that area making the drive into uptown much more pleasing. Im sure that a developer could get Brownfield Credits for redevelopment of this property. Here is a map of the land they own.

Yeah, I used to have to park in one when I worked in NYC. The only thing I have wondered is what happens when this thing breaks down? I remember when the elevator in NYC broke while I was at work and they told me to come back tomorrow. Since I lived in NJ and not within walking distance to a train station I had to spend the night in the city. So what happens when the elevator in this building breaks down and residents cant get their cars out for a couple of days? Since, I'm sure there wont be many contractors who can fix this type of elevator at the drop of a hat here in Charlotte. I'm sure the developer has thought about this but I would not be surprised if this problem came up sooner or later for the residents. It would be cool if the condo association provided a clause that it would provide each resident with a rental car if the elevator was ever inoperational. But I guess I will never have to worry about this. I will have to be an admirer of this neat building from the outside as I will probably never have the means to afford one of these units. Oh well Ill keep playing the lottery. But this building will add a lot to this location in Uptown and I cant wait for construction to start.

Dubone you made my morning. Very funny. Good read and you hit the nail on the head with all of these issues. From someone who grew up and went to college outside of Charlotte, University City has always been a place that I have perceived to be a suburban detached area of the city proper. And I think that it will take a lot more than bringing light rail into the area to increase its connectivity. Furthermore UNCC seems detached from University City. It is kind of set back hidden and an entity of its own. Universities such as NCSU, UNC, AppState, and even UNCG have better connectivity with the surrounding neighborhoods, making them seem collegiate. Funky shops, bars, coffee shops, restaurants all catering to the students. When I started classes at UNCC for my masters I just got the vibe that all the students on campus commuted to get to class and then left the area. But you are right with all the 4-lane roads surrounding the university it basically has no-where to grow a pedestrian friendly student environment. Oh well at least they keep building and approving zoning permits for apartments in the area for them to live in. Can we rename it from University City to Apartment City?

Sorry if this has been discussed before. But I was looking on the Center City Partners Website and I thought I was looking at an error. It seems that they mixed up the picture of the new Cityview Terraces at the corner of 12th and Poplar with Industry-29 off of Commonwealth and Briar Creek. But they didn't. Yes they are copying the same buildings in both neighborhoods. http://cityviewterrace.com/ http://www.industry29.com/ When Industry-29 renderings came out I was really excited about this project. It was a different design and I felt it would bring a new product to Charlotte. But is it just me but copying the same exact design in two different neighborhoods just makes me lose all respect for this developer and these projects. Yes, yes I know suburban developers do it all the time. But I just don't like that they did it in urban core neighborhoods in areas that try to buck the architectural monotony of suburbia. I would be peeved if I bought at Industry-29 thinking I have bought in a development that was unique to the area and found out that a couple of miles away the same product is getting ready to be brought to the market. I know that some developers in these neigborhoods offer products that are very similar with a few differences to make them look architecturally different but it doesnt look like John R. Poore even changed anything in the design on these two projects. YUCK!!!! I hope this doesnt start a trend.

Yeah I think your right about 2009. Not only because the mall itself is so large but because if this is going to happen then Lawyers Road will need to be totally redone at this location along with the 485-interchange, I expect, to accommodate the traffic load. They are talking about putting in a roundabout on Lawyers road to help deal with the sharp curves and to ease traffic flow. Also, a lot of engineering controls will need to be put into place to limit the impact of this development to Goose Creek because of the Heelsplitter. But I think once this project gets up and running it will have a big impact on this part of Mecklenburg County. I remember when SouthPoint was being built in Durham, which is very similar to this mall. There was nothing in that part of Durham and now the area is booming.

Well its official groundbreaking for this project started today. They have equipment on-site and grading has begun. Several residential structures need to be demolished but they are vacant and have demolition signs posted in front of them. Looks like this project is moving ahead after all.

While I see violent crime as an issue in Charlotte as in most big cities. I don't think it is as bad as people think it is. Having lived here for a couple of years I keep hearing from locals about how bad crime is. Well Charlotte is a metro area, yes there is going to be crime. Even though a lot of Charlotte looks and feels like the suburbs, it is still a city. But Ive got to tell you I have really never felt unsafe in Charlotte even in some of the bad areas of town. Ask someone from Detroit, Philly or Atlanta about crime if you think it is so bad here. And according to the statistics violent crime is decreasing in Charlotte so something is being done. While many cities are seeing a spike in violent crime we are one of those that is decreasing in those numbers.

I agree the Money Magazine, Forbe Lists, etc. are pretty much worthless. They data that they base these lists on are entirely nebulous and imprecise ways to calculate such broad regional inventories. Most of the cities on the list are like comparing big apples to little oranges. The Observer stated that they used 2005 crime data.....huh?....that makes no sense to use outdated data in a list based on 2007. Furthermore, I live in Charlotte and Ive got to tell you that having a certain number of Superfund sites in my metro area really does not affect my happiness level, what a useless indicator. And while we are on this subject. Does it seem to you that Forbes and Money Mag have it out for Charlotte? I never see Charlotte on good lists but they do tend to make it on the bad ones quite often. Did Hugh McColl and Forbes get into a board room brawl back in the day? Though, I think Charlotte has a lot to brag about and that is why people keep moving here in droves. We dont need a list to tell us we are great.

Here are some pics of our masses of cranes uptown. As for our new tourism slogan "Charlotte's got a lot......of cranes!" The second picture is of the new Charlotte School of Law. They are rolling right along with that building. It will have a great view of the skyline from that location.

I know that the issue of the heelsplitter is a moot issue at this point. The developer has already gotten the go-ahead from the state to be able to build at this site after applying numerous mitigation techniques, engineering controls, and design plans that help limit the impact to the Goose Creek Basin (or so they say). And from what I have heard the Stallings Mall is not going to happen. The mayor of Stallings was trying to push this issue to have a developer come and build a mall there but it did not happen. The issue I am most concerned with is that because of economic issues with the slow-down of the economy and the current demographics of the area that the mall would never get off the ground. I think that, like Southpoint in Durham that the surrounding development would come, to be located in proximaty to the mall if the thing were able to get off the ground. I guess we will just have to keep waiting to see what happens. This would be a major change for Southeast Mecklenburg County if it did happen. And if it doesnt I wonder what the future will hold for Mint Hill due to the town and developments in the town pretty much depending on whether the mall gets built. There are a lot of undeveloped neighborhoods right now in Mint Hill that are selling at higher-end prices. I think there are more than 2,200 homes planned right now and most are selling above $300,000? Can this area support all of that development without an attraction such as this mall?

The proposed site is located inside of of I-485 on the north side of Lawyers Road and east of Bain School Road. The Observer had an interesting article posing the question that since the development has be stalled for so long due to the environmental issues posed by the endangered Carolina Heelspliter that it may have put itself behind due to other retail options in Southern Mecklenburg County. Do you think that because of the unique design of this project, unlike anything else in the metro region, and the upscale nature of the shopping center, that it will have the draw to attract people from around the Charlotte area? Or do you think it will be another Northlake Mall that will suffer in the long run? Also, the mall is drawing a lot of very high-end niche housing developments such as Cheval, an equestrian community, and Sienna, a neighborhood with working vineyards that start upwards of $1million for a home and there are several retail developments that are waiting in the wings to develop in Mint Hill if and when the mall breaks ground. These developments along with several other large upscale housing developments are tieing themselves to the opening of this new mall. Do you think this mall will get developed? And if not what affect will that have on the Mint Hill area if this mall never gets off the ground? It seems the town has a lot riding on this thing getting built. I have my doubts myself. I live in Mint Hill and there has been no groundwork, demolition or anything on this property yet. The property is largely pasture and the cows are still grazing in the fields the last I checked. If grading was suppose to happen any day now and they are just waiting on a driveway permit as the Observer says dont you think some activity would have started by now?

As a city employee I do know that the City of Charlotte does not extend benefits to same sex partners nor does it say anything about discrimination in the workplace toward homosexuals in its employee policies. I think that for a city this size that it is a shame that the city does not take a more progressive stance toward GLBT employees that work for the city. We pay taxes too just like everyone else.

He stated in an interview with John Hancock that he would buy out all of the condo owners if the track moved. And he talked as if he was ready to move no matter what Concord did. You can listen to it here: http://hancock.wbt.com/ What a jerk. Although I think the mayor of Concord is just as bad. The way things were handled in this matter was ridiculous on both sides. Now Concord is trying to give him a tax break. Come on now is this really warrented?

Has anyone heard anything further regarding this mall and whether it is going to happen or not?