UrbanFuture

I know this won't change the discount system, but I'm under the impression that the non-skyline views are actually more valued by residents (avenue/trademark) than the city views are. Someone correct me if I am wrong. I think that the non-skyline views will be great. Edit: Apparently I can't type or correctly read my post before hitting submit tonight, my apologies.

My floors would be the same brand/quality as yours I believe. I did not notice the change at first but did on the second walk-through. To me personally I was worried much more about the cabinets, as they are MUCH more expensive and harder to replace so I guess I didn't give the floors much thought. Now that I think about it, the floors are definitely a big thing to have changed. However, I don't believe there is a legal argument, thanks to that wonderful paragraph that says something like Centro makes to representation as to the brand/grade of materials used, etc etc etc, reserves the right to change materials of similar quality/finish, etc, etc. The floors definitely are laminate, which is obnoxious. On a positive note, I'm excited to finally move in, whenever that may be able to take place, the almost 3 year state of flux from apartment to apartment is getting old. EDIT: I was one of the first buyers, there were no re-negotiations of any kind to my knowledge.

You are indeed correct, I should make note that I am not saying Carocon or Centro is "bad" or doing a "poor job at their core business", just simply that something is amiss somewhere in the process. No doubt about the inspections, I have experienced this first hand. I wouldn't be surprised if what has really happened is a little bit of friction between the on site guys and the inspectors due to the inspectors doing higher quality/slower inspections. This slower process is probably taking some adjusting to by the guys on site who are used to faster, smaller inspection punch lists and predictably they are arguing some inspection points which slows the process down and usually makes the list longer as well.

I wonder if it will come to a point before the glass skin being applied where it will look absolutely monstrous (both in size and impressions) in 4th ward from the street level. Even if it does, I think the glass will go a long way to making it look somewhat less imposing to the 4th ward streetscape.

Curiously, what was different in their unit? Mine did not have a glass block wall as shown on the floor plan, but I specifically requested that be a normal drywall clad wall. I have heard of other minor changes as they have VE'd ("value engineered") things along the way. Closings are proving to be a big challenge, apparently their contractor is completely inept and is unable to handle the close out of the project with timely and successful inspections, thus delaying the Certificate of Occupancy and any residents from moving in. There is definitely a break down somewhere, either with Centro's project managers or CaroCon's project managers, with someone not able to properly manage this project, which is very unfortunate for everyone involved.

That land is in play last I heard. Beazer is no longer conducting any new business in Charlotte and the surrounding areas and have left the city. Rumor is that land is for sale to the tune of $42.3 million (RUMOR, not fact).

Well I can see it from that perspective as well. And it certainly fits with Charlotte's identity, being "the little city that could". I don't mean that in a bad way either, I absolutely love Charlotte. We have a robust history of going after big ideas and making them a reality. If he's following that line of thought then his heart is certainly in the right place, I'm just not convinced that it is his line of thought. So, does the park get redrawn to be bigger?

Fair enough on the numbers, I am from Chicago originally, and also lived in Philly and Maryland and have been to all of their stadiums. I grew up going to games at Wrigley. Impressive attendance numbers for sure, and like any good argument with numbers on UP, we can manipulate them to say what we want to say. I would be happy to wager a blind bet that if you took viewership numbers into account that american football would top the MLB. How many bars and restaurants are packed watching baseball games on a given night? How many bars and restaurants are packed for football games 4-5 nights a week for NFL and college games? Superbowl viewership? 2008 was 98 million viewers for one game, with some estimates as high as 144 million. Back to the topic at hand, in a city with a good support of the NFL and Nascar, poor support for the NBA, why would we spend a dime or space in the urban grid on a pipe dream (and it is, solely because of the fact MLB does not want to expand, this is not the field of dreams, they will not come just because we build it)? What would a MLB stadium contribute to Charlotte that a minor league stadium wouldn't?

Why doesn't Charlotte think big in terms of urban innovation instead of trying to play catch up with the joneses cities of the world. Charlotte should take the lead in sustainable urban fabric/development, effective light rail system, or other innovative and adaptive world class projects. At the risk of being off the topic of the baseball stadium, Charlotte can certainly establish itself in much more effective and innovative ways than a baseball stadium.

I respectfully disagree. (now I will risk getting flamed) Baseball, in my honest opinion, is a dying sport and certainly no longer the national pastime. The new national sport pastime is football, especially with the younger generations. Putting hundreds of millions into a MLB stadium and using even more acreage than the minor league stadium would take in Uptown and HOPING the league that doesn't want to expand will put a team here is just plain irresponsible, for whomever may be footing the bill and/or land and the city. /End horrid run-on sentence

Hmmm apparently I don't have too many pictures without people in them. Here are a couple. http://www.flickr.com/photos/30822677@N08/

I had the first walkthrough of the Quad @ Quarterside today. The building is the still very much a construction site. Will post pictures soon. First thoughts: - Unit condition and finishes exceeded my expectations in quality and completeness - Hall and common areas have finishes on par with Avenue and Trademark hall areas (sans flat screen tvs at Avenue) - Retail is progressing well with more tenants soon to be signed - The parking garages will be gated and residents only for the Quad. Visitor parking on street, in the surface lot and part of the Ledge deck - Overall, very happy with the results.

Yeah, they (Magazine in Charleston) sued the Garden and Gun club here over the name. I believe they won or are winning, hence all the signs saying the G & G club instead of Garden and Gun club.

So, did anyone go to the opening of the Garden and Gun Club??? I am curious to see how it was?

The Charlotte House Music Society is started up last week at the G and G club as well. www.myspace.com/clthousemusic I've seen some flyers around town in different neighborhoods over the past week. The Observer and the CBJ picked it up today. I'd be surprised if any new large bar opening in Uptown in the foreseeable future didn't go members only. A.L.E. is cracking down big time on private clubs and enforcing memberships. I am not sure what the criteria for a private club entails but I have heard that if you don't serve food but serve alcohol you have to be a private club.

Ohhhh I have a feeling that won't be an issue. So far there are 3 venues open. If anyone's been by at night on a Thursday/Friday/Saturday in the past two weeks with Whisky & Suite cranking their oversized stereos and Pavilion pumping out live music from the roof, the whole Epicentre complex literally vibrates. Whisky has the loudest system, easily. Plus add in the 3000+ people that are there when all three are open. Its awesome! (I wonder how much of that noise will translate vertically to the condos) Howl at the Moon will be a great addition both to Epicentre and Charlotte, and definitely will up the volume, literally, on what is already there.

It does not look like this yet. The roof and basic (very basic) structure are both in place, but the upfit hasn't ramped up yet. They will be serving out of beer tubs for the first event.

Update on Suite: Suite, a "friendly upscale" club that is located in building A on the level above Whisky River, will open its doors on Friday May 23rd. It will have several private "Suites" with tables available for rent for the evening with bottle service (2 bottles of grey goose and comparable brands with each table reservation), a private server for the table, cover included for table guests, and a lockable glass dome on the table to keep your liquor bottle honest while moving around the club. It has a large outdoor patio on the corner of College and Trade with VIP and regular seating and standing room. It has several big glass doors that roll up between the terrace and the interior, think Central 27 like doors on a large scale. DJ's are being brought in from Miami, DC and around the country and world from opening day on. Open Weds-Sat 5-Close (2 or 4am). Suite will be a private club. However, there are 3 levels of membership. Gold (free), Platinum(costs, but with some benefits), and Black(most expensive, most benefits). You can pick up your free memberships before they open at the Suite location in EpiCenter this Thurs, Fri, and Saturday night, or sign up online. According to the Fire Marshall, Suite officially holds around 630 people at capacity.

Disappointed. This is supposed to be one of our main streets, I would've thought they could do more density or a better design. The retail will be good and needed, especially once the transit station goes in across the street, but the original rendering and project idea was much better in my opinion.

Your post seems like having it set back that far is a bad thing? I think its great! I am not a fan of the way all the decks crowd lower (south) Church Street.

I seriously doubt that property will devaluate past the pre-sales price. If he bought in February 2006, as did I, he should be fine. Blvd Centro changed their name a while back as they try to re-invent themselves to continue to expand their business lines in a chaotic market. The Quad and the whole development are long overdue. They picked up a couple major delays by (1) originally planning to build one building at a time, and then when they all sold quickly, deciding to build the entire complex at once, and (2) by not accounting for some of the structural elements of the building in their blueprints and then having to redraw and reengineer some of the structure mid-way through the process. However, this is still a good deal and still an attractive price point. Your friend bought in the city at a mixed use project, surely they expected one restaurant establishment in the project given the 10,000+ sq ft of retail space. While I agree that it might be noisy on occasion, I don't see the bar scene trekking down 4 blocks from every other bar to party it up in the Pub. I think the pub will do just fine off of people in the first ward neighborhood and business folks from 2nd ward as well as people in Quarterside. It shouldn't be a wild place, but an enjoyable neighborhood watering hole. I for one want something of substance there besides a drycleaner and nail salon.

A couple of the retail spots have been filled at Quarterside. There is one "Colin's neighborhood Pub" in the corner spot (I'm pretty excited about it), a drycleaners(surprise, surprise), an owner who doesn't know what he's going to do with the spot, and another retail tenant plans for a pizza place but no retail spot assigned to it yet. 6 retails spots remain. The Quad (on 6th & Myers) is supposed to finish late summer / early fall. The Row (7th & Myers) is the unknown, currently they are further ahead on it than the Quad or the Ledge. And the Ledge will finish up last.

There is an article in the Observer this morning about the $1 billion dollar idea (no plan yet) to widen I-77 from I-485 through Uptown. The strategies mentioned in the article were rebuilding all of the interchanges over I-77 to be able to span 8-10 lanes total or building an elevated 4-lane section above the median for HOV's and willing toll paying single riders and not rebuilding the interchanges or changing the ground footprint of the highway. Rebuilding the interchanges would be incredibly costly and disruptive. Not that anything on this road wouldn't be disruptive or costly. The article also goes into the fact that no one ever wants to talk about it because it is so expensive and difficult to undertake. They want to hire a consultant to do some feasibility studies by the end of the year. EDIT: My grammer is atrocious this morning.

Indeed. We went to Dolce for drinks and people watching and then ate at a packed Cabo Fish Taco before hitting some of the galleries. It was a lively and mixed crowd, even in the pouring rain. Fat City Lofts was certainly imposing (for NoDa) in the car coming up N. Davidson, but interestingly enough once on foot it wasn't too big. I am curious how well it will tie in at street level with the rest of the neighborhood. I think once Mercury gets moving, it will offset Fat City Loft's height and make the strip in NoDa a little more balanced in terms of density and height.

Drove by Catalyst this morning, the have some panels of the curtain wall (Glass) up already on what looked like the 3rd or 4th floor along MLK blvd... I know Novare is in charge, but good developer or not, the contractor can make or break a schedule. Bovis really runs a tight ship.