WestCoastNC

I saw Gary Alan / Eli Young Band / Jack Ingram at the Fillmore and was really impressed. Layout is very good, plenty of places to grab beer (if I remember correctly tall boy domestics were $8 which for a music venue isn't obscene). I would highly recommend everyone give it a try. Only negative thing I have to say is that part of the ticket (Eli Young Band) played before the billed time on the ticket so I missed them because I showed up at like ten after. Haven't been to any of the other joints there yet. I've heard good things about Halo. Looking forward to Wet Willies opening. Maybe after a few more places open up they'll consider a low cost shuttle to take you uptown and back ($1 or 2 each way?). That or another strategy could be to try to make it a destination that people will stay at. Maybe offer a wrist band good for cover at all NCMF bars and clubs.

Not sure if this has been mentioned before but the inside of Ashton Southend is very nice. I toured it last weekend. The ammenities were very nice, but the pool on the top floor is not ready yet. The interiors and finishes inside the units rival Avenue, Trademark, and 230 S Tryon in my opinion. They are running a special right now on their 850sf 1brs units for $999/mo. Also the staff and security there were exceptionally friendly.

I concur. While uptown may not be landlocked (unless you want to count I-277) there is clearly a desirability to living in high rises with all of the amenities. I can understand why some deride the buildings, but for the uptown crowd these are well regarded like it or not.

Aren't all condo buildings tenements? I don't quite follow this line of thought. It's a beautiful building and it's not going anywhere. I suspect the whole thing will go rental by the end of the summer and it will go through conversion back to condo ala Fifth and Poplar in the future.

Here's a picture of the Vue taken on Sunday:

I hear first renters are moving in in the middle of this month.

According to the sales staff, I believe four people have moved in so far. I was driving past there the other day and saw someone watching TV from one of the units on Myers St.

As a 20 something uptown resident, I can assure you everyone I know loves Epicentre. Yes we drink, I've even been known to have a jager bomb or shots of Patron, so shoot me [no pun intended!]. It has brought so much to downtown that it didn't have before (in recent history..I'm sure some of its amenities existed decades ago before downtown hollowed out). Trust me, when it comes to attracting young people to Charlotte and creating night time vibrancy downtown Epicentre has been an overwhelmingly positive force. Yes, it is obviously a planned retail, dining, and entertainment complex, a glorified strip mall of sorts, but it's a helluva one. It's very street friendly and has bridge access to Lynx. Strong downtowns normally always have bar scenes. I know bars don't make a downtown, but it's a key quality of life indicator for most younger folks. This building alone provides a strong incentive for people to live downtown. Do we really want to go back to the old days when the streets would clear after 6? I'm going to go out on a limb here and thank Ghazi for developing this facility, I go there at least two or three times a week for lunch, movies, or the bars.

The last picture is awesome, great work!

They do not have specific lenders set up for buyers to use. They have somehow legally separated floors 15-27 as a condominium. The amenities on floor two are jointly managed somehow. The sales staff did not seem to have all the answers. I am in the process of confirming financing with a major bank and will let you know what I hear about whether it is a viable property for a commodity mortgage that can be sold off to FNMA.

A quick update regarding Catalyst. The first renters are moving into the building this week. Contracts signed for purchase (all condo units on floors 15-27) have a closing date of end of August. There is another financing contingency which allows Novare to cancel contracts and make the entire building rental should they not sell enough units. Novare is paying the HOA dues for all renter units and unsold condominiums.

Updated pictures of The Vue from this past Saturday:

Updated pictures of NASCAR HOF taken this past Saturday:

Here are some more pictures of the project taken this past Saturday. Link to full gallery

I have not seen the pricing sheet yet, but according to the Observer the new pricing for floors 15-27 start at 170k. Catalyst sold originally last summer starting at 180k on the 2nd floor. Coupled with the 12% discount they are offering to those who held contracts, the same unit on the 15th or higher floors should be much cheaper. For example, say someone bought a $180k base unit on the second floor this past summer. That same unit should in theory cost $170k - 12% discount = $149.6k on floor 15. That said on top of the new 12% discount there should be plenty of room for negotiation considering the market.

Here are some pictures taken tonight of Catalyst. They are coming along on the lobby and they've started work on the canopy/walkway from the parking garage: Link to Gallery/

One other practical question besides the financing issue, I assume they've pre-sold units all over the building. If they split it, say bottom half rental, top half condo what happens if pre-sold units are on the wrong side? Also, since this would materially change the product being delivered would this put Novare in default of the pre-sale contracts and force them to return deposits if requested?