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The U.S. hasn’t really done pedestrian-centric density all that well in most places. So which places does the U.S. have that does pedestrian density somewhat well? Or from New York to Jacksonville are they just all around pretty much the same? I’m actually in totally agreement with you AND I know Charlotte is 100% capable of doing & being those things. And I find your post to generally be very accurate, very sober, very honest & I enjoy reading your post. Really, I’m just projecting on you (since you’re entertaining it) based on a comment with Larry Singer. So my post are sorta unnecessarily directed at you so apologies for that. But To see Charlotte change in the way some of us espouse, if Charlotte wants to be different than Atlanta, we should champion those policies and maybe stop obsessing over statistics that is contrary to what we want. There definitely needs to be higher corporate taxes to at least the historical amount. There needs to be more taxes on the wealthy, more social programs, more policy that punishes low dense development, not approve developments like in the form of river district. And yes, Charlotte maybe would be passed up for a Fortune 500 HQ over say Austin or Nashville over taxation. Is that terrible? Yea, maybe charlottes growth would slow down. But maybe that slower growth would better align with the vision that some have for Charlotte? The Amtrak money NC got. You can thank Democrats for that. You can thank our focus on sustainability. Republicans are against it. You can thank we preferred to invest in green infrastructure over further tax cuts. Our policies are NOT always business friendly. And I think we shouldn’t run away from that. You can’t really have it both ways. Does one want low cost, low government investment, next-to-nothing funding of transit and refusal to build adequately? Charlotte could easily support the same infrastructure as MARTA. It just cost money that Charlotte & NC has or could have but chooses not to build.. You don’t become a 18-24 hour city with good transit, density, etc by being cheap, & by voting Republican. And you’re not going to be some low cost, low tax, high growth booming area stealing Fortune 500 HQ’s from other high cost areas by voting Democrat. IMO. And I bet Larry Singer would agree on that. & I’m fine with not putting “most business friendly” and “lowest corporate taxes” at the top of my list of things I support. I think that’s a bad thing (to an extent).

I struggle to think of southern cities with a more vibrant and robust Downtown than Charlotte’s. Charleston, New Orleans & Nashville I guess? Obviously due to touristy stuff. Maybe Austin a bit? I think it’s a stretch to say downtown Austin is notably more vibrant etc than uptown (in a 18-24 hour destination.) I definitely don’t think downtowns Dallas, Houston or Atlanta are all that much better in that department. So it’s still. At what point are the areas of improvement for Charlotte & uptown worth criticizing as opposed to wanting it to be something its not nor wants to be? There’s plenty of improvement for literally everywhere in the world. But at some point, the criticism isn’t really applicable or makes sense. More local restaurants, more Charlotte, more affordable housing, more parks, support for local business. That’s criticism I can get behind for uptown.

Charlotte’s growing into a city similar in build to Dallas (Metro area of 7.76MM) & Houston (Metro area of 7.34MM) & some people don’t want to be like Dallas or Houston. Which for those who need to know, Houston has city limits of over 640 Sq. Miles and a density of 3,600/PPSM and Charlotte has a density of 2,800/PPSM in 300 sq. Miles for those who like to rag on Houston’s urbanity). Dallas & Houston are among the largest metro areas in the U.S. & fastest growing too. The growth is very sprawl and low dense & some people are Dissatisfied with that despite pretty much supporting every policy that enables that. I mean, how does one build less urban development in booming cities compared to cities losing population? How are there less apartments U/C? Less transit being built? Etc. I believe that answer is sprawl. So it does get old to hear certain criticisms and it’s like…. If you’re going to complain, at least have beliefs that support the things you want. Or at very least… don’t rag on other booming sunbelts… But wanting a certain outcome and supporting things contrary to the outcome. Eh. And I *love* the question of what city could serve as a model. It’s a question that goes completely unanswered but if one is full of criticism of Charlotte, surely there’s somewhere you could point to… anywhere? Nowhere? Is it somewhere in between Atlanta, Houston, Nashville, Raleigh, Dallas, Houston? Somewhere in between Denver, Minneapolis, Portland, San Diego, Seattle? Somewhere in between Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Boston? How does Center City become more activated? When people are less excited about seeing a skyscraper from College Street in the distance (Queens Bridge) and more eager to see College Street have a road diet, bike lane, bus lane, wider sidewalks and an outdoor market every weekend with local vendors, etc. Or maybe move to center city and contribute to more residents lol. People live in pretty big houses with big yards themselves (even if it is super close to SouthEnd or denser pockets) and want to say what will make the urbanity better but not willing to actually live it themselves and therefore can’t see what matters most to residents & what actually matters. They just drive (or even take transit) here & there to get a taste of urbanity, see tall skyscrapers, see a special event and think “wow, big city” and go back to their big house. Legacy Union is cool for them to see, but could be depressing to those who live nearby who probably prefer walking to Frazier Park on Irwin Creek Greenway than strolling around legacy Union, Graham St. Etc. Most of my neighbors in the Catalyst building always headed for Gateway side of uptown for leisure and pleasure. Does anyone even on here live in SouthEnd? I feel like most people on here live in single family housing or farther out from center city? I implore you…. Move to uptown (the cost of living is cheap, right?). Then let’s talk. Down size in sq. Footage, get rid of your car. Soak up the urban lifestyle.

Holy cow. I know some people prefer bad news of places so here is one. It doesn’t affect the Green Line (heavy rail) or MARC train (regional rail). But man, Baltimore has just really seemingly neglected the maintenance of their system which I honestly don’t know much about their system so I don’t have much to add other than. Yikes. Light Rail ridership has been dismal at less than 10,000/day ridership. 30 buses will be pulled off their regular routes to provide bridge service along the route. Baltimore is by far one of the greatest looking U.S. cities. Such a gem, so unbelievably amazing. It’s such a shame mismanagement, neglect, historic racist laws, corruption, etc. and now just riddled with crime as it grapples with the decades of neglect. lts one of the greatest American cities & constantly gets the shaft mostly, again, due to the past. For those who have never had the pleasure of visiting Baltimore, it’s such a beauty and feels very, very large and super urban. And has the best aquarium I’ve been to in the world and so many fun things to do. Baltimore, which a huge part of Baltimore feels like a huge dense downtown has so many gems. The library for example: I love some of their monuments like the Washington Monument And one of their saver neighborhoods (Federal Hill / South Baltimore below) among others are amazing, lots of retail including national chains . I can’t wait for the day Baltimore turns it around, and it has been, but it’ll be a great day when the city is able to shake the past. Poor Baltimore.

That doesn’t look great for a Blue Line Extension & would be low ridership. It’d probably be on the main roads which are mostly parking decks, large setbacks and landscaping infront of blank walls. SouthPark is more deserving of attention. That thing is just auto-oriented sprawl & rail transit would be meh. Freedom Drive would even be better than an extension to Ballantyne Corporate park IMO. The rendering looks flashy at a glance and actually a little urban but look closer and imagine being a pedestrian. It’s as office park as you can get. There’s one tiny slice that somewhat looks pedestrian friendly-ish. Otherwise, it’s super anti-pedestrian. Look at each block by isolation. (Though recreationally walking it’ll be nice just as it is today. I enjoy the trails and woodsy vibes of the walking paths and sidewalks there currently in Ballantyne)

24/7 Bus service starting later this month

Well, I’m still going to respond when it’s in reference to something I posted whether you quote me or not, so. So I guess we can move on given we’re both done.

Disagree on that. The close-in NoVa & MD suburbs are pretty urban. I wouldn’t consider those urban villages. Mosaic District in Merrifield comes to mind as an urban village though it’s smaller on the scale of Birkdale Village. If we consider things like Atlantic Station in Atlanta as an urban village, I’d say Reston Town Center (home to the tallest residential in the metro area at 40 floors, North American BMW HQ, etc) is a much better example. Has plenty of retail, movie theatre, Apple Store, etc. They’re still building out across the toll road but the urban Wegmans is there too (integrated under an apartment building. It’s still pretty isolated in a wasteland of empty lots but a lot of the construction will commence at the same time on the next phases) Ive been mentioning an urban wegmans for a while in this exact area. But it was based on folks here wanting a wegmans and automatically assuming it’d have to be a typical suburban format. Drew a little map circling an area around Remount & Clanton and showed examples like this (which too is urban-village-y vibes) recently built in Alexandria, VA. But the below is what comes to my mind when I hear “urban village” and what I imagine for the site in discussion.

Stop engaging. I really don’t care. Because I said what I said. Had you stopped responding, I would’ve too. And I’ll say it again if you want. But I was done a while ago. Why are you so pressed? Continue lamenting the Panthers. By all means. I’m done. But if you want to continue talking about it, I’ll continue talking about it.

I see and accept your point of view & I believe that’s what you think. I don’t think it’s disingenuous or baited or anything malicious so. I still hold my same opinion, I’m not deflecting, but that’s just how I see it.

I’ve said it before. The level of spending on rail transit has been historical and majorly game changing. The government is hardcore spending on urban issues. Charlotte needs progressive leadership because it’s raining federal $’s even with unfriendly Republican-led states. The DOT will even be award billions in conversions and development along transit stations. I’ve mostly been following federal dollars for the Bos-Wash corridor + VA and my lord, I have no idea on how many dozens of billions in rail transit has been announced the last 2 years. California has had billions announced I though this year for HSR and again today a new $6Billion towards ($3B each) california HSR & Bright line Vegas - Inland Empire Pete Buttigieg keeps reiterating - grants will go to projects that (I) are transformative and (II) big enough grants to move projects forward rather than a bunch of small impact projects (<1 mile streetcars) or grants that can’t fully push projects to start imminently. It’s been prettt obvious Raleigh was destined to be plugged into the NEC next and will have a fairly robust state-level network. I don’t think Charlotte will have as extensive as a network (geography and location of tracks) but I do think it’s the next logical extension and there Atlanta. Though I’ll be old or dead. I’m fine with Raleigh for now.

To me, it just sounds a bit like sexism. You don’t agree, that’s fine. Obama had to deal with certain standards as a black president that other presidents was never questioned on, Pete Buttigieg has to deal with things as a high profile LGBT figure randomly that previous DOT leaders never had. I’m not completely sure of the wife and her qualifications but I do know there’s probably a *ton of men* on every single team giving their unqualified opinions and also getting special treatment for knowing xyz, etc. Come on, it’s professional sports lol. But I don’t think anyone here believes their comments are sexist, I’m not the arbiter of what is & isn’t sexist so it doesn’t matter what I think and I don’t think most people realize certain standards certain people are held to are sorta unfair. I don’t hear people saying “it’d be unfair for all men working for years to move up & the owners son kept popping into meetings giving his opinion & instantly has more power than other men.” Edit: I googled nepotism in the NFL. It’s an endless parade of nepotism. It just usually never involves a woman. https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/graphics/2022/11/22/nfl-coaches-nepotism-filled-dozens-positions/10702777002/

I can’t keep up with all the construction around the metro area but I see some towers peaking up in Crystal City. Not sure if it’s just a renovated tower or new build. VT campus in Alexandria progressing:

I think there’s a little extrapolating of things that may be completely different from one another. Working for a NY based bank & BofA in the past, by farrr the vast majority, IMO, are worker bees in NY & no way are making close to $400k lol. Saying “top bankers” prefer NY will just rile people up on here. It sort of insinuates they’re like. Not as important. I get what you mean though, especially when working with large clients but by far the vast majority are doing the same thing they do in Charlotte. Government workers in DC, Bankers in NY, Entertainment Industry people in LA, 90% of the workers have way more vanilla jobs than what people imagine. NY is just different from Charlotte. They have to build tall because they have nowhere else to build. In general, what’s the point of talking about this? (That sounds rude but that’s not how I intend it). Whether Charlotte can compete with NY for bank jobs? Why Charlotte isn’t building super talls? Whether it’ll get the WF HQ?

One last thing on the parking deck (which as noted by another poster looks pretty much exactly like the rendering so my annoyance peaked a long time ago by it). I immediately thought of this building when I saw this meme

In LA Starting Dec 10, the A, C, K & E Light rail Lines will be every 8-10 minutes. B & D heavy rail is every 10-12 minutes or 5-6 minutes where the line is shared and they run every 20 minutes after midnight

New Bike Lanes on M St SE finally opened

Bad Foggy picture but you can see the Buzzard Point Developments with big progress And in SW, The Westerly on 4th looks like their starting to lease out but still no signs of residents

I don’t disagree at all. But they at least still have the HQ so that’s something. I’ve speculated them leaving for like. A decade now so when they leave they leave lol. My main point was I don’t think this comes at the expense / opportunity of Charlotte & overall good for the Bank. But you’re right.

So they’re consolidating some of their NY office space into Hudson Yards by adding another 3 floors to their existing space or something? It’s great news for Charlotte in that it contributes to the boosting of Wells Fargo’s profile (the other tenants alone like Black Rock, Meta, etc) as a financial power house, with fairly prestigious space in NY. Seems like no expenses were spared. And that’s the same company with a very large presence in Charlotte. San Francisco HQ, New York prestige & Charlotte has a huge slice of the operations. So all around good news for all 3 cities.

That was fast. Earlier this year H&M announced the closure of their Metro Center location. H&M just announced they’ll be opening up in another retail spot in the same building on G St. https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2023/11/30/h-m-reopening-woodies-building-store.html?ana=RSS&s=article_search CVS is taking over their former space. Retail is having a good year post pandemic.

New York, London, Tokyo, San Francisco, Seoul, Lagos, Beijing, Geneva, Zurich, Tel Aviv, Sydney, etc. are all “expensive”. It comes with the territory of being a big city… There’s a homeless people. It’s expensive. People live tight. People don’t have cars. People don’t have yards. People from around the world move to them (and slowly spread throughout the countries as generations go by). Nothing in NYC has fundamentally changed in migration patterns… I think Miami has even a bigger gap My advice. If you don’t want to be expensive and you’re worried about negative domestic migration patterns, etc Don’t ever become a big urban city is all I can say.

Who are the people with an issue towards Nicole Tepper? What has Nicole Tepper done? I’m saying, I don’t understand what Nicole Tepper has done and who is claiming she’s done something other than “former employees” and such. It comes across as man baby-ish to me. The wife is the problem? Who is saying what? Where’s the quotes? Who are the people? And at the end of the day, if Mr. Tepper dies, Nicole might be the complete owner anyway… I haven’t seen the will. So far, this seems to be the crime: ”There have been a lot of talk from sports pundits saying that she is known to poke her head into meetings, give her opinion on what she thinks should happen/be done, and generally acts as if she should be as much a part of the decision making as coaches, coordinators, and the GM. “

I meant all the former employees & others complaining about Teppers wife.

But it’s not a son, brother or male partner. It’s the wife of the owner… Who is only the wife of the owner because of a bunch of sex acts brazenly conducted against women regularly. That former employees were well aware of. Its attitudes like this that can lead to environments of sexual misconduct. Whether actual misogyny is going on or not, we can only go by recent history… If it is nepotism and everyone’s just concerned about ethics and there’s 0 misogyny going on, at least people are not being sexually harassed & assaulted anymore. So that’s an improvement at least.