[The State of Higher Education in Charlotte]

On 4/19/2024 at 8:28 PM, Windsurfer said:

Meanwhile, UNCC celebrates big bucks for football.  Priorities, I guess.  

You must have missed the $54 million dollar football stadium Davidson just build. 

[CATS Long Term Transit Plan - Silver, Red Lines]

On 4/3/2024 at 3:42 PM, kayman said:

Also another thing I can add without revealing too much,  Amtrak is working behind the scenes to get more passenger service to and from Washington to Charlotte.

Amtrak won't overtly admit that publicly but that along with more long-term passenger services to Charlotte in general.  These movements will likely elevate desirability of passenger rail in Iredell and Mecklenburg from the north,  which will yield more TOD philosophy to planning & long-range development along the Red Line and eventual Charlotte to Winston-Salem passenger rail corridors.

However, the state (NCDOT Rail & NCRR) have aimed at connecting Raleigh to places like Columbia & Wilmington first.

There are talks of something else transit & rail-related that might satisfy those who complaining about a certain regional hub, but I'll wait for David Hodges of WBTV 3, Joe Bruno of Channel 9, or WCNC scoop that. The state has basically admitted they dropped the ball on this and attempted to blame Charlotte for this but might own up to it by creating a possible fix. When it happens then I'll confirm it's true and incoming. 

As a Winston dweller for most of my life the connection to Charlotte via Mocksville would be an awesome addition to intercity transit in NC.  I've always thought it made sense on the underutilized L/O Lines since there is a pretty decent urban population center in Winston Salem with a good city owned station alread in place. Can't wait to see what they do with this!

[Charlotte-Douglas Airport (CLT) Expansion]

49 minutes ago, xapostrophe said:

I would rather it be torn down, and a walkway between e and A put in.  Or, a nice large hotel. Marriott or Hilton.

It seems like in prior masterplans they had a hotel in that location. That would be an excellent addition for the airport.

[Triad Regional Transit]

Norfolk Southern is becoming more intrested in selling the State/Charlotte the O Line that comes through Winston. This is good news for a Winston Salem connection to Greensboro and Charlotte via rail.

https://www.wbtv.com/2023/10/18/norfolk-southern-considers-selling-rail-line-city-charlotte/

[Charlotte Gateway Station and Railroad Improvements]

On 9/30/2023 at 11:38 PM, Third Strike said:

This was posted on the transit subreddit and the slide was presented at the opening of the Brightline Station in Orlando. Note the CLT-ATL corridor on the map:

It's interesting to me that brightline seems to have ruled out Jacksonville even though their parent company owns the right of way.  Charlotte to Atlanta would be excellent, Something I would definitley consider using a couple of times a year.

[Charlotte-Douglas Airport (CLT) Expansion]

On 6/16/2023 at 9:57 AM, TCLT said:

There’s probably a better/more recent map out there but this doc gives a good idea of what the road realignment looks like:

https://downloads.ctfassets.net/jaw4bomip9l3/7uXSM106WtPJ97O4b41D4Z/d9213e2d85d9959c3087e88b66487834/CLT_ACDS_-_FINAL_Website_Size.pdf

edit: There is a more recent one. The documents from the EA for the fourth parallel runway. Specifically this appendix:

https://www.airportprojects.net/clt-capacity-ea/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2022/03/Appendix-M-Addendum-to-the-Final-Capacity-EA-1.pdf

 

How up to date is this map? Looks like they're still planning on expanding B and C as well as building an island terminal. 

[Carolina Panthers Facilities]

46 minutes ago, SouthEndCLT811 said:

Pretty cool reuse of the current Jaguars Stadium which actually opened a year earlier then BOA.  It'll be interesting to hear the price tag of these renovations, earlier in the year articles were saying up to $1B but that was when they were in the processing of still developing early plans

https://1stdowntownjacksonville.com/

Current state for reference 

Meant to say it before but what about Northlake?  Incorporate some of the existing structure into the new team HQ, reimagine the retail to be more like the Battery, the Star or whatever other billionaire team owners sterile retail center you prefer 

Would love to see the Panthers stay at BOA and continue to renovate the facility. Its a solid stadium and in a great location, plus Tepper should not be given a dime of public money.

[Queensbridge Collective - 1 tower, maybe 2]

5 hours ago, j-man said:

Don’t know if this was mentioned but this will officially be the tallest residential building in the entire city passing The Vue. 

Taller than the Museum tower? That's pretty cool. This thing is really going to make a difforence visually.

[First Ward Urban Village / North Tryon Vision Plan]

On 5/6/2023 at 11:27 AM, turbocraig said:

Meant to post this yesterday.  They were installing this logo yesterday.

Looks great, love to see the university advertising in the city it belongs too!

[UNC-Charlotte Construction]

Charlotte is finishing up construction on their newest dorm in south village. I love that they are finally building a modern tradional style student housing. Its more inexpensive for students and provides the best social setting in my personal opinion.

https://inside.charlotte.edu/news-features/2021-12-10/construction-update-phase-16-residence-hall

[University City Projects/News]

On 3/3/2023 at 7:38 PM, KJHburg said:

I knew what you meant about the Hilton needs renovation. The Food Lion shopping center owned by Cambridge is going through a rezoning to add apartments where the vacant Kohls is located.  Apartments really have boomed in this corridor since the LYNX opened a few years ago especially right along N Tryon corridor. 

https://charlotte.axios.com/324921/unc-charlotte-student-street-downtown-mainstreet-university-uncc/

Ask and you shall receive, looks like they want to turn it into Mainstreet UNC Charlotte which could be a real game changer for the University.

[Charlotte Gateway Station and Railroad Improvements]

1 minute ago, kermit said:

Yea, that is not a bad plan to integrate WS into the rail network (I would suggest the train originates in Raleigh). But, NS has shut down their tracks south of Winston (a large bridge needs to be replaced) and NS is unlikely to have warm feelings about using that part of the O-Line (same tracks as are an issue for the Charlotte Red Line) for passenger rail. 

Trains could run south from Winston on the WSSB tracks to Lexington (some additional work would be needed in Lexington) but that would just make Asheville service even slower.

Makes sense, I know Winston used imminent domain a while back to aquire the old train station for future use. Norkfolk Southern really sucks with that line and using it as some kind of bargaining chip.

[Charlotte Gateway Station and Railroad Improvements]

On 3/25/2023 at 11:18 AM, Third Strike said:

There was a presentation from Virginians for High Speed Rail, hosting the director of NCDOT’s rail division. Lots of info regarding the current and future state of rail in NC/VA:

Some notes relating to Charlotte:

• 2026 is the year they are aiming for the completion of the Gateway Station 

• Fourth Piedmont service starting next year 

• Many projects for the S-Line, between Raleigh and Richmond, are planned or are being currently worked on. Once completed, it would mean quicker and more efficient passenger service for cities along the NCRR

• Spoke briefly about the Salisbury-to-Asheville line

• On the “Potential Passenger Rail Opportunities” slide, I noticed a new station in Kings Mountain, the P&N as a passenger corridor between Charlotte and Gastonia, and the O-Line (Red Line) from Charlotte to Mooresville

• Continued focus on improving rail along the corridor with focus on 110 MPH, grade separations, track improvements, etc. 

• Not completely Charlotte related, but a Raleigh to Hampton Roads passenger rail is a project that the NCDOT is interested in

I'm no rail guy but it seems like it would be benficial to run the Asheville route from Greensboro through Winston and Statesville to pick up more travelers ?

[CATS Long Term Transit Plan - Silver, Red Lines]

I'm probably in  minority but I like the way they have the silver line routed going around uptown.  The best mass transit systems have circulators and connectivity. This option provides half of a circulator and connectivity to the gold, blue, and gateway station. This route seems to be the best future option beyond drilling under the city which we all know they can't afford.

[Charlotte Gateway Station and Railroad Improvements]

I think the silver line will happen, Charlotte may be slow but it has never stopped a rail mass tranist project that needs to  happen.  NS is the problem with the Red Line, I think the silver will pass easily once they get the route nailed down.

[CATS Long Term Transit Plan - Silver, Red Lines]

15 hours ago, TCLT said:

So apparently CATS is now considering interlining the silver line with the blue line through uptown and creating a separate alignment for the airport portion likely terminating at gateway station. This seems like the worst of both worlds. It's also truly hard for me to believe the short portion skirting around Fourth Ward costs $1 billion.

https://www.wfae.org/charlotte-area/2022-06-13/cats-proposes-big-change-for-silver-line-route-through-uptown

These new plans are all bad, interlining will cheapen the system and bring nothing new to uptown.  As much as the route around the city seems less useful than the original, it allows for more development and more stations for our system which means more ridership. These plans also ruin any gateway interaction which seems like a huge waste.

[UNC-Charlotte Construction]

Charlotte athletics are going to show off some impressive new expansions in the coming years.  With the move to the AAC and bigger competition coming to play in Charlotte a trip to campus for sports is well worth your time! Go Niners!

[Honeywell HQ to Charlotte]

1 hour ago, Madison Parkitect said:

It always makes me laugh that Ally made this big deal about how cool their crown was going to be and now they're the only new building that's never lit up.

Does it even have lights? As far as I can tell its just an ugly privacy fence to hide the mechanical equipment.

[The State of Higher Education in Charlotte]

For all of you non college sports people out there. College athletic conference alignment is on the move again. Major institutions such as the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma are headed to the SEC. This has caused the University of Cincinnati, University of Houston, The University of Central Florida,  and Bringham Young University to move to the Big XII.  In the turn the AAC (American Athletic Conference) is again actively looking to add members to its prestigious league.

What this potentially means for "Higher Education in Charlotte" is that UNC Charlotte or just "Charlotte" per recent branding may be joining an athletic league with significantly more important peer institutions than before. East Carolina University, The University of Memphis, and the University of South Florida to name a few. If this happens, athletics for the Charlotte 49ers will have a higher profile and facilities and prestige will be expanded at a much more rapid pace for the University. This change will benefit the city and the university in some massive ways. The future is bright for higher education in Charlotte. Go Niners!

[UNC-Charlotte Construction]

4 hours ago, tozmervo said:

As speculated, they are now at www.charlotte.edu & dramatically reduced the use of "University of North Carolina at." It is a little weird that they adopted the athletics logo.

Edit, their launch article actually directly addresses using the athletics logo for everything: Hi, we’re Charlotte. Nice to meet you. | Inside UNC Charlotte | UNC Charlotte

Singular branding makes the most sense for an organization that already has an identity crisis issue. Looking forward to the future for the University of Charlotte.

[Duke Energy Plaza Headquarters | 40 Story formerly Charlotte Metro Tower]

41 minutes ago, dubone said:

I thought beige logo billboards were supposed to go in front of the architectural features. 

This seems familiar, why can't I place it?

[American Legion Memorial Stadium Renovation]

I really like this project. Memorial, like Bojangles is an awesome "extra" facility for the city to have. Smaller than the big stadiums and arenas but big enough to host decent sized events at a lower cost. This will be well worth the cost in the long haul for the city and county.

[The Ellis – 33 Floor Apartment Tower – Lennar does what Levine couldn't.]

It's kinda a strange looking building but it's another nice addition to uptown. Not sure that it will age great but oh well.

[Charlotte-Douglas Airport (CLT) Expansion]

2 hours ago, InSouthPark said:

I flew to Denver a few weeks ago and CLT was MUCH MUCH busier than Denver was (at least in the parts I was in). 

I've flown from San Fran and Sacramento recently. Both airports felt abandoned. Charlotte felt almost normal.

[Traffic Congestion and Highway Construction]

Not into speeding cameras, red light cameras on the other hand are definitely needed in Charlotte. I think Charlotte's biggest problem is people not knowing how to optimize the flow of traffic. People brake at and sight of change in traffic and randomly sit in the left lane going 60. Driver education and ticketing of slow left lane drivers would exponentially fix our traffic issues.