cjd5050

Was on some consultants website. Found it in google images.

Fair enough.

It's the red-headed stepchild for sure but isn't it supposed to go away in the future?

I think it depends on the location. I lived near the San Diego Zoo and was a season pass holder for years. Would go several times a month and to me is was almost an outdoor park. We would walk half the park, grab a snack or ice cream, and then leave. Total time in about 60-90 minutes. If it was not in the middle of the city I would not have gone. I know there is some history there, I think a lot of it, but if there was a way for the City/County to get a hold of the Carolina Golf Club and build a zoo there....in addition to a light rail to the airport with a stop at the entrance....it would be a very, very successful project. If they were to build it out by the whitewater center...not so much.

Looks like you need to add web development to your list.....

I like where you're going with this! Let's expel Calvary from this site but also how about we relocate Providence United Methodist, St. Gabriel Church and Providence Road Church of Christ from their locations as well? Of course we don't want to look anti-Christian so let's boot the jews from Temple Israel and Temple Beth El from their locations and repurpose the J-Center for better use. We could give each a couple of acres out by the airport or something. How does that sound? /s

If I were calling the shots I would connect to CLT before the Silver to Matthews. The primary reason is that this line has the best opportunity to TOD along Wilkinson. I think this is more important and beneficial than connecting passengers and workers. That's just gravy to me.

This is key. Charlotte didn't host a World's Fair 100 years ago and wasn't a big enough city in the Gilded Age for barons to leave behind a legacy from their fortunes built before taxes. We're not going to bid on an Olympics like Atlanta either. I get the sense Bruton Smith is a selfish jerk and Clemmie Spangler doesn't seem to be the type of person who is really interested in giving back to the region. Maybe the new owner of the Panthers would be willing to drop half a billion on some legacy builder but I doubt it.

Stupid people will continue to do stupid things. Such as calling police officers 'homegrown terrorists' which she recently did. She has perfect timing as well....you know....because it's not like the CMPD and the City are in the middle of a compensation dispute.

I agree with you on the need for attractions but what? How? Most cities seem to have converted older buildings into retail but Charlotte does not have that same stock. So how can a retail district be created and not have it feel like a big outdoor mall? You could create a space needle type attraction but is the view worth it? Maybe commission someone famous to design something like an Eiffel Tower? The one thing that is not as good as it could be is the Music Factory. That campus is setup to be something really special but I am not impressed with what they book there on a regular basis. Maybe some other venues could be built over there. Maybe a Museum of Performance Arts with a studio or hall and try to do some type of Austin City Limits show on a regular basis? How awesome would it be if Charlotte has some version of Beale St. in Memphis where you could go any night of the week and know you're going to be able to find good music and have a good time. But sadly, AvidExchange might have taken the space needed for this.

This may be the tinfoil talking but.... DEC had the slip on the 2nd tower a while back. Got some bad PR from it and still wants to do a massive rate hike. Not the best time to also build a shiny new tower. So to work around this, they float the idea to the city on the S. College site when meeting with the city about funding for the RNC bid. After talking about how much money they might contribute, they 'suggest' the city push for a hotel on the site that would in turn displace their workers. This would then give DEC the cover to build the new 2nd tower because they were so gracious in selling the S. College site for the city.

The guy paid for the team in CASH. It also seems he offered less than others but because his offer was in cash and not financing contingent. as well as, already being an owner it was accepted. About the best thing possible for Charlotte taxpayers having an owner who does not need to extract every penny possible to pay down debt service.

There are ways to work around gambling not being legal. What you do is sell a piece of land to an Indian Nation and have them run the casino on that site and do a revenue share with them.

From his wiki page: Tepper keeps a brass replica of a pair of testicles in a prominent spot on his desk, a present from former employees. He rubs the gift for luck during the trading day to get a laugh out of colleagues. hahaha. I like him.

I was just trying to point out that these things are very complex and general takes really don't serve much value. Especially when someone presents an absolute position based on them. Not saying that happened here. Just expanding on my thought process. Of course, steps can be taken to try and change how the bed tax is used. But that's a process with uncertain results. Until anything changes, the funds have to be used as the process exists today. I don't share your same optimism on if this is doable.

I was not talking about cities like Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, et al. I was speaking about cities like Buffalo NY, Greenville SC, Dayton OH and Grand Rapids MI.

First, these studies take a hodgepodge mixture of data from different cities, with different economic outlooks and different goals and mix them into a one size fits all position. If local government was one size fits all we would have a need for local government. Beyond local government, each city has its own advantages and challenges. For example, having a major HUB airport or being located in a part of the country that is home to large population centers is different than a city that has a small regional airport or is in a 'fly-over' state. Second, Charlotte is not looking to build a silver bullet convention center to revive a beaten down Downtown. That situation is what most of these articles reference. If anything, the question on Uptown is growing at such a pace and is the land uptown too valuable for a hotel is what should be questioned. Third, many of the cities referenced in these studies are using general funds to build out convention centers and hotels. That's much different than taking a bed tax, which is a tax on visitors rather than residents, and using it to grow the number of people who stay in the area. Which in turns produces additional bed tax revenue. Forth, there are rules and laws in place as to how funds can be used. So while you may look at that pool of funds and say it would be great to use that to build parks or some sort of outreach center, it's not legally allowed. So your wants really can't be considered.

It's my understanding that the bed tax can't be used for the things you want and that would be where 3/4 of the money would come from. In my opinion, cities need to paint with a broad stroke and do everything. When cities start saying no to improvement in one area because they have drag in another area is around the same time they stop growing and shrinking. Always Governing to the lowest common denominator is a good way to filter down to just the lowest common denominator.

I think if Charlotte development has an 'original sin' it's that it didn't do really anything to take advantage the shoreline. Lake Normal alone has 520 miles and there is not a single boardwalk to speak of. It's comically sad how few waterfront restaurants we have for that much shoreline.

Not to upset any NASCAR fans but what does the future hold for the HOF? Just thinking out loud here but what if they were to locate this hotel on Stonewall between S Caldwell and S Davidson. They could put another sky bridge and connect to the convention center by way of the HOF. I don't know how flexible the HOF space is...so it could be a crazy/silly idea.

Just what attraction are you going to get that's big/good enough to draw people from outside of the region for $25 million or so? If this spend unlocks unused potential in the already built convention center, I look at this as more of an improvement of efficiency on the already existing spend. Which to me is better than trying to create something that does not exist at all. This is good info I didn't realize. Thanks. Kinda blows up my point above.

Prescreened and able to buy the team without any help. The 'new NFL' is wanting to leave weak ownership groups (Mark Davis/Oakland) and owners whose entire worth is tied up in the team (Dean Spanos/LA) and move towards 32 owners who have FU money.

I guess, sadly. It's just a shame because of the amount of opportunity that exists. Would be pretty silly for someone live at the Waverly townhomes and drive to Lifetime Fitness but sadly that just might happen.

I'm sorry. I didn't read the rule that if a project fronts a major road it can't put buildings fronting the roads... I know that's how Charlotte loves to do things but it's the wrong way. It's done differently elsewhere and that's what should be done here. At least that's my opinion on it. I was watching a video the other day on the perception of weight. They put 5 objects in front of someone and asked them to rank them in order. The largest object felt the lightest but in fact it was the heaviest. Our eyes deceive us. At Waverly you have a hotel, residential and office space. Less than a half of a mile on the other side of Providence you have a shopping plaza and then Rea Farms behind that. That distance is nothing and people on foot should have no problem crossing the road. There are multiple intersections with generous walk times. But the sad truth is people won't. Their eyes will deceive them and the thoughts of crossing two massive seas of parking will be too much. So Waverly might as well be on an island. On the other side of Stonecrest there is a new hotel. They wanted to reduce their parking because they felt guests were likely to use services like Uber and walk to Stonecrest. It was Clair Fallon who ripped this idea apart as if it would be impossible for someone to cross Rea Road with 'packages' as she put it. This mindset of either that's how things are done or that can't be walkable is bad. It's bad for today and it's even worse for the future. In 15 years people are going to think of 'inside the 485' similar to how they think of 'inside the 277' today. Not the same but similar. Projects need to be planned for the future not the past.

You're right. I know you just about as much as you know the wants/needs of people who don't live near you. My 2nd post did contain a bit of snark but I stand by the general direction. Here, again, is what you said: "People that are living out in these far flung suburbs simply want decent options nearby and will throw their money at it so long as the anchors are to their liking. Developers know this and that's why they're not unnecessarily blowing their money on it. It's gonna get the business regardless." Those are your words. 1 - Waverly isn't in the far flug suburbs. As I said before, it's closer to South Park than Waxhaw. 2 - People who live out here don't just simply want anything. You can live near the 485 and want/demand good development. 3 - We are not so eager for anything that we will just throw out money at places simply because they exist. I, like many of my neighbors, would rather drive to a sense of place than go to the closest option. 4 - Waverly is going to get business but it's not going to be as good as it can/should be and eventually the businesses not named Whole Foods are going to suffer from facing a parking lot. It will eventually become another Stonecrest or Promenade on Providence. Which is a missed opportunity and be a mix of big anchors that always stay busy coupled with others that don't. There is an unwarranted sense of elitism in the region when it comes to the perception of where you live. It absolutely exists here. Yes, there are freeways near my house and they are expanding but it's not like the 'core' of Charlotte is winning any urbanist awards for how it was built out or how it exists today. If a poor development that misses the mark on creating sense of place can't be discussed here without being told 'you'll like it because it's what you get'...then where exactly can that conversation happen?