nakers2

I cannot provide much detail, but I can say that at least one of the aforementioned retailers is looking into an uptown location.

I'm sure that future development will come soon enough, but as it sits right now the perception is a not very warm and welcoming building. I do like how it looks to an extent, it's a nice break from all the blue glass, but from a street scale it seems like something people would just walk (or more so, drive) by on their way to other uptown venues. Perhaps they're holding back to see what comes of Tryon Place before putting all the cards on the table? On a second note, I heard something through the grapevine about a second tower on the same site pending the success of the first (this one), is it possible that the second building, maybe closer to BofA Stadium would actually be the big brother to this tower? Or is this going to be the largest building on site? My thinking being that a larger tower closer to the stadium would look better on the skyline and not obscure the Duke Energy Center.

I think Southpark is doing just fine. It seems when one store closes another one opens back up within a matter or months, if not weeks. The mall is expensive to do business in I'm sure, and a lot of these high end stores I have never even gone inside. Unlike "traditional" malls, where the widows beckon you to come inside, a lot of the high end retailers in Southpark have the same design, glass and white marble, a black, silver, or white sign, lots of wasted space inside (one shelf for a pair of boots, for example) and really only appeal to the wealthy and those who may know about the retailer from somewhere else, or via advertisement. If you have too many of the same, some are bound to lose out, especially if you're not welcoming to the average Joe. I recall going into the Armani store and being immediately directed to the clearance rack by the man in charge, doesn't really make me want to go back if one day I actually can afford a suit there. Considering I often have trouble finding parking during peak times (Saturday/ Sunday afternoons) I don't think foot traffic is an issue, it's getting people to actually buy things, that is the goal. I don't see stores like Old Navy as being a sign of the downfall of Southpark, the Old Navy there is nicer than any Old Navy I have been in, the same with the Banana Republic, Victoria's Secret (according to my girlfriend of course) and the VANS Store, among others. The high end nature of the mall will keep the "typical mall fare" in check. I think that less high end is a good thing, I have actually never been in any of the stores on the east flank of the Nordstrom wing, and the south flank of the main hall leading to the main entrance simply because they're not appealing, and even on Black Friday (yes, I was a fool for going) these stores were practically empty.

By your username I assume you may be familiar with the Nashville skyline, but the at@t building in downtown Nashville looks like an evil lair to me. I remember the first time visiting Nashville and thinking that.

A legitimate concern but I doubt that would be a huge issue, $450 for a full 12 months of parking August to August is actually a pretty good deal, I think if this does become a problem then the university could do any number of things, first they could spread public awareness of how the parking fee on campus is actually rather affordable, show that 450/12 months is only $37.50 per month, compared to 100+ dollar fees uptown and elsewhere. Another option could be simply make it to where the Niner ID card would not let you exit the deck in the same way a normal CATS Card, or whatever they will call it, would do. The only issue I could forsee with that is that off campus students going uptown for pleasure business and Uptown Campus students would be unable to park in the deck. At the end of the day if students DO decide to park and ride to main campus, are they really breaking the rules? They are commuters after all. I think education and the fact that uptown commuters will probably get there first in the early morning will prevent most students from wanting to deal with "gaming the system" so to speak.

That movie scared the crap out of me as a child.

A little news from the light rail forum at UNCC yesterday. -As it is currently the light rail is on schedule for commencement of service before the Fall semester at UNCC. -Three car platforms will not be completed on the entire line until later in 2017-2018, CATS is considering an express train service, or game-day service with three car trains terminating Uptown. -Bus lines will be adjusted to feed passengers into the line, bus 11U will still exist but will terminate at IKEA and will run less frequently (details sparse, was referred to the bus operations department for more details) -Operation will still be from about 5am to 1:30am with "room for change" if need be. I can almost guarantee the drunk college student population will eventually push CATS to operate past 2am. Maybe a "last call" train of some sort. -Improvements in the campus shuttle system, bikeshare program. -Paid light rail ticket/receipt to exit the parking deck to prevent illegal parking. -Probably the most exciting for students: Light rail will be included in the student transportation fees (approx 25 dollars per semester) so students will not need to pay per ride, simply "tap" their student ID card to ride. Faculty will also be included in this. This is definitely cool, it will make it a no-brainer for students and faculty, especually those who work both at the Uptown campus and main campus, as well as dual CPCC/UNCC students/faculty. Unfortunately for me, because I graduate in May 2017 I will not get any sort of break on my transit pass, though I will definitely push for consideration in allowing first year alumni the same benefit, it will probably be fruitless, just my luck, that's what I get for graduating on time!

With the Ikea there and the nearby light rail station that area is really starting to feel like a "Suburban European" shopping area, friendly to cars, buses, and rail. I really like it, I've been to an Ikea in Belgium before and going there last week with the gloomy skies brought back memories, most Ikea stores are exactly the same, they don't pander to American norms, and I like it. As far as the new hotel and Outback relocation, I don't blame them, I didn't even know there was an Outback Steakhouse, or a Lowes, or Boston Market up that way until I made a wrong turn once. They're going to have trouble filling in the old Outback space though.

I'm sort of jumping back a few posts, but I want to clarify about what I as talking about in my post. I'm not in any way suggesting that Carolina Place is on the verge of closing. I was simply saying that if I was told to close or move one Charlotte area mall it would probably be Carolina Place. Good points about the Barnes and Noble and REI, but Northlake has an REI across the street, near Target, and Southpark has a Barnes and Noble nearby as well. I think Northlake will remain sort of pseudo-suburban, but Southpark is quickly and deliberately becoming more walkable, soon the Barnes and Noble, and Morrocroft Village (with the Harris Teeter) will become a quick walk, not a short drive, from the mall itself.

It's very visible coming down Hawthorne lane between Parkwood and Central, it caught my eye on the way to work, I need to take a picture tomorrow.

Yeah it's underground, and I like that, same with Lowe's rooftop lot, but it's unnecessarily large. When you look at parking, the space it takes up is only part of the equation. SouthEnd has the transportation infrastructure and density (IE, people within' walking distance) to warrant a single level parking deck. Having such a large parking area gives people a reason to drive, thus resulting in more traffic. Look at the Metropolitan, the complex could easily get away with the 5 level deck at Target/BJ's (the roof level is currently closed!) But most people will park in the deck under/beside the office tower, and I often see people drive the short distance across the street because they know they will find parking on both sides, resulting in gridlock during the weekend especially. You don't need a total lack of parking, but you need to make finding a space enough of a commodity that people are willing to "park it and leave it". An aesthetically pleasing 5-6 level deck on the target side with a small parking area (maybe a few dozen spaces) beside the Trader Joe's would make for a much more walkable "Town Centre" type shopping center.

Southpark Mall is sort of an outlier, it's location is prime, and as Southpark (the neighborhood) becomes more walkable and dense I can only see the mall's popularity going up. Southpark Mall has made a name for itself, often being the home for high end retailers trying to make inroads into the Charlotte market. Carolina Place in my opinion is rather indistinguishable from other large shopping malls. If someone asks me to define Southpark mall I might say it has the only Nieman Marcus, Nordstrom, [insert other unique high end store] in the region, or I could mention it's the only mall where I've seen a Lamborghini on display in the main hall. Concord Mills I could say is like a large outlet center, and has a Bass Pro Shops with a massive number of other stores, even Northlake has the notoriety of being Charlotte's newest mall, despite being otherwise average on the other fronts. Carolina Place suffers from: 1. Lack of really drawing factors. Nothing to really make someone who doesn't live in the neighborhood want to got there. Its just "a mall." Could be copied and pasted in any suburb and would seem out of place. 2. Age. The mall was built in the late 1980's, and correct me if I'm wrong but it doesn't seem as if it's gone through any significant image improvements for at least a decade or two. Southpark, despite being old has seen improvements, as is Concord Mills currently, and Northlake is very new from a mall perspective, turning 10 this (last?) year. People are picky whether they admit it or not, newness attracts, especially when we're talking about deviating from bland 1980's architecture. 3. Location. Move Carolina Place down one exit to Ballentyne, or extend the light rail to the mall (geographically it would not be too challenging) and we could be talking about one of the city's most profitable mall properties, not to mention that they would then have a "drawing factor" (refer to point number 1.) That part of Charlotte/Pineville really is not seeing the same sort of growth as the rest of the area, from as far back as I can remember (albeit I'm fairly young) the area around the mall hasn't changed in any dramatic fashion. Conlusion: If any mall in the Charlotte region will experience a collapse it will likely be Carolina Place, not Northlake like a lot of fear mongers would lead you to believe. Unfortunately to save Carolina Place it will take not only a change at the mall itself, but also change around the mall to really improve it and bring it to the modern standard of successful indoor shopping malls.

That does look pretty good, though the design does sort of scream "gentrification" I can't complain too much. Definitely better than the Lowe's and their fake street frontage.

Crazy how almost everything in this picture is under construction. How big is the parking lot set to be? Obviously there should be some parking, but I hope it's not too large, big parking lots discourage walkability. One of my biggest complaints about the Publix or Metropolitan complex are that the parking decks are never full to capacity, or even close. IE, a waste of space.

I think relocation the Observer site may be a stretch, or if it were to happen it would perhaps be on the "inside" of the site, away from public view. However removing the data center from beside the convention center would be a likely and welcome change.

I don't normally grasp onto speculation, but it would make a lot of sense. This data center takes up prime land for a possible hotel on the convention center site. The convention center is set to undergo a renovation here soon and one of the longstanding critiques of the convention center has been the lack on an on site hotel, they would be stupid NOT to put anything other than a convention hotel there. Not to mention the building is ugly as can be, it ruins the pedestrian landscape. A hotel with ground floor retail or restaurant space would make this yet another popular crossroads in uptown.

I personally just don't like the way it looks coming down poplar towards the park. The deck itself is taller than some of the neighboring buildings.

This is definitely better than what's currently there. People don't realize how much sidewalk shops and restaurants really open up the street to pedestrians. Yes, the sidewalk on that side is walkable, but most people choose to walk on the Mellow Mushroom side for the very reason that there's more to see on that side.

I agree, when it's not busy, half the time I'll straddle the two lanes, left lane is too close to oncoming traffic, right lane has almost no curb protection for pedestrians, I get nervous for anyone walking remotely close to the edge, just one stumble and they're under my car.