[The Good News Report]

14 hours ago, CarolinaDaydreamin said:

Yesterday at the MLB All Star game press conference, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred listed Montreal and Charlotte as the front runners for MLB expansion. Probably a decade away but certainly puts us in good position if the Rays move or next round of expansion teams. 

Oh snap

[The Good News Report]

6 hours ago, J-Rob said:

When you think private equity you might think NYC or Silicon Valley, but it is cool to see some stories about Charlotte private equity.  This is more fun to read about than Charlotte companies being snatched up by out-of-state firms, à la Belk.  Side note:  I used to love Backyard Burgers back in college.

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2017/07/10/charlotte-private-equity-firm-adds-burgers-to.html

https://www.backyardburgers.com

Very cool, thanks for sharing.  Good to see Charlotte has a private equity scene.  

[The Good News Report]

12 hours ago, KJHburg said:

This is the biggest announcement  this year in Charlotte 550 jobs with AXA  https://edpnc.com/axa-insurers-18m-expansion-will-add-550-jobs-nearly-double-charlotte-workforce/  Wells and Bank of America are adding 100s of jobs here but you will not get a formal announcement for many reasons. Amazon added 1000 jobs at their new Old Dowd Rd facility last year but again not announced or touted. Our job market is growing strongly one of the fastest in the country look at a post I did yesterday. 

I think this was a very significant announcement for a few reasons.  First, it adds AXA US to Brighthouse, TIAA, and SCOR US on the list of significant annuity and life (re)insurance companies with largest employment hubs in Charlotte (plus Wells' reinsurance operations are here too).  Second, a few days after this announcement, AXA announced that it is looking to spin-off AXA US into a separate entity (similar to the Brighthouse spin-off by MetLife), which could possibly give Charlotte a shot at getting a new HQ designation down the road.  Third, these jobs are across all operations, such as finance, accounting, legal, IT, HR, customer service, which adds a lot of depth to the insurance industry talent in the city. 

As far a quiet expansions go, I've heard that Allstate and Hartford have been expanding here in Charlotte too.

These things have cumulative effects, and I would love to see Charlotte become known as an insurance capital in addition to a banking capital.   

 

[Ascent Uptown - 33 stories (3rd and Poplar)]

12 hours ago, Seabrooke said:

I spoke with the managers about vines at the photo contest, there will be hanging vines but to do it properly they take 2 years to train so it'll be a little while before you see them 

I wonder whether they are using flowering types like confederate jasmine, trumpet creeper, or carolina jessamine.  Done right, that could look really attractive.  

[SkyHouse Charlotte, Publix and 10Tryon Tower in 4th Ward]

Looks like a cool work setting, thanks for sharing the plans.  A nice finish to that block with the Skyhouse apartment buildings.  

[Legacy Union (former Charlotte Observer redevelopment)]

I like the building, and am looking forward to seeing how the remainder of the project space takes shape.  

Also, this new 600+ foot tower will nicely cap off an impressive 2010 decade for Uptown development.  

[The Bad News Report]

35 minutes ago, asthasr said:

Lowe's cuts another 120 tech jobs to send them to India. Odd, I thought that we already learned that didn't work back in the 1990s...

TIAA's layoffs back in September included a large number of IT jobs that were being sent to India.  It's still a thing.   

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

Wow, it would be great if this project kicks off the 2020s the way the Duke Energy Center kicked off the 2010s.  Very much looking forward to seeing what comes of this.