Urban Cowboy

We could have a new tallest if we stacked up all these soapboxes. To play devils advocate... NYC has over 300 Starbucks and PLENTY of other chains and I’d argue it has the most robust & unique coffee scene in the country. This discussion sounds an awful lot like the “another brewery?” crowd. Market forces drive everything and if consumers support an establishment or buy a new house that’s fine. Doesn’t mean you have to support that business or buy that modern house. End of the day I’ll take the chain and street activation over a vacancy in the same storefront. And I can assure you that despite some homogenous stick built apartment buildings, Charlotte feels like Charlotte to most out of towners - and it feels especially unique and impressive to folks visiting from the mid-west to west. But yes - I think we should try to preserve historic mills and structures. Market forces drive the real estate market as a whole and there are plenty of ethical discussions around gentrification I won’t dive into. But let’s not forget that even being in a position to pontificate over trivial things like urban development means you’re privileged and already part of the problems you’re concerning yourself with. And if you don’t like the direction that SouthEnd is heading then there are PLENTY of neighborhoods in Charlotte with more local establishments, character, and authenticity. We are talking about SouthEnd after all. It has its place but it’s not representative of Charlotte as a whole.

Did someone say steel?

There are LOTS of positives with this project. Too many to point out. But I want to point out one gripe, since I'm an armchair architect... And I know cost is the reason... but I'm disappointed by the material used in between the windows on both the south and the west facing facades. Just looks cheap.

A Patagonia store would crush it there.

I think it's a gorgeous addition to Charlotte. I love the two-tone glass and presence in the area. The only thing that baffles me is the deck screening on the back.

Exciting to see the 25th Street Bridge and future greenway/rail trail here through Optimist Park!

I promise I'm not trying to start a turf war... Buuuut.... I want to note for the record, that this is technically Optimist Park. NOT NoDa.

It's a lack of leadership and accountability, in my mind. It all starts at the top. And I say that as a proud democrat. But our mayor and city council have been noticeably absent the past year - and I think they're a bit out of touch. I know much of the city services run through Marcus Jones' office - but if I was an elected official in this town I'd be more proactive and vocal about projects and simple maintenance that actually help current citizens. Especially during covid, I've noticed the mayor/city council point to others a lot and pass the buck. Someone needs to step up and lead. Hold your employees accountable. And trash is a small thing, but a clean city is a proud city. It shows that the city and its citizens care. I plan on picking up trash this upcoming Saturday because if I don't do it, who will?

The city does a lot right, but they are dragging their feet on much needed infrastructure improvements in the Optimist Park through NoDa corridor. Think about the amount of private investment the last couple of years...Meanwhile the city can’t even put a sidewalk on Brevard to give pedestrians a safe way to bridge the gap from the rail trail into NoDa. The Parkwood road diet isn’t rocket science. They’re removing a travel lane. Adding a median. Adding bike lanes. And two stop lights. Over about a mile stretch. The first community meeting for this project was 2014! Now they’ve been in “real estate acquisition” for a year alone. Just dragging feet and buying time. Matheson Bridge too! I think the city is either understaffed or their focus is on outside economic development and not its citizens. Because it doesn’t seem like they care about quality of life and infrastructure projects that could take this city from good to great. Cross Charlotte and rail trail included. While my rant continues, I must also point out how dirty the city has gotten in the last 1.5 years. Charlotte used to be so clean and out of town guests would remark on how clean it felt. Now there’s trash/litter everywhere and there was a ton overgrown this past summer. Hopefully it’s just a services hiccup from Covid but the city needs to focus on regular trash pickups.

Construction start date for Parkwood Road diet (from 12th to Davidson) has been delayed 4-6 months. Last update was late-summer/fall. Now it’s early 2022. They’re supposed to wrap up real estate acquisition next month with city council approval. Project manager said delay is because the city is no longer issuing the RFPs while utility work is underway. Relocating utilities needs to be done/almost done prior to bids for the construction. New policy as of a few weeks ago that should push out all road construction timelines.

My understanding is that this project (outside of the streetscape improvements) was to enlarge storm drainage pipes + wastewater pipes. Primarily to help mitigate some of the flooding that occurs on N. Tryon by the RR bridge (though that is a separate project too). That apartment complex is still moving forward last I heard. Believe they were trying to obtain an easement behind the men's shelter and U-Haul to give pedestrian access between the proposed apartment building and 16th/Optimist Hall.

They’ve been done on the portion between the tracks and Parkwood for probably 4-5 months now. They’re still working on the Tryon side of 16th though. Here’s the last update from the city: 10/26/2020 Construction activities by Charlotte Water continue along East 16th Street between Parkwood Avenue and North Tryon Street. The contractor continues to install wastewater pipe, and storm drainage construction has begun along East 16th Street. The ongoing road closure will remain in place. The streetscape improvements, including sidewalks and paving, will begin following storm drainage installation, and East 16th Street is expected to fully re-open in early to mid-2021.

Just noticed they’re painting some vertical portions yellow. This should help with depth and help give this a bit more visual interest.

Agreed. Brunch was always great...! Went for dinner a handful of times and always left expecting more/underwhelmed. The space is impressive and the food just didn't live up to it. Excited for another chance here - it's one of those spots I would go with out of town guests because of its location and ambience.

Bingo! See page 78 for context/last post.

I was poking around and I think I discovered the location of a new 370 unit apartment building planned for Optimist Park. There was also a rezoning request for this site. So we all know Swinerton + Space Craft are currently building an 83 unit apartment building + retail at the corner of Brevard & 22nd. Pictured here: If you go on Space Craft's website (https://spacecraft.city/places/charlotte/), they have another project that's described below: The corner of Brevard and 21st is a site with alleys. And it's located directly next door to their current project. I also noticed some of these parcels have old Acella requests from 2019 that are tied to Cohab (Space Craft's former name). Here are photos for this latest project. More are on their site if you're curious. And here's the kicker... in this photo, you see what I believe is their apartment building that's currently under construction at Brevard and 22nd. Which would imply this new development will be directly next door at Brevard and 21st. Definitely appreciate the unique designs and vision for retail. So many of these new apartment buildings are creating housing, but otherwise promote dead blocks from a street level interaction standpoint. This is super close to the Parkwood Station so they're trying to leverage that access. I wish Cortland NoDa, The Alexan, and Alta Purl had followed lead with some retail or restaurant space given their proximity to Optimist Hall. Once Parkwood's road diet + bike lanes are complete - should be a great pedestrian experience between Optimist Hall and the developments that Swinerton + Space Craft are building.

The middle sections and corners are slightly indented AND utilize a darker glass.

People can tell when you Autobell.

It’s desert rose folks. Let’s be a part of the solution!!!!

It’s because the grey looks like it needs to be painted. And it’s also because the white looks like it needs to be painted.

Maybe they know something we don't. But agreed it looks terrible.

Businesses should not expect workers to WFH forever. My wife finds it isolating and less productive/efficient for team work. If businesses want to save money by reducing office space, they should pay their workers more. I’m a realtor and you would not believe the WFH setups I see in homes that don’t have dedicated offices. Not fair to expect the average worker to have dedicated space, or be able to afford dedicated space in their home. Not to mention the mental health of having work in the same space that is supposed to be a sanctuary. It’s hard to escape your job’s stress when your office is your home. My 2 cents. From today: