[Queensbridge Collective - 1 tower, maybe 2]

4 hours ago, DonkeyKong said:

My guess it will be taller than 535' in height since the last occupiable floor is that height.  Any guesses?   Also anyone  know who the GC is?

Should be Clark Construction  last I heard

[Learning from Other Places]

11 hours ago, KJHburg said:

 

 

Man oh man that would have been cool for the Legacy Union parking garage to have a unique perf screening like these towers.  Thanks for the pictures KJ!

[Downtown Greensboro is getting a Westin Hotel]

21 hours ago, DCB said:

After the issues with this project and the whole South Elm redevelopment debacle I've lost all faith in the city government's ability to do just about anything downtown.

Not to mention the greenway.  How that project is still under construction bewilders me.  Greensboro's government is incompetent, yet we keep voting the same people in time after time.

[Downtown Greensboro is getting a Westin Hotel]

Few years back I was discussing this job with a person closely involved in it.  They were mentioning their distaste for what the deck had become design wise.  Greensboro had a chance to rebuild some of the street facade that was lost in the 1985 fire and squandered it.  Sadly that's typical of projects the City is involved in.  The property line debacle that delayed this was astonishing.

I'm happy this is happening, but it's such a lower bar than what could have been achieved.

[The Bad News Report]

1 minute ago, tarhoosier said:

Does Duke have portable power systems to "plug in" for such situations, as well as other types of emergencies?

If they do it'd be interesting to see.  That would have to be one heck of a generator array.

[Charlotte Gateway Station and Railroad Improvements]

1 hour ago, DamicoKaren said:

 

Where is 500 W Trade? Is that included in the highlighted area? 

It's the white roofed building North of N Graham St, and to the left of Crave Dessert Bar (W 5th St).  There's a road to the North side of 500 West Trade Apt's that separates it from the highlighted area.  (Note my cardinal directions are based on the layout of that screenshot, not true North)

[Misc. Uptown Projects/News]

On 9/16/2022 at 6:32 PM, KJHburg said:

Unfortunately 400 South Tryon would not be a good building to convert to residential as @atlrvrnoted the dimensions are way too big and deep for a conversion.   120 by 165 feet the depth is too deep. 

Right you are.  I read @atlrvr's comment too quickly and miss read the dimensions.  Thanks for the correction!

[Misc. Uptown Projects/News]

The view from Little Arch's balcony of 400 S Tryon was fantastic before DE2 rose up.  I thought it was a fun "link" from their early years to current.  While I'm not normally in sync with 70's architecture I happen to love the look of 400 S Tryon.  The juxtaposition with the newer buildings is nice.  Now the view from Little's office of that vinyl fence excuse of a crown on top of Ally....

KJ that's an interesting note about residential vs office floor plates.  I'd be OK with a reskin of 400 if it was converted to residential.  Would be a cool project to watch progress

[Vanguard Charlotte Corporate Center - University Research Park]

17 hours ago, JeanClt said:

 

Nice pics!  Really neat to see the canopy.  I helped budget that few years back and the cost was eye opening 

Pretty ballsy to leave that top edge on the railing glass uncovered.  These laminated rail glazing units have a tendency to shatter if struck on the edge.  Can be as simple as someone's ring hitting it.  It's why you see metal "U" caps on most new railings.  They'll likely put one on here when they install the grab rail.

 

[Queensbridge Collective - 1 tower, maybe 2]

It's going to be interesting to see how (if) this one progresses.  From what I hear their budgets vs real cost of material is stark.  Architects drew a Ferrari and they have Lexus budgets. 

I'll 2nd what KJ is saying; the office tower may come out shorter than expected.  

[Charlotte-Douglas Airport (CLT) Expansion]

Does anyone know the tentative schedule on installing trusses for the roadway canopy?  Those things are massive and I'd sure love to see them being lifted into place.  I figure it's still a long way out but worth the ask.  Lord knows the last schedule I had eyes on is way out of date by now

[Learning from Other Places]

32 minutes ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

Is that a handrail & footrest so you can stop for the (presumed) traffic light while seated on a bike?  If so that's pretty slick.  

[Downtown High Point]

DCB - you nailed it.  Hopefully the new baseball stadium, food hall, Ziggys Space, etc will help to kickstart activity.  Downtown High Point has the feel DT Greensboro did 20+ years ago.  

[Downtown High Point]

On 6/21/2022 at 8:17 PM, KJHburg said:

Some quick drive by photos of downtown High Point.  (and a few of High Point University which just looks incredible)

 

 

 

This building has incredible handrails in it.  There's two divided showrooms, one lighter and one darker in color scheme.  They both have ultra tight twist helix stairs with glass railing.  Those lead up a few levels where it combines into a much wider monumental helical stair with a very elaborate metal rail.   Stunning design.

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

18 hours ago, CharlotteWkndBuzz said:

Now that you mention that, I think you’re right. With the elevation difference, the 2nd level on college st is ground level from the Tryon side. Looks like this could have some sizable retail space in this project. Would be cool if they made a long linear park (like what Kimpton/300 did) from Tryon to college st side with retail spaces all along it. Like you said though top secret lol. Hope they give the college st side some love bc it’s facing the convention center and with the right retail could be very busy. 

The plans I saw had retail on College side B1 level, and Level 1 (2nd level on College side).  Per those B1 is smaller spot nestled by the parking ramps, and Lvl 1 is wider, and double height.   Nothing was well detailed so unsure on specifics.

[The History of the Triangle]

On 4/29/2022 at 10:52 PM, Jones_ said:

The best chance of siting it with certainty would be aerial soil survey photos from the 30's (beginning of water and soil conservation districts) since the landfill was done in the 50's. I never got around to finding a source for those...the City used to have some posted 25 years ago but they were taken down. Its possible State Archives has them. 

 

Would the 1938 aerials have what you need?  These seem to be the images that might contain the area you mention

13-210, 13-212, 14-17, 14-19 (edit: 13-214 might have closest coverage)

https://library.unc.edu/data/gis-usda/wake/1938

 

[Traffic Congestion and Highway Construction]

5 hours ago, JeanClt said:

Overall US drivers suck as a whole. We have 0 respect for others and frankly sometimes I feel as tho most people don’t know how a high way should be used. It’s probably our lax driving tests and requirements as opposed to Western European countries. They seem to drive better generally. Some of those countries have more restrictions to getting a license.

Correct. 

European roads are also designed quite differently than US ones.  It takes more concentration to drive as lanes are narrower, etc.  My wife is from Sweden so we've spent a lot of time driving around to visit family & friends over there.  I'm always in awe of their road design, and wish the US could copy some of their design principles.  

[Brier Creek Developments]

14 hours ago, Phillydog said:

Seriously!  The Empire State Building only took 13 months for God's sake!

I know some of the backend "drama" to this job and can say it's amazing it's going up as fast as it is (be that speed hilariously slow)

[Cap over Belk Freeway (277)]

4 hours ago, tarhoosier said:

That looks nice but you know, you KNOW there will be mesh/guards/fencing on the sides to prevent people throwing objects, including themselves onto the highway.

Yup!  The recent ped bridge projects in Columbia & Winston-Salem (post bid), and Greenville, South (under design) all have 8 to 12' "screening" to prevent just that.  I'm hopeful given the design shown in the renderings the screening will be non-obtrusive on this one

[Belk Place: Carolina Theater and Hotel Intercontinental]

16 hours ago, theronhobbs said:

I'm an architect in Charlotte, and it's not just lumber. Lead times for materials and products across the board are at high levels. We're experiencing 6 to 8-month lead times right now for steel, and costs have nearly doubled since pre-COVID levels. There are only 3 major manufacturers of steel decking and joists in the US, and even 12 regional suppliers are subsidiaries of 2 of the same 3 national companies. Most steel foundries are currently operating with only one shift, which is unnecessarily inflating the market. If this trend continues, we might see the market soon revert to using precast concrete double-tee's, in lieu of steel for some warehouse projects.

This right here.  I work more with aluminum than steel.  Mills are rationing supply of aluminum and generally the auto manufactures get top priority as they are buying high grade aluminum.  Building product manufactures are lower on the chart and have to do with the limited supply.  The biggest constraint we are facing is the labor shortage.  It's quickly headed to crisis levels.  I can personally attest some building product factories are operating with half their normal staffing levels.  In the past 4 months we've seen lead times go from 6-8 weeks to 12-14 weeks.  It's creating a mess for onsite job progress.

[Unified Development Ordinance]

Quote

Here's a triplex in Dilworth you can rent for less than $1000/mo within spittin' distance of South End. Sounds pretty affordable to me. How many of you have driven by this house and not realized it was even a triplex?

If memory serves me correct I think that is a quadplex.  Very good example of historic "missing middle housing".  The neighborhoods around UNCG & NC State have a bunch of these old homes that are broken up into 3-6 units.  UNCG area has a good handful of stacked fourplex buildings