c_harmons

Why do people think there is a public approval process with this project? The site is zoned and as long as they follow the rules for what can be built, they can do it. The Polk building is not a historical landmark despite the views by some here. Also, with all the stalled projects, any City that can get a $100,000,000 investment in downtown will take it. But how can you ask for more density but also ask they keep that building, which one must admit was not built to accomodate first flor retail and residential above. I also hope they keep parts of the building too, but considering probably no one on this board has been in the building since it was shuttered, I think it is a little over the top to ask for a public protest or the City to deny a developer from building without preservation requirements. They have told me the building structure is not ideal for first floor retail or mid-rise residential. Emergency exits, fire line distances, etc have to be met in a larger building. Call me crazy but I don't all developers are liars and are out to work against the betterment of the Cities they depend on people moving to in order to fill up thier projects.

I talked with the people I know at Crosland and they gave me a run down on the Polk Building. FYI... Crosland said they are going to 8 stories, which does not mean wood construction. Second, they said they are testing the bricks on the Polk building for "moisture content" because they were informed by the previous owner that the reason the bricks are falling down and they have all that safety netting up is because the bricks are too wet. If that is the case they said they could not reuse them. Crosland also said the previous owner was in fact the State and City - which never suggested keeping the building. They also said they would actually like to keep some of the existing building because it is much closer to the street than new regulations allow them to be. But they said they are trying to work within the mid-rise code as well as seek LEED certification so it was not as easy as merely retrofitting the existing building due to different floor heights, chases needed for utilities, etc. in the new building. They mentioned to me they may be able disassemble the facade and re-build it into the existing building, but the condition of the bricks would require more study. Plus they said it may look odd if the floors of the new buildings do not line up with the Polk building exterior. I told them to read this site... Why are you anti-Crosland?

Not that I favor building anything anywhere, but that existing building is falling apart. And it is only 4 stories This new one is eight. Plus, if they could have built the first proposal, wouldn't they have? Especially in better economic times. Having 400 units on a surface parking lot seems like a good thing.

I hate to be too pessimistic, but do we really have enough people downtown for a movie theater? Charlotte doesn

Wow. Those are all classy. Now the only thing missing is the football stadium.

The renderings do look nice, but then again I have seen a lot of nice renderings. It seems that when the project is actually built though, they often look a lot worse. I remember Crosland before Birkdale and they have nice projects, but they are all pretty cookie cutter. I hope they don't revert back to that on this project.

Is that mixed-use like Birkdale?

What ever happened to Crosland? Ever since Birkdale they have seemed to drop off the map!