turbocraig

I didn't say that SP Mag was a credible source. In fact, I said it wasn't. It was just relevant to the thread that they mentioned the possible floor increase, but I'm skeptical like everyone else.

It isn't the best source for news at all, but I picked up a free copy of SouthPark magazine that they have at the mall the other day. The latest issue has an article about downtown living (focusing primarily on the Vue) and they still maintained the possibility exists for the extra eight floors. It's probably based on old info, though.

I never really hated the back of this building like a lot of others here, but it is amazing how just these few detail modifications have really transformed the upper third of Courtside. I wonder if they have plans for the lower levels.

So I guess we'll see this complaint again 2 months after your next trip!

^You do know that there's a shuttle that picks up at that deck every 7 minutes or so...

What??? I meant to watch that, but missed the boat. What does that mean, "the Marlins who will officially be in Charlotte within the next month."?? Oh, MC... you posted before I had a chance. Hmm.. I'm nothing but skeptical here.

Interesting. I wonder how they plan on addressing the next setback down. There doesn't seem to be a natural transition in terms of window/stripe placement.

I don't know how significant this is, but today's print edition of The Observer says that BofA is in talks with Int'l Speedway Corp (the France Family) about a potential sponsorship deal. It's still anybody's guess, obviously, but I don't underestimate the kind of lucrative package/$ that BofA is willing and able to offer. BofA Chief Marketing Officer, Cathy Bessant is a primary recruiter for the Charlotte HOF efforts.

That's funny. I knew a girl in college that drove a pale yellow Ford Fairmont wagon that looked identical to the car in the rendering. Maybe she's on the design team...

Nope. Originally the idea was that the announcement would come by year's end, but in an article (somewhere) a few weeks ago, the France family said that they'd make a decision by the end of first quarter '06. So... stop holding your breath..

I wonder if that's a tongue-in-cheek way of saying that some new renderings with the eight additional floors are just around the corner. Maybe?

It didn't specify. I'm assuming spires 'n all. That's funny...

The email said it was 14ft. Can it be seen from the street? Maybe I'll go by there this weekend. I'm not sure what the office hours are.

^Well, someone take a camera!

That would be nice. The email was just a short follow-up blurb with a few sentences only (from Bo Younts, if any of you that've been by the sales center know who that is). There weren't any visuals.

I just got an email from someone at the Vue sales center. It said they just had the 14ft model of the building delivered. Just curious if anyone that works downtown had seen it yet.

Not sure about whomever Ok'd the West Trade teardowns, but yeah.. that did suck. I loved that old bus terminal with the 40's curved glass-brick architecture.

The guy from that was on the Historic board said that they had given them 'tentative approval' to demolish that structure. I think he said it was an old auto dealership years ago. He said that 4W got burned when the HDC gave approval for the demolition of the Polk building when they thought that J&W was going to put it's business school there. Now that fell through and the demolition order still stands. Who knows what'll happen to that site now. He said that the old dealership, under the contract with the Vue, cannot be demolished until the Vue actually breaks ground. The last thing they want is to tear that building down and then the Vue falls through for whatever reason. So, to answer your question the long way around, yes... if the Vue goes forward, that building will come down. Yeah, but they don't have 750-900 customvers living directly above them, so hopefully that won't be the case here.

They didn't indicate exactly where on the first level the retail would be, but they wanted to reassure everyone that the retail would fit the total building concept and are being very selective about what they allow in those spaces. They also want to ensure that whatever goes in there serves primarily the residents and does not generate a lot of automobile traffic.

^That's funny about MC's Holiday Inn deck comparison. When I first saw that rendering, that HI deck immediately sprung to mind.

Yes, they said they got a lot of feedback about what the bottom 3 floors would look like from the man-on-the-street perspective from the Historic District Council. There will be brick on two sides, I think... probably the ones that would abutt the firehouse museum. They were clear that even now, things are still conceptual and subject to revision. The parking deck, oddly, seemed open and unadorned. I think that's the side that faces HT, but it was hard to tell from the rendering, I could be wrong. The main entrance and part of the corner that wraps around to the parking deck side was brown marble and lots of glass. It looked to be about 3 stories high. I think that's what they're going to use. The Vue's construction guy was pretty clear about that specific design element and how important it was for the lobby/entrance's impact. Lynn stood by smiling silently, and usually he'll throw in an objection if he has one. I guess that's a good sign. They've also purchased NC pottery art (maybe $100K worth... I can't remember the figure, but that sticks out) for the initial lobby art display. It'll rotate and feature works by local artists.

Some nice folks from The Vue gave a presentation at the FOFW meeting last night. Basically an informal rap session giving info on the project and taking in feedback from the neighborhood. Nothing really new that hasn't already been posted here. The main concern of the residents was the limited visitor parking. The Vue people seemed to get the message as probably 50% of the dialogue focused on that. I think they'll likely increase whatever visitor parking they had initially planned for. But... the most interesting stuff came not from the Vue people, but from a guy that was sitting at my table. He's the 4W representative that sits on the Historic District Council (basically our neighborhood's voice) and has had lots of interaction/input with the developers. He brought a Vue binder that they had given him previously that had 12-15 color pictures that showed the building from all angles in both day and night. It was unbelievable. I, like most people here, was uber-excited about this project before, but after seeing so many more renderings that I hadn't seen, I can tell you this is going to be freaking phenominal. I sooo wanted to steal that damn binder. I've not been to the sales center, so maybe they have those additonal renderings there too, I don't know. Sorry there's not more 'news' to report, but for me anyway, it was something to get even more excited about.

Wouldn't they still have the penthouse, just higher up? The added floors could just kick everybody who's already purchased a unit up the same number of floors that they add.

Yeah, you can't just say something like that and walk away! What gives?

Yeah, I saw the big "drill on wheels" on the corner of the lot yesterday on my way to HT. It had aleady broken through the pavement.