abttown

Believe Trinity Partners spent some money a couple years back renovating that building. I'm not sure how extensive the renovations were, but I know the lobby was rehabilitated a good bit. I'm sure they're perusing the market for any interest, but I do love the idea of such a large building becoming residential.

Just a quick shot today from my lunch break. I didn't see many workers, but they were likely at lunch as well

That will sting on the face, but is still preferable to waiting in line in 95 degree weather. Standing in the blazing sun as the sweat drips down your back (and other places) can leave you a bit soggy and irritable...yuk!

We tried the new Big Ben location last weekend and we'd give it a B-. The food was actually very good (if you like English food), the service was slow, but I think you can (hopefully) chalk that up to new staff/training. Our waitress didn't know anything about the menu or what beers were on tap. The beer selection was also pretty poor, but maybe they didn't have all the taps ready. The bar is quite large and looks great (sorry no pics) and the location is great considering lots of folks will utilize this space with it's proximity to Memorial Stadium. Speaking of Superica, the Strawberry Hill location is now only open for dinner, even during the weekend. We tried to go there for lunch a few Saturday's back and were disappointed to see the place closed until 5:00pm. This is surprising given how packed the place has been during weekend lunch, but I suppose they also have a staff shortage.

Good job screening all the mechanicals on the roof. And I gotta agree with KJHburg, those are some spacious balconies up there! I can foresee some corporate events making use of that outdoor space.

^I'll do my best to meet up with you guys tomorrow! Should I look for a table with a Krispy Kreme doughnut box?!

^Agreed. Someone mentioned a page or two previously that the south side of the building looks like 300 S Brevard St, and now that's all I see when I look at this tower's backside. There is quite the contrast going on depending on your angle of approach. He looks good coming at you, but just meh walking away...

We took a drive thru Uptown on Saturday evening (~8pm) and were quite surprised at the number of people we saw out and about. Romare Bearden was very active. Folks were lined up onto the sidewalk to get into Merchant and Trade. Granted this was the south side of Uptown, but I was not expecting that many people and was pleasantly surprised. I think the desire is still there for the "big city" experience, but I agree with j-man that lots more can be done to make the streetscape more inviting. I have fairly high hopes that once more of the workers return, things will get better for business. Oddly, I believe some of the businesses that have survived have changed their hours to actually accommodate the weekend crowds, which is something I know many of us have complained about in the past. I hope this continues and they don't revert back to the weekday only hours. After Uptown, we slowly made our way through South End which was crowded of course. Jeni's ice cream is raking in the dough!

^My company performed some work in the Independence Tower a couple years ago and I remember the building manager telling me those windows are gold plated and are made in Italy. Apparently during hurricane Hugo many of the windows were blown out and they had to wait a long time for a new shipment from overseas.

Work has officially started on the Ervin/Varnadore building. I drove by today and saw a large work crew assembled at the site. I'm sure there's lots of interior demo and probably a good amount of asbestos that needs to be abated!

Stopped by 7th Street on a Saturday afternoon a couple weeks ago and there were a decent number of folks there, especially considering the limited options they have now. I really hope they make a strong comeback as that is always a stop when I'm uptown.

Taken a couple weeks back from Camp North End

Neat drone footage of the storms that rolled through the area this week. Pretty sure most of the video was taken in upstate SC.

I've certainly seen individuals throw trash out their window, but I think most trash (especially on interstates) comes from the garbage trucks themselves. I've witnessed on several occasions plastic bags and paper flying out of garbage trucks while they're on the road. Either way, the end result is the same and it looks horrible.

Thanks for the pic! From what I can see of it, there appears to be additional screening being added to the garage.

My goodness. I hope that signage is as cheap as it looks and gets blown off in the next wind storm (with no injuries of course). I agree with others, the lighting scheme is okay, but the signage is awful. The backer board behind the letters....how was that approved?!

This is my favorite art piece in Uptown. I always change (try to correct) the rotation of the globe every time I walk past this thing. Would love to know how much this baby weights.

You are correct! It was taken from the roof of the tower. I think it's cool how the skyline steps down on both ends, especially neat how the Vue extends the skyline from this angle.

This was sent to me by a friend. Not the best quality, but a pretty cool vantage point. Anyone want to guess where this was taken from?

No you're not the only one. I caught about 15 minutes of this conversation today and heard Mike ask multiple times about traffic/road widening; I wanted to scream at him (I may have actually)

It is being turned into an adult playground. Was supposed to open in June, so not sure what the new target date will be. Story below. https://www.charlotteagenda.com/165092/coliseum-v-action-bar-virtual-reality-action-field/

I had Father's Day lunch there today. Maybe it is another location you're thinking of?

Wow! You forget how much warehouse space is in this location until you see it from above!

Everytime I stand at the base of Hearst and look up, I think of Ghostbusters and Sigourney Weaver's apartment building. I'm also a big fan of this tower.

^This development looks so much better than Stonewall Station. Amazing how the brown and grey coloring helps break up the structure. Take note Crescent!