Germaine

No problem, great to read what you were able to find out about The Vue. Unfortunately, though, I think the Biz Journal does fall prey to a bit of hyperbole. Gott im himmel! Isn't that the truth!!!!!!

....which only goes to suggest that it has little to do with demand at his point in the residential game. Eventually, I hope, all the lenders buying up homes in Myers Park, Dilworth, Elizabeth, and South Park for $250 a square foot will begin to realize that the market really is dominated by two groups: Those who want to live in traditional pre-, and near-, World War 2 "suburban" neighborhoods (not to be confused with the post 1960's "anti-urban" crap thrown up in corn fields) and those who want zero-lot line, no lot line, "downtown" buildings. The true measure, I think, for residential preference - and this is a GROSS simplification - won't necessarily be "can I walk to work", it will be: "can I walk to the grocery store".

I agree, prices could come down some, but I think it may be more than that, and, I know I'm not comparing apples to apples so forgive my rant. For now, as a developer of single-family projects in suburban (anti-urban) locations, our company will sink millions into a project before the first house is built. I understand that building a condo tower (like The Vue) is perhaps more expensive to build up front, but even we will start construction before units are sold. Right now, we have over $7,000,000 worth of unsold "inventory" in a neighborhood that sold 156 units last year (our average price is $625K for an average of 2600 square feet). I guess the point is, if I'm a consumer, I want to see product before buying. If a tower in the center of Charlotte isn't selling "quickly" my guess is that it isn't because of a softening of demand, but a result of the reluctance on the part of buyers to purchase something - even with fancy sales offices - "sight unseen". You all know, the trend in residential development is quickly moving toward "access living" - living in a SF home or condo or apartment - with at least some of our daily trips within walking distance of the home. I have faith that buildings like "The Vue" are inevitable in rapidly evolving cities like Charlotte and even in older - slower growing - cities like my own. I hope that The Vue gets built. I hope they can make the numbers work to get it built with only 50% of the units pre-sold because I predict that once it's under construction, sales will continue and strengthen as it nears completion.

Brilliant! Providence is such a great city!!!

Overall, I would tend to agree with you about supporting three teams. Except one thing...baseball doesn't really overlap with the scheduling of Charlotte's other majors and I would argue that baseball attracts a different fan base. That being said, I imagine that Las Vegas is the real contender here. Maine, of course!

Portland's more "ready"?

(Laughing at the way you wrote that!!!!) Unfortunately, not yet MadVlad! Maybe soon?!!!

Maybe 2006 is going to be our year! Utopia, BDL - Europe, CT Science Center, Front Street...

I'm not holding my breath! But, I hope it's true!!!! Driving to JFK is horrible!

RDU stopped being an American hub (along with Nashville, TN) back in 1999. Their London flight is supported, in part, by the huge number of British pharmaeuticals doing business in the Research Triangle.

Another city with similar enplanements, RDU, has supported a non-stop to London for over 10 years. Yes, let's get real. For how many people is it easier to get to BDL than BOS or JFK or EWR? That's the real story.

Nothing truer has ever been spoken! It's got to DOT b/c it makes no sense. See post above...

See, this is exactly the reason why there should be international (European) flights from Bradley. Think of the number of people who live closer to Bradley (in terms of travel time)! It's easier to drive from Worcester, Springfield, New Haven, Fairfield County, etc. than Boston or New York. Yes?

I agree Tycoon. This project well past due! I hope that the towns/cities along the route will change their development codes to make it easier to build very high density projects adjacent to the stations. See this code as an example: Huntersville I'm hoping to use it locally even if the corridor isn't approved and constructed!

Is this being built?

Greetings everyone. Glad to read some great dialogue and ideas about my favorite city. I lived in Enfield for what seems like 100 years then moved to Raleigh-Durham for a while. Take care everyone!