Duke Energy Plaza Headquarters | 40 Story formerly Charlotte Metro Tower

[DMann]

and the shack remains!

[CltFlyer]

15 minutes ago, DMann said:

and the shack remains!

The little shack that could??

 

[cltheel.sdl]

My only issue with this tower is how architecturally similar it is to DEC.  Would love this tower on North Tryon - here it just blends it with the neighbors.  Would love to see curves or a different color of glass to really help it stand out in this location.  

[Blue_Devil]

1 hour ago, cltheel.sdl said:

My only issue with this tower is how architecturally similar it is to DEC.  Would love this tower on North Tryon - here it just blends it with the neighbors.  Would love to see curves or a different color of glass to really help it stand out in this location.  

That is kind of the point isn't it? 

[go_vertical]

There is a fine line between complimentary and copying. I know this isn't identical to DEC but I think it does lean a little closer to trying be that than being something that plays off of it. Now, I'm not bashing the tower, I really like it, but small things could be done to differentiate it from its bigger brother and still have a common language with it. Darker or different color glass for example. 

[KJHburg]

4 hours ago, DMann said:

and the shack remains!

Don't diss my shack while I'm out of town.  CK should be preserving it for me

[CLT @❤️]

The “shack” is being utilized on site, and now has an a/c unit tacked onto it, and it houses the sentinel on the west side of project entrance.
 

No cement trucks get through without first going by/through the shack. Lol  

You could say they repurposed the shack 

[GuiTarHeel]

On 7/5/2021 at 2:39 PM, QCxpat said:

Today 9:15 a.m.  -  climbing skyward  - 660 ft. / 201 m. (40 floors)

 

^^^I was thinking it was down to ~610 feet, did they bring it back up to 660?!?

[CLT Development]

11 hours ago, GuiTarHeel said:

On 7/5/2021 at 2:39 PM, QCxpat said:

Today 9:15 a.m.  -  climbing skyward  - 660 ft. / 201 m. (40 floors)

 

^^^I was thinking it was down to ~610 feet, did they bring it back up to 660?!?

609 toward tryon, 618 from college.

15 hours ago, go_vertical said:

There is a fine line between complimentary and copying. I know this isn't identical to DEC but I think it does lean a little closer to trying be that than being something that plays off of it. Now, I'm not bashing the tower, I really like it, but small things could be done to differentiate it from its bigger brother and still have a common language with it. Darker or different color glass for example. 

When complete it'll look significantly different from the Power Tower

 

18 hours ago, CLT @ said:

Common now help me get the message to the powers that be at Duke Energy… #BuildThePowerTowerHigher

40/600 in many cities of the S.E. would be the centerpiece tower of their downtown. In the Q.C. this building will end up barely visible above many of its neighbors & will be significantly shorter than the current Duke Energy / Wells tower. Common now, think bigger! I know this won’t be popular with the pc crowd, but at least build a foot tall than the Enron/Chevron/Devron building in OKC

 

 

I'm not sure what the "PC crowd" has to do with this. It'll be a long time before we see a building over 50 floors again. The economics don't support it, developers in Charlotte have no need to build a tower that tall. 

Edited July 8, 2021 by The Real Clayton

[Blue_Devil]

2 hours ago, The Real Clayton said:

609 toward tryon, 618 from college.

When complete it'll look significantly different from the Power Tower

 

I'm not sure what the "PC crowd" has to do with this. It'll be a long time before we see a building over 50 floors again. The economics don't support it, developers in Charlotte have no need to build a tower that tall. 

The only way it happens if its a statement tower, so you are likely right. Its possible a big bank wants something developed for a new hub, or some sort of residential/condo/hotel hybrid in the luxury market. There is nothing wrong with a bunch of 350 to 400' towers being built and the density to increase in that way though. It sets up a future where buildings have to be built taller. 

[CLT @❤️]

2 hours ago, The Real Clayton said:

609 toward tryon, 618 from college.

When complete it'll look significantly different from the Power Tower

 

I'm not sure what the "PC crowd" has to do with this. It'll be a long time before we see a building over 50 floors again. The economics don't support it, developers in Charlotte have no need to build a tower that tall. 

The Real Clayton, thanks so much for that clarification 

[Hushpuppy321]

21 hours ago, Blue_Devil said:

The only way it happens if its a statement tower, so you are likely right. Its possible a big bank wants something developed for a new hub, or some sort of residential/condo/hotel hybrid in the luxury market. There is nothing wrong with a bunch of 350 to 400' towers being built and the density to increase in that way though. It sets up a future where buildings have to be built taller. 

New Buildings being built in Charlotte will most certainly be in the 250' to 400' range for sometime.  I believe that densification is a good thing and would help Charlotte match up with its Peers (Minneapolis\Denver) in that respect as they both have tons of buildings in that Height range more than Charlotte.

 SouthEnd appears to be the area most likely to receive a bunch of density in the next 5 years with the Morehead Corridor being second.  The Third & Baldwin Site in Midtown\Cherry would have one of the best locational perspectives of Uptown if that project ever gains traction but I believe that the high-rise interest in SouthEnd and Medical School\Morehead Corridor will suck the oxygen away from that part of Midtown for quite some time.  So much for the StreetCar Corridor induced commercial growth...

Edited July 9, 2021 by Hushpuppy321

[CLT Development]

12 minutes ago, Hushpuppy321 said:

SouthEnd appears to be the area most likely to receive a bunch of density in the next 5 years with the Morehead Corridor being second. 

Just y'all mother fudging  wait for what's "coming soon." 

[DMann]

[HopHead]

26 minutes ago, The Real Clayton said:

Just y'all mother fudging  wait for what's "coming soon." 

Hate when you do this... Now we just hit refresh over and over on this site LOL

[Mgelbach]

[CLT Development]

On 7/7/2021 at 4:58 PM, go_vertical said:

There is a fine line between complimentary and copying. I know this isn't identical to DEC but I think it does lean a little closer to trying be that than being something that plays off of it. Now, I'm not bashing the tower, I really like it, but small things could be done to differentiate it from its bigger brother and still have a common language with it. Darker or different color glass for example. 

So I wasn't going to address the "it looks too much like DEC" comments, but really, it has a lot of differences. For one, it doesn't have the stark white edging that defines DEC. It has the darker glass chamfered edges and the center glass panel that breaks up the glass curtain. It also has bright white mullions. Yes the glass is the same, but truly its a very different building.

[KJHburg]

I hear you talking about how I look.  I am my own beauty and stop comparing me to the others in town.  You will see  I am better than many of my taller friends.

Here I am peaking out towards east Charlotte. 

signed,  DEP 

[go_vertical]

2 hours ago, The Real Clayton said:

So I wasn't going to address the "it looks too much like DEC" comments, but really, it has a lot of differences. For one, it doesn't have the stark white edging that defines DEC. It has the darker glass chamfered edges and the center glass panel that breaks up the glass curtain. It also has bright white mullions. Yes the glass is the same, but truly its a very different building.

Again, I don't think it is extremely identical, but I genuinely think it does look quite similar to DEC. I understand there are slight differences. I simply don't think they are enough to make this stand out as much as some do. My opinion could very well change once this is complete, but as it sits right now this is how I feel. 

Some of the surrounding towers of this new cluster aren't helping the matter either (in my opinion). The obvious exception is Deloitte and to a lesser extent the Marriott. It feels like the developers were allowed to pick from three glass hues and four colors for non-glass surfaces. And hey, I feel the same way about the BOA/Hearst cluster. LOVE the towers there but nearly all have the same color glass and beige/khaki/whatever-it's-called bodies. 1BAC is the standout amongst those. 

I feel this way about nearly all of Miami's skyline. Look at a random close up picture there and everything in that shot will have an extremely narrow color range and probably identical glass colors. That's just how I see it. I'm just happy we are developing a slightly more varied architectural style since our stock isn't all condo towers. 

Individually I really like the developments we are getting here, I'm indifferent to BOAT, but when some of the photos of the southern section of the skyline are posted on here I feel many of these new towers sort of wash each other out visually. Definitely not a comment on the talented people on here taking those great shots. 

Now, I absolutely love our skyline. It has punched above its weight class for a while now and continues to do so, but I would love to see disruptors mixed in a little more. I've always liked the CNA Tower in Chicago as an example. 

Edited July 9, 2021 by go_vertical

[Nick2]

Maybe we could get Wells to move it's national HQ to Charlotte and then they'll have a measuring contest with BOA to see who has the bigger...ahem... building again. Then we'll have more 50+ floor towers.

[JRNYP2C]

14 minutes ago, Nick2 said:

Maybe we could get Wells to move it's national HQ to Charlotte and then they'll have a measuring contest with BOA to see who has the bigger...ahem... building again. Then we'll have more 50+ floor towers.

I'm still skeptical that is going to happen, just based on our current leader's take on things.  Plus the cost savings directive would make me think that a new building of any type is not a possibility in the near future (like 5-10 years).

We can still hope though!

[go_vertical]

I would rather have two or three 200 - 400 footers over a 50+ floor signature. Of course if one was proposed I would be more than happy but I agree it's unlikely to happen in a city like Charlotte for a while. We were lucky to get B of A corporate, Hearst, Dec, and now Duke Metro when we did. Other cities with similar size CBD's to ours at the time we got them would have fallen over themselves in awe if they were announced there. We have the tall and distinct and now we need the density tapering off away from that to thicken (for lack of a better term) the center city. 

[Miesian Corners]

I fear the top of this building is going to end up looking just as bad as Ally. Now that the solar array has been value-engineered out, the top will just be some glass surrounding the elevator equipment room, which will will be very obvious from the east-facing facade (Independence/Belk/Brookshire).

[JorgiPorgi]

I find DEP to be delightfully complimentary to the DEC. 

Some of us have been scarred from the disappointing value engineering of other projects. Hopefully there won’t be anything glaringly obviously value engineered with this building once we see the finished project. 

[turbocraig]

8 hours ago, Miesian Corners said:

I fear the top of this building is going to end up looking just as bad as Ally. Now that the solar array has been value-engineered out, the top will just be some glass surrounding the elevator equipment room, which will will be very obvious from the east-facing facade (Independence/Belk/Brookshire).

Is this confirmed?  If so, it's totally at odds with their door-to-door marketing of solar panels.  I was at a friend's in Foxcroft last week and answered the door when two young sales guys rang the doorbell.  They were contractors for Duke offering free home energy reports and offering to discuss the viability and benefits of putting solar panels on the roof.  But they won't do it on their own HQ?  Weird.