SouthEnd High-Rise Projects

[DJ8hep]

2 hours ago, J-Rob said:

and here I was excited about a much delayed pedestrian bridge with cool lights.

Hahaha I’m still excited about it!

[DJ8hep]

3 hours ago, CLT Development said:

So this would be around 22 acres total  with 11 acres of parkland. You would bury parking on the South End side allowing you to build smaller footprint buildings. I tried to make the buildings translucent so you could see the greenspace between them. 

You could yield easily 2200 residential units, 500,000 sq feet of office and 800 hotel rooms.

 

 

Seeing this kind of made me think of the Rethinking I-94 project that has been in the planning phase for a few years now in St. Paul.

 

[ArchiCLT]

Somebody say river?

[kermit]

^ The South blvd turning basin is an excellent touch! This will be a great place to turn the ferries following the 15 hour trip from Ocracoke.  Its much like the North Ave basin on the Chicago River

Edited November 2, 2023 by kermit

[Synopsis101]

5 hours ago, Larry Singer said:

Who wouldn't know? 

You

[KJHburg]

Various high rise shots in Southend.  Really has a skyline now and getting more in the future. 

[RANYC]

18 hours ago, KJHburg said:

Various high rise shots in Southend.  Really has a skyline now and getting more in the future. 

In that first picture, I see a prominent display of podium parking box which is the main feature to engage with for walkers, and droopy power transmission lines.  This just doesn’t look good and I didn’t fully appreciate how awful this would look when plans were first proposed.  Developers have run rough-shod over SE and what could have been a singular and significant pedestrian experience on par with urban corridors globally is instead another clumsy/sloppy and unrefined American construct borne out of a desire for urban density while still bowing to our obsession with cars.

[jthomas]

23 minutes ago, RANYC said:

In that first picture, I see a prominent display of podium parking box which is the main feature to engage with for walkers, and droopy power transmission lines.  This just doesn’t look good and I didn’t fully appreciate how awful this would look when plans were first proposed.  Developers have run rough-shod over SE and what could have been a singular and significant pedestrian experience on par with urban corridors globally is instead another clumsy/sloppy and unrefined American construct borne out of a desire for urban density while still bowing to our obsession with cars.

Yeah I don't understand why the architectural trend du jour is to emphasize the massing of the parking podiums, rather than making them blend with the rest of the building. It's like the mom jeans of architecture - it doesn't look good on anyone!

[CLT Development]

1 hour ago, jthomas said:

Yeah I don't understand why the architectural trend du jour is to emphasize the massing of the parking podiums, rather than making them blend with the rest of the building. It's like the mom jeans of architecture - it doesn't look good on anyone!

Because they use materials that are more porous for air ventilation purposes and can be easily snapped together without as much labor as masonry, glazing, etc. Believe it or not structured parking is already something that many developers would not like to necessarily include (financing necessitates in most cases) and they are going to do as much as they can to save money in order to not raise rents and focus on people focused spaces instead.

Edited November 6, 2023 by CLT Development

[jthomas]

27 minutes ago, CLT Development said:

Because they use materials that are more porous for air ventilation purposes and can be easily snapped together without as much labor as masonry, glazing, etc. Believe it or not structured parking is already something that many developers would not like to necessarily include (financing necessitates in most cases) and they are going to do as much as they can to save money in order to not raise rents and focus on people focused spaces instead.

I'm aware of the different requirements for cladding a space for cars vs. for people. My commentary is that, just like mom jeans, the architects of this building (and the Line, and others like it) have deliberately chosen to draw attention to the most unflattering part of the building through wildly different material choices that have no relation to the rest of the building. Recessing the facade at the ground and sky deck levels only reinforces the gargantuan mass of parking at the midsection of the building. Again - mom jeans.

I have made clear my dislike of podium buildings, but I can begrudgingly accept the reasons why they exist. But it's OK to call out terrible architecture. I'm glad that the noble developers are trying to keep the rents down,  but they are creating structures that will be around for 100 years. They have a responsibility to the city at large as well as their own bottom line.

[Matthew.Brendan]

9 minutes ago, jthomas said:

but they are creating structures that will be around for 100 years

Not in Charlotte they won't be

[15895]

4 hours ago, CLT Development said:

Because they use materials that are more porous for air ventilation purposes and can be easily snapped together without as much labor as masonry, glazing, etc. Believe it or not structured parking is already something that many developers would not like to necessarily include (financing necessitates in most cases) and they are going to do as much as they can to save money in order to not raise rents and focus on people focused spaces instead.

I must love torture to open myself to criticism, the annoying little emoji’s etc but…

When a community premises their development to rely on the bottom, bottom line of developers, what you say of course is true. This city prioritizes developers wayyyy too much in certain areas. It’s all about the developers & it shouldn’t be. 

This thing would’ve never been built in this style in NoDa even. I just can’t imagine them not fighting it. & god bless NoDa for it.

If developers don’t like the rules of a community, go build somewhere else. If a developer wants to leave tax credits on the table, leave them on the table. If a developer gets annoyed at certain guidelines or requirements or claim they can’t make the numbers work, oh well. Don’t build. Levine should somehow legally feel some pain over first ward, or have the city to threaten future cooperation. Someone else can just take millions in subsidies. 

Charlotte’s going to grow, Charlotte’s going to build (and would build more and lower rents with progressive policy so there’s always that in the tool belt). I don’t think we need to be scared to tell these developers to screw off. Our government should work for the people, not developers. Let rents rise sky high. That’d ironically peak more interest from other developers lol. These developers are just squeezing Pennies for investors who have never stepped foot in NC. That’s not who we should be pleasing. 
 

In any event. There are things that could’ve been done just to make it a bit more pleasing of a neighborhood addition without adding significant cost. Seriously. What’s this thing going to do for the neighborhood. Add some jobs for people who don’t even live near by. How grateful residents and neighbors should be. 
 

that’s all just my little opinion. Not saying anyone’s right or wrong. SouthEnd luckily has had some pretty great additions otherwise so it’s not the end of the world at least. Maybe one day it’ll be considered pretty. Don’t blindly trust developers. Don’t blindly trust Billionaire sports owners. Especially when they flash around their little stadium districts. 

Edited November 7, 2023 by AirNostrumMAD

[carolinaboy]

Any plans here?

 

[CLT Development]

2 minutes ago, carolinaboy said:

Any plans here?

 

13-floor apartment building eventually.

14 hours ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

I must love torture to open myself to criticism, the annoying little emoji’s etc but…

When a community premises their development to rely on the bottom, bottom line of developers, what you say of course is true. This city prioritizes developers wayyyy too much in certain areas. It’s all about the developers & it shouldn’t be. 

This thing would’ve never been built in this style in NoDa even. I just can’t imagine them not fighting it. & god bless NoDa for it.

If developers don’t like the rules of a community, go build somewhere else. If a developer wants to leave tax credits on the table, leave them on the table. If a developer gets annoyed at certain guidelines or requirements or claim they can’t make the numbers work, oh well. Don’t build. Levine should somehow legally feel some pain over first ward, or have the city to threaten future cooperation. Someone else can just take millions in subsidies. 

Charlotte’s going to grow, Charlotte’s going to build (and would build more and lower rents with progressive policy so there’s always that in the tool belt). I don’t think we need to be scared to tell these developers to screw off. Our government should work for the people, not developers. Let rents rise sky high. That’d ironically peak more interest from other developers lol. These developers are just squeezing Pennies for investors who have never stepped foot in NC. That’s not who we should be pleasing. 
 

In any event. There are things that could’ve been done just to make it a bit more pleasing of a neighborhood addition without adding significant cost. Seriously. What’s this thing going to do for the neighborhood. Add some jobs for people who don’t even live near by. How grateful residents and neighbors should be. 
 

that’s all just my little opinion. Not saying anyone’s right or wrong. SouthEnd luckily has had some pretty great additions otherwise so it’s not the end of the world at least. Maybe one day it’ll be considered pretty. Don’t blindly trust developers. Don’t blindly trust Billionaire sports owners. Especially when they flash around their little stadium districts. 

Have you not seen our new godawful parking garage facing the light rail? 

[DonkeyKong]

7 minutes ago, carolinaboy said:

Any plans here?

 

How many cranes do you think they will need for this project?  Its a sizeable site and project.

[Prodev]

17 minutes ago, carolinaboy said:

Any plans here?

 

It's wood-frame w/ podium apartments, so it'll be 6-7 story. Info is direct from the developer at Spectrum. 

[CLT Development]

6 minutes ago, Prodev said:

It's wood-frame w/ podium apartments, so it'll be 6-7 story. Info is direct from the developer at Spectrum. 

lol, mine is also from the developers, and what they submitted larger parking deck for both buildings and apartments on top. 12-13 floors.

Edited November 7, 2023 by CLT Development

[15895]

23 minutes ago, CLT Development said:

13-floor apartment building eventually.

Have you not seen our new godawful parking garage facing the light rail? 

The one with the mural? I don’t mind the way it looks plus it faces train tracks and, as of now, faces an industrial area. If it was along Davidson or something, or where the YMCA is, it might be more problematic. 

If you’re talking others, I don’t mind really anything otherwise in the area. Camden & East Blvd along the rail trail and sticking out hardcore, other features in general. It’s a lost opportunity for the ground level experience & for the strengthened image of SouthEnd. I’d also have been fine with this maybe along Tryon.

This is just not a project I find attractive nor activating in anyway in an area that is pretty prominent. 
 

Edited November 7, 2023 by AirNostrumMAD

[CLT Development]

6 hours ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

The one with the mural? I don’t mind the way it looks plus it faces train tracks and, as of now, faces an industrial area. If it was along Davidson or something, or where the YMCA is, it might be more problematic. 

If you’re talking others, I don’t mind really anything otherwise in the area. Camden & East Blvd along the rail trail and sticking out hardcore, other features in general. It’s a lost opportunity for the ground level experience & for the strengthened image of SouthEnd. I’d also have been fine with this maybe along Tryon.

This is just not a project I find attractive nor activating in anyway in an area that is pretty prominent. 
 

oh no I mean the new Grubb Parking Deck's mural, woof which faces into NoDa, and I live in that industrial area thank you very much lol

Also, there will be 8,000 square feet of retail with patio space facing the station and a pocket park facing West Blvd. My hope is not lost.

Edited November 7, 2023 by CLT Development

[DJ8hep]

5 hours ago, CLT Development said:

oh no I mean the new Grubb Parking Deck's mural, woof which faces into NoDa, and I live in that industrial area thank you very much lol

Also, there will be 8,000 square feet of retail with patio space facing the station and a pocket park facing West Blvd. My hope is not lost.

Curious to see what will end up there. Oh they have begun the wood style cladding portion!

[JRCLT]

The sad reality is Charlotte isn’t built walkable because of its zoning matching a lot of the US. Also why the lack of affordable housing is an issue.

Cars aren’t preferred always, but they are the only option for most of Charlotte. You can’t expect everyone who works in south end to live near the blue line or transit that leaves you there within a reasonable commute time. Parking decks are the result of the life style and policy of the city as a whole and not so much the neighborhood alone.

Edited November 8, 2023 by JRCLT

[CLT Development]

Crane going up at Queensbridge today it looks like.

Edited November 8, 2023 by CLT Development

[15895]

1 hour ago, JRCLT said:

The sad reality is Charlotte isn’t built walkable because of its zoning matching a lot of the US. Also why the lack of affordable housing is an issue.

Cars aren’t preferred always, but they are the only option for most of Charlotte. You can’t expect everyone who works in south end to live near the blue line or transit that leaves you there within a reasonable commute time. Parking decks are the result of the life style and policy of the city as a whole and not so much the neighborhood alone.

But if it’s the SouthEnd neighborhood, then I think it has to ultimately conform to the neighborhood and the neighborhood should have a huge say. 
 

If the concern is that not enough people have a convenient way to reach the building other than driving, Why not just build where it’s more convenient to drive/most people to get to? Mass transit, better frequencies, etc. aren’t going to happen when decision making is based on making sure everyone can reach the destination conveniently by vehicle. 
 

But to take a step back for a bit. It’s not necessarily the fact it’s a podium deck, etc. I think even just changing the materials to fit better within SouthEnd would’ve went a long, long way. Like said by another poster, it’s very mom-jeans fad. 

 

[kermit]

43 minutes ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

But if it’s the SouthEnd neighborhood, then I think it has to ultimately conform to the neighborhood and the neighborhood should have a huge say.

I can see this sort of thing (the neighborhood getting to provide feedback) might be possible in a Neighborhood like Dilworth, but Southend is such a weird case. Its basically a brand new residential neighborhood. Nearly all of the residents are young and transient and they probably have very little interest or motivation to advocate for their neighborhood. This is just a devil's advocate question, who should advocate for Southend?

[this also is not to say that I believe neighborhood feedback is a good thing, these days I see it as more of a NIMBY tool than anything else]

[Guest]

44 minutes ago, kermit said:

I can see this sort of thing (the neighborhood getting to provide feedback) might be possible in a Neighborhood like Dilworth, but Southend is such a weird case. Its basically a brand new residential neighborhood. Nearly all of the residents are young and transient and they probably have very little interest or motivation to advocate for their neighborhood. This is just a devil's advocate question, who should advocate for Southend?

[this also is not to say that I believe neighborhood feedback is a good thing, these days I see it as more of a NIMBY tool than anything else]

Residents. Who cares if they’re transient, so is South End in a sense. Anyone else making decisions would create the same results we have now I think.