Polk Park

[davidclt]

12 hours ago, Desert Power said:

Was sad that didn't at least leave that clock tower in that plaza. Can see why they would remove that fountain though as it did not feel safe

Here's the "safe" replacement for the foundation. I found the fountain to be an interesting distraction to navigate. Regardless... Seems anodyne (and uninteresting) by comparison. Meh... Can't wait to see what sorts of additional hostile architecture they implement in the space before its reopening.

Edited June 12, 2023 by davidclt
Fixed typo, added additional thoughts.

[SydneyCarton]

The one outside the old library will be destroyed too.

 

[RANYC]

I was walking around uptown today and determined that Polk Park needs an installation that gives off a sense and impression of energy and movement, and a waterfall does that.  Perhaps a more space-efficient and better-placed one than what was there before, but please not another staid, sedate, corner of uptown.  Paley Park might be a good model to follow.

[SydneyCarton]

I love Paley Park.  Have you ever seen Greenacre Park?  That’s much nicer.  I’d like to see something like that as the replacement for Polk Park, though I thought that Polk was amazing as it was.

[RANYC]

1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

I love Paley Park.  Have you ever seen Greenacre Park?  That’s much nicer.  I’d like to see something like that as the replacement for Polk Park, though I thought that Polk was amazing as it was.

Yes.  I prefer Paley Park for this space because the Paley Park waterfall appears flatter against the backdrop and takes up less park space than the Greenacre one.

[SydneyCarton]

I observed yesterday that the homeless situation in Uptown is at a crisis point.  If their bathing in this fountain was part of the problem, I can sadly see why it was razed.

 Homelessness is also approaching a crisis point in Chapel Hill.   One morning last week, I saw four homeless people on Franklin St., two of whom were fighting with each other.   Also, unlike Charlotte, CH is a “city” of only 60,000 people, and, therefore, the homeless situation here is particularly crazy.

Something must be done.  

Edited August 14, 2023 by SydneyCarton

[dylansukkert]

They threw some gravel down a couple of weeks ago and I have not seen a worker or equipment since then. Hoping this does not sit like this too long. 

[tozmervo]

11 hours ago, dylansukkert said:

They threw some gravel down a couple of weeks ago and I have not seen a worker or equipment since then. Hoping this does not sit like this too long. 

I'm waiting for them to figure out that filling a site with large throwable stones in the middle of Uptown was not a good short-term solution.

[CLT Development]

12 hours ago, dylansukkert said:

They threw some gravel down a couple of weeks ago and I have not seen a worker or equipment since then. Hoping this does not sit like this too long. 

It hasn't even been designed. Its going to sit like this a while.

[stw52]

1 hour ago, CLT Development said:

It hasn't even been designed. Its going to sit like this a while.

Yep, and this is will be a great example  of why the public have a distrust of the city. They should have done a simple clean up (i don't believe anything was structurally wrong) and left it open until they were shovel ready. 

[CLT Development]

8 minutes ago, stw52 said:

Yep, and this is will be a great example  of why the public have a distrust of the city. They should have done a simple clean up (i don't believe anything was structurally wrong) and left it open until they were shovel ready. 

the folks responsible certainly have the word city in their name, but their abbreviated name is more similar to Союз Советских Социалистических Республик. And by the design isn't even done, I mean the designer hasn't even been identified.

Edited August 17, 2023 by CLT Development

[rumphy]

57 minutes ago, CLT Development said:

the folks responsible certainly have the word city in their name, but their abbreviated name is more similar to Союз Советских Социалистических Республик. And by the design isn't even done, I mean the designer hasn't even been identified.

I’m sure there’s a consultant or some internal design review. My guess is design first, then budget/construction realities…

Someone should stop by one of their board meetings, as initiatives are often discussed. They are generally open to the public (say you’re a blogger if needed) aside from closed sessions. I may do the same.

Edited August 17, 2023 by rumphy

[CLT Development]

26 minutes ago, rumphy said:

I’m sure there’s a consultant or some internal design review. My guess is design first, then budget/construction realities…

Someone should stop by one of their board meetings, as initiatives are often discussed. They are generally open to the public (say you’re a blogger if needed) aside from closed sessions. I may do the same.

They know who I am lol, I can't just say I'm a blogger. But showing up at the board meetings to grill them isn't a bad idea. 

Edited August 17, 2023 by CLT Development

[Matthew.Brendan]

Can we get a picture? I won’t be uptown for a while to check it out in person. Thanks!

[Windsurfer]

A little off topic, and I apologize, but found this interesting tidbit while researching The Oregon Trail since I've been spending some time up there in the summers:  The Oregon Trail movement was actually begun by Polk as part of an effort to steal away Oregon from The British who, until the early 1800s claimed the area for trapping . (Hudson Bay Co.).  As The British only had trappers and a few soldiers in the territory, the plan was to populate and settle the region and therefore be able to claim it.   Polk ran up against some predicted resistance by The British and at one point he actually threatened to go to war over it unless they pulled out.  Having just lost the War of 1812, The British backed down, not wanting to get involved in yet another.  

Polk and his administration created a lot of propaganda in order to sell Oregon to potential pioneers. Much of which was deliberately exaggerated.

All this time, having grown up in Charlotte, I wondered if Polk was known for anything.  This was/is a pretty big deal in Oregon's history. Perhaps the future design could somehow incorporate this.

Attached photo is the spot where the pioneers dropped down the canyon wall of the Columbia River where they thought they'd see verdant valleys and a garden of Eden. Needless to say, many were very disappointed to see just more sagebrush and rattlesnakes. (which is 2/3 of Oregon)

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by Windsurfer
spelling

[SydneyCarton]

10 hours ago, Matthew.Brendan said:

Can we get a picture? I won’t be uptown for a while to check it out in person. Thanks!

I went by there last weekend.  As I recall, it’s boarded up.

[rumphy]

23 hours ago, CLT Development said:

They know who I am lol, I can't just say I'm a blogger. But showing up at the board meetings to grill them isn't a bad idea. 

Touché! They also know me. 

[dylansukkert]

Looks like they are either taking the fencing down or moving it back to where the gravel is. 

[KJHburg]

Ground view today of the park formerly known as Polk Park.  

[KJHburg]

""The $10 million public park planned at Trade and Tryon streets in honor of retired Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) CEO Hugh McColl Jr. has added nationally recognized landscape architect Walter Hood to its design team, organizers told CBJ.

Hood’s firm, Hood Design Studio, is based in Oakland, California. Hood grew up here, graduated from West Charlotte High School and earned his bachelor’s degree at N.C. A&T State University. He is also chair and professor of landscape architecture and environmental planning and urban design at the University of California, Berkeley.

Hood Design will work with local firm Bolton & Menk, formerly known as ColeJenest & Stone, to design the one-third acre park. Bolton & Menk was brought on soon after planning began two years ago for the project.""

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2023/09/06/uptown-park-project-hugh-mccoll-walter-hood-design.html

Lets hope this park last longer than the nationally recognized female landscape architect that they destroyed her park design in one day.   (Angela Danadjieva)

 

[DMann]

I got this yesterday:

McColl Park Project Open House
You are invited to join the Charlotte community to
kick off the McColl Park Project at Trade and Tryon.
Meet the design team, learn more about the project,
and share your ideas for the park
September 21
5:30 - 7:30 pm
(Short presentation at 6:00 pm)
The VAPA Center in Uptown
700 North Tryon Street
Charlotte, NC 28202

[KJHburg]

a story about the Polk Park and its tranformation to McColl Park.

Charlotte's uptown McColl tribute plan splits history buffs - Business North Carolina (businessnc.com)

[KJHburg]

Open house about the plans for Polk Park if you can go tomorrow drop by.

Upcoming Events — Your Site Title (mccollpark.org)

[QCxpat]

Today's CBJ "Three Design options unveiled for future McColl Park in Uptown Charlotte" by Erik Spanberg

Excerpts:  "The renowned landscape architecture firm (Hood Design Studio) behind the planned McColl Park in uptown Charlotte unveiled three possible designs tonight as part of a public discussion of the project, setting the table for a final selection in the coming days."  "A nine-person committee overseeing the public-private venture will make the final decision.  The new park, to be named for retired Bank of America Corp. CEO Hugh McColl, Jr., will replace city-owned Thomas Polk Park." 

"The three design options are called “Floating Nest,” “Crown Datum” and “Verdant Crown.”  Each one, Hood said, started with ideas to acknowledge Charlotte’s history and various people, going all the way back to its founding and the Indigenous People who established the trading path that became modern-day Trade and Tryon."  "The designs reflect cultural and symbolic touchstones of the city:  “Floating Nest” is a nod to Charlotte being called a “hornet’s nest” of rebellion during the Revolutionary War as well as a tribute to the city’s tree-lined streets, which, in Hood’s design, appear to float above in a suspended structure with open space and a water mirror beneath it."

• Image - Hood Design Studio

"Crown Datum” includes a 200-foot-tall, 3-foot-wide spire to celebrate the Trade and Tryon nexus as the city’s highest point at 751 feet above sea level.  A molded sculptural canopy, 50 feet tall, is adjacent, loosely shaped in homage to the city’s crown logo.  Charlotte is named for the British queen of the same name, who was married to King George III during Revolutionary-era America.  Queen Charlotte was of mixed-race descent, including German and African ancestors."

• Image - Hood Design Studio

"The third design, “Verdant Crown,” incorporates Queen Charlotte and the city’s “Queen City” nickname with lightweight aluminum foam sculptural materials that include holes for plants and vines.  The end result is a series of swooping, crown-shaped green sculptures towering over gardens, walking paths and a reflecting pool."

• Image - Hood Design Studio

"The park carries a $10 million price tag:  $7 million to design and build the park, plus an endowment of $3 million to pay for major repairs as needed in ensuing years.  Park committee co-chair Cyndee Patterson said $9.3 million has been raised."  "“Designing anything for my studio, we always think about, what’s there,” Hood said.  “We’re not a tabula rasa firm.  We don’t come in and start fresh; we always consider the memory of that place.”  "The committee is sticking to its original goal of opening on McColl’s 90^th birthday in June 2025."

Link:  https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2024/01/18/hugh-mccoll-uptown-park-hood-design-studio.html

Edited January 19 by QCxpat

[KJHburg]

I like the floating nest first rendering.