SouthEnd Projects

[New Name]

I saw the Panda Express yesterday going. This will have a drive-thru similar to the one up here at the University area. Seems like a new concept to me, chinese drivethru? Could be just me though.

[Andyc545]

I know that this isn't exactly the place for it, but might I add that Panda is very delicious. It seems to be extremely popular and successful too. Should do the same for that South End location. Good to see some more development and investments for this area.

[atlrvr]

Let's, since the LRT has been under construction, it has spurred in South End:

Panda Express

Chipolte

Chic-Fil-A

Wendy's (rumored)

McDonald's (relocated)

All with drive-thru windows....how very exciting.

[krazeeboi]

Let's not even talk about the Chick-Fil-A, which was built on double the amount of land a typical Chick-Fil-A would be built on.

[rooster8]

It would be nice if the city would actually do some smart planning.

[uptownliving]

Let's, since the LRT has been under construction, it has spurred in South End:

Panda Express

Chipolte

Chic-Fil-A

Wendy's (rumored)

McDonald's (relocated)

All with drive-thru windows....how very exciting.

[brian7270]

There is very little chance of stopping a fast food restaurant on a commercial corridor road. A suit to contest would be a given and they would never be able to hold it up. The only real option is to put development standards in place so restrictive or expensive that it makes it undesirable for them to be there.

Brian

[uptownliving]

There is very little chance of stopping a fast food restaurant on a commercial corridor road. A suit to contest would be a given and they would never be able to hold it up. The only real option is to put development standards in place so restrictive or expensive that it makes it undesirable for them to be there.

[revitalize]

these are all just temporary uses (20 years?), basically "place holders" with some income stream, while the land owners all wait for the property values along the LRT to go up and they can sell for mid- or hi-rise developments. Better than the land owners leaving vacant parking lots IMO, if the land values do not yet warrant mid-rise development or the like.

[voyager12]

I was heading down Archdale on Saturday for my almost weekly pilgrimage to rummage around at Manifest Music and noticed the Park South site. I can't see much progress from the road but the strip mined appearance was disturbing. I know it was some type of business complex beforehand but they really denuded the area of all natural greenery. From what I read the development is going to be urban unfriendly and built in a sprawling manner. Very uncomplimentary to light rail even though they tout the neighborhood's proximity to the train in their ads.

[CLTNative]

Next big thing ---> SouthHaus (BlueSky Project)

http://www.charlotte.com/484/story/192335.html

http://www.southhaus.com

$70 Million Project

German and Netherlands influence

8 Stories

11 Penthouses

Courtyard

Water Garden

25,00 sq ft of office, retail, restaurant

3 levels underground parking

NanaWall Exterior folding windows/french doors tuck away "turning your entire condo into a balcony."

They actually have a dedicated IT consultant listed as an option. Wouldnt that be nice, your own personal tech support!

There are a few "green" features with this one. They will have a reflective roof and reserved parking for fuel efficient vehicles.

I do like the sound of the stone countertops. I like this project, it is dense and appropriate IMO. As long as large opening windows don't turn into garage doors!

[rockhilljames]

Based on the rendering I like the street treatment.

The densification of SouthEnd continues.

[lptk]

Wow.

I like the design. And the retail helping to anchor some ped-friendliness further down South Blvd.

Can't help thinking that the views out those mega windows will be disappointing for a while yet (South facing units offer comprehensive views of the Marsh Properties maintenance buildings and the Sam's Mart).

Nice scale for that corner though, IMO. Hope they can deliver on the design and features.

[rjp212]

I'm loving this building. I was actually looking at European architecture today and was hoping that one day Charlotte would see some of this.

I particularly like how the one part of the building seems to stick out from the rest of the building, almost as if it's free floating.

[rockhilljames]

Once this is finished it will be neigh impossible to get into Mac's from here on out.

[dubone]

I like this quite a bit. It is an interesting alternative to balconies, which are often small and if furnished, make building facade look cluttered. Here, you just open the wall, just like the storefronts at on College in Hearst tower. I like that concept and a few others in this project. It is much less of a yawner than I was remembered this project as being. In some way, UP made it happen, as the developer used quotes from us to gain rezoning approval, despite being opposed by Dilworth and the Planning Department.

I like midrises in the 6-10 story range, and hope that it is a precedent for many other projects along the light rail.

As for green features, it is good that they have those, but don't most places have bike racks and compact car parking? A reflective roof is good, but that is such as no-brainer it should be required. Where is the solar water heater for the project, which at this scale and the amount of otherwise wasted space on the roof, would do pretty well for its residents? What about soda ash bricks, which dramatically reduce the greenhouse and mining impacts of normal bricks (although maybe this is one of their 'recycled products')? It is definitely good that they are doing those things, but it is a shame that that bare minimum counts as green here. But maybe with points for landuse and transit inherent to the project overall, it could still make a low level of LEED certification.

[uptownliving]

I like this design a lot too... I wish this type of building was going up all along South...and maybe that will be the case someday. Currently it is 1/3 mile from the New Bern LRT station...however there is a distinct possibility that an LRT station will be built sometime in the future almost directly across the street from this project. It is good to see developers starting to break the typical Charlotte architecture mode and now it will depend on execution of the plan if this will turn out nice or not.

[cltheel.sdl]

I like it. Definitely good to see some density along this stretch of SouthEnd, and I love how it relates to the street. The design is different, but I think we need a deviation from our standard midrise designs in Charlotte. I'm sure atlrvr would agree.

[atlrvr]

This is a good step in the right direction for Charlotte architecture.....its "speaks" to the prevailing style, without directly copying it, so it adds some diversity, but still stays in context. I wouldn't mind seeing some lighter colored brick, and a bit more translucency along the Ideal facade, maybe larger round windows as opposed to those narrow slats, but all in all, I give it an A-.

I agree with dubone that this height/scale is perfect, and hopefully one day will stretch from Scaleybark to Tremont, with slightly higher stuff between Tremont and Morehead. These midrises facing South Blvd, and then stepping down to townhomes as a buffer to SF homes is exactly what should be happening, and it appears there is enough density, to support some street-level retail. If all future projects in the corridor (Greenhawk, Colonial, Pappas, Crosland, Citiline) would look to this as where the bar has been set, then I'll have a lot better feeling about the future. Currently, only the Southborough project and 3030 South address South Blvd in a similarly urban way.

[dubone]

This has me baffled as to why BlueSky would just build fast food nearly across the street. They clearly know the potential in the area, why not build a smaller scale building on the Mantis site. It would be big enough to build something of the scale of the Dunhill Hotel. Are buildings shaped like that just too expensive or do they just feel like they need more land to work with to do anything more than 2 stories, so they can fit expansive parking decks and the like.

[atlrvr]

^ Mantis site???? I thought they were building a Wendy's on the other side of the Auto Bell car was hwhere McDonald's used to be, but has been cleared for a couple of years. I didn't know anything was happening to the Mantis site....my wife and I love Mantis' fried okra

[dubone]

I heard Mantis site. The old McD's site is part of the Greenhawk rezoning: http://ww.charmeck.org/Planning/Rezoning/2...202nd%20rev.pdf

Mantis faces directly across from where Atherton ends, the McD's site is just to the south of that. I think that corroborates what I heard, that Mantis becomes Wendy's, while the site next door, the old McDs, becomes part of the Greenhawk TOD project.

[CLT2010]

Love that design, the article in the paper definately made it seem anything but the run of the mill stuff we have come so accustomed too.

[atlrvr]

Park Ave Plaza just received all of its approval for building permits....hopefully this thing will get moving soon.

While the design is not amazing, it does offer a good level of urbanity, and it has street level commerical space.

[voyager12]

I like the Bluesky design as well. The location still seems to be a bit mismatched for me. I would think their target market is going to want to live in an area that is attractive and inviting in addition to their building. That stretch of South is still pretty rough and I know the final product won't be online for two years and the surroundings will improve along the way but those blocks are going to be grimy for longer than two years. I would personally want to live closer in if had a choice.