The EpiCentre / TwoTenTrade / aloft

[atlrvr]

This was in Doug's article today.

Noble Investment Group's 176-room "aloft" loft-style hotel in the EpiCentre project at College and Trade streets. Rates will be competitive with uptown's Courtyard (about $159) and Hilton Garden Inn (about $129).

I know that part is vague, but I saw another article....maybe it was in the print CBJ. Or maybe I'm going crazy.....but it seemed really recent.

[dubone]

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte.../27/focus2.html

This article was in Friday's print CBJ.

[MZT]

An interoffice memo: "EpiCentre Project Management team they will be excavating and performing dirt work for another two months. When they encounter rock, they will be blasting; therefore, we should expect blasting on any given day for the next two months. Their blasting is normally performed between the hours of 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Please note they will be blasting today within this timeframe."

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Sounds like they are *really* going deep, if the bedrock isn't stopping them....

[unccmyway]

I can't wait for them to get rid of that green puddle of water. That has got to stink by now. haha

[ElricSeven]

Looks like another concrete base is going in to support a second crane.

[DigitalSky]

Can someone post the link to the webcam for me? Thanks.

[unccmyway]

http://oxblue.com/client/flahertycollins/twotentrade/

epicentre webcam

[kpryde4u]

doesn't really look like anything happened over 2 months..

[stateman99]

doesn't really look like anything happened over 2 months..

Just a lot of digging and blasting. If you look back over time on the web cam you can see that the whole has got deeper. It just takes time because it is such a massive whole. It will start getting interesting in a couple of months when construction on the deck starts. After that everything else will start being built. I can't wait for that phase of construction. Until then, digging and blasting.

[MZT]

Yeah, it seems like quite a while ago, but there used to be posts on here asking if this project was really going to happen... the old building just kept sitting there and people wondered if Ghazi had overreached.

So I suppose by that token, there's still hope for "The Park."

[cha]

it seems for a hole that big they should be using bigger machinery

[stateman99]

Looks like the cement mixer is out again and they are putting cement walls up. I guess that is some progress. It is something different at least.

[TravisNC]

I don't think this has been posted, but here's some info on the retail portion:

"All the retail space was leased by the time construction began, says Ghazi, about 45,000 square feet of which is devoted to entertainment-related stores. The stores include Grooming Lounge, a Washington, D.C.-based men

[Rufus]

it is interesting how the article states that each component of the complex will have retail. The first two floors of the residence, the first three floor of the hotel, and then in the three and four story portions devoted to retail and offices. Uptown could a nice size growth in retail just in one block.

[dubone]

It mentions that the nightclubs haven't been announced. There is a rumor that Time, and possibly Comedy Zone would move from their current sites 3 or 4 blocks away.

[Rickydavisfan21]

the owner of wet willies savannah, told me they will be opening up a location at the epicenter dunno if thats true yet tho. Hopefully this is true, charlotte isn't on the website right now, but he named epicenter directly, he and I got in a conversation about Charlotte and he told me all about it, and his plans and mentioned Ghazi, saying he had met him.

Wet Willies is daiquiris bar that uses mostly grain alcohol, or as they say, "Wet Willie's endeavors to serve great tasting frozen daiquiris, with an honest portion of alcohol"

http://www.wetwillies.com/photos_zoom.cfm?...&start=1&page=1

[atlrvr]

Comedy Zone would be a perfect fit, though I'm not too sure about Time, are they the same owner or just the same building?

Well, it's a start. At least there is some true retail. We have to remember that this will be a small piece of an ultimately bigger picture of downtown retail. If everything was on one block, then it still wouldn't do much for the "pedestrian" vibe downtown. I say its a decent start.

[dubone]

Well, I think Time is trying to diversify its clientel, as well as grow. The rumor was primarily that Time was planning to move, and then 'maybe Comedy Zone'.

As for pedestrian vibe, I think it'll do a surprising measure. Even though it is on one block, you'll have a lot of people come to and from the block. There will be retail facing the street, as well as the towers. The the central corridor through the block will be open air, so it will have the same effect of street pedestrian activity, I think.

[Mobuchu]

3-4-06

[Rickydavisfan21]

"EpiCentre, an ambitious mixed-use complex with a planned 53-story residential tower, an 18-story office building and a 17-story hotel, plus two retail buildings three to four stories tall."

an 18 story office building??????? where is there a 18 story office building? on the site, I'm looking at every rendering and site plan, I can't find this tower where is it going????

http://www.icsc.org/srch/sct/sct0306/feature_charlotte.php

[RaleighHeelsfan]

"EpiCentre, an ambitious mixed-use complex with a planned 53-story residential tower, an 18-story office building and a 17-story hotel, plus two retail buildings three to four stories tall."

an 18 story office building??????? where is there a 18 story office building? on the site, I'm looking at every rendering and site plan, I can't find this tower where is it going????

http://www.icsc.org/srch/sct/sct0306/feature_charlotte.php

Yeah, I thought the same thing when I read that. It makes it sound like there is like 5 buildings being built.

"plus two retail buildings three to four stories tall."

"planned 53-story residential tower"

"an 18-story office building"

"a 17-story hotel"

Wow, that must be a huge lot!

Am I missing something here?

[CarolinaDaydreamin]

"EpiCentre, an ambitious mixed-use complex with a planned 53-story residential tower, an 18-story office building and a 17-story hotel, plus two retail buildings three to four stories tall."

an 18 story office building??????? where is there a 18 story office building? on the site, I'm looking at every rendering and site plan, I can't find this tower where is it going????

http://www.icsc.org/srch/sct/sct0306/feature_charlotte.php

The article says: "the second-highest building in town" I know it would be more stories than Hearst, but do y'all think it will actually be the second tallest?

[stateman99]

Yeah, I thought the same thing when I read that. It makes it sound like there is like 5 buildings being built.

"plus two retail buildings three to four stories tall."

"planned 53-story residential tower"

"an 18-story office building"

"a 17-story hotel"

Wow, that must be a huge lot!

Am I missing something here?

Well it is a whole block and it is the biggest hole i have ever seen. It is even bigger than the one I dug to China when i was a kid.

[Rickydavisfan21]

thats not my point tho, what is the deal with the 18 story office tower, has anyone heard about this tower?????

[dubone]

Well, that is an excellent observation, rd21. It might be an interesting twist if this site actually has three towers. It actually might be consistent with atlrvr's observation that Doug Smith referred to aloft as being at the corner of Trade and College. Perhaps aloft became the third tower, and Ghazi still plans the other tower at College and 4th.

Frankly, given the unbelievable location at the heart of downtown, it might not have ever made sense to put lowrise on such a large portion of the block. Even if the office tower isn't built as an immediate part of this project, it makes sense to build the foundation for it and sell airrights when the office market picks up. We certainly will need the office space in the future.