Misc. Uptown Projects/News

[ES Charlotte]

On 8/18/2020 at 10:44 PM, Tyree Ricardo said:

I've seen a 35 floor building drawn for this parking deck space. It was pitched to several of the companies than have come here the past few years since Sumitomo purchased this property. 

Something is afoot . There was drilling in the Ivey's garage 2 weeks ago. Security specifically called out new construction and this parking garage.

[Prodev]

I think the plan is to demo and just rebuild a larger deck in its place. 

[KJHburg]

If a newer garage is built probably with the support to build a tower above too. 

[Guest]

49 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

If a newer garage is built probably with the support to build a tower above too. 

Not just probably that's the widely published future plan.

[Norm2]

1 hour ago, Tyree Ricardo said:

Not just probably that's the widely published future plan.

Would the new parking deck support retail space on the ground floor by chance?

[Guest]

1 minute ago, norm21499 said:

Would the new parking deck support retail space on the ground floor by chance?

This small of a lot, I would highly doubt it, maybe a coffee shop.

Edited September 1, 2020 by Guest

[Spartan]

The existing deck is 100 ft wide. Should be able to get at least one retail space in there - whether or not they do it is the question. If they can find a way to use the ramp going down under the independence building for access then they could theoretically get 2 spaces in there (since they wouldn't need their existing entrance).

[pathb]

Starting to look like a real city! 

[CLT2014]

^ I really hope temporary projects like this help Uptown businesses. The very middle of the metro area, on the primary street in the middle of the day, and there isn't a soul in sight in that video. Completely dead sidewalk. 

[SouthEndCLT811]

12 minutes ago, CLT2014 said:

^ I really hope temporary projects like this help Uptown businesses. The very middle of the metro area, on the primary street in the middle of the day, and there isn't a soul in sight in that video. Completely dead sidewalk. 

I feel for Wooden Vine owners who are seeing this  happen right outside their old doorstep  a week after this quote

Quote

Richey reached out to the city for help, hoping that additional outdoor dining would be approved. She was told money wasn’t available for barriers to expand outdoor dining.

 

[southernnorthcarolina]

 A few topics which don't merit a thread of their own -- I guess this is as good a place as any.

1.  What is the status of the proposed highrise in Cherry?  It seems to have dropped out of the news.

2.  Some months ago, it was announced that the parking garage (but not the office building) of BB&T Center (200 S. College) had been sold.  What about the office building?  Is it a tear-down, while keeping the garage intact?  The "anchor" tenant, BB&T, doesn't occupy much space -- I think three floors ± -- but of course they're leaving, including the first floor lobby.  For years, the largest tenant has been BofA, for back-office space.  Hard to imagine they still need that space, with all the BofA-branded space uptown, old and new.

3. Speaking of uptown space, there's a lot of it that his hit the market of late.  A couple of months ago, I started a thread asking if uptown is overbuilt, with respect especially to office space and hotels.  I'll add parking, too --parking garages in recent years have been profit centers for developers and owners.  I have to assume that parking rates, if they have not dropped sharply yet, will soon.  Uptown office space has to be grossly oversupplied in the current environment.  And it's not just the epidemic.  As James Carville might say, it's the riots, stupid!  It's not just New York which has plywood storefronts, city-sanctioned grafitti on the streets, attacks on police officers, and a rise in violent crime.  Larger companies may order their staff to get off of Zoom, and come back to their uptown quarters, as J.P. Morgan just did in New York.  But will smaller companies renew their leases in uptown office towers?  SouthPark and Ballantyne, and working from home,  may be looking more attractive to them.  And hotels, given the collapse of the convention business, are clearly hurting now; new hotels coming on line will make the problem worse.  I realize I'm out of step here with my pessimism.  It is natural for a real estate forum to have an optimistic consensus.  But I think hard times are coming for uptown real estate.    

Edited September 14, 2020 by southernnorthcarolina

[atlrvr]

JPM announced the move in response to declining productivity.  I strongly suspect that's not a firm-specific issue, and is indicative of a desire from corporations to get staff back in offices and working.

Smaller firms probably will apply a less consistent approach to what is appropriate.

That said, given longer term population/employment trends favorable for Charlotte, and recessions having a habit of accelerating in-place trends, I would wager that any near term oversupply can be reasonably absorbed in the next few years. 

I could go full bullish and say any blocks of vacant space will lure a new large employer to the market...

[Blue_Devil]

1 hour ago, atlrvr said:

JPM announced the move in response to declining productivity.  I strongly suspect that's not a firm-specific issue, and is indicative of a desire from corporations to get staff back in offices and working.

Smaller firms probably will apply a less consistent approach to what is appropriate.

That said, given longer term population/employment trends favorable for Charlotte, and recessions having a habit of accelerating in-place trends, I would wager that any near term oversupply can be reasonably absorbed in the next few years. 

I could go full bullish and say any blocks of vacant space will lure a new large employer to the market...

Most companies have now seen minor to significant drops in production. "The term work from home fatigue" is coming up in meetings daily. Turns out people are actually more productive in the office with less distractions. 

[KJHburg]

speaking of the garage behind 101 Independence Center that is supposed to be demo'ed for a larger garage,  Here it is on Church. St.

the large garage at BB&T Center in my opinion will not go anywhere anytime soon.  It is so centrally locally and connected.  

 

[Hushpuppy321]

8 hours ago, southernnorthcarolina said:

 A few topics which don't merit a thread of their own -- I guess this is as good a place as any.

1.  What is the status of the proposed highrise in Cherry?  It seems to have dropped out of the news.

If you mean the Third & Baldwin Tower (Midtown/Cherry) permitted to be up to 299’ tall then It’s being marketed by a Company out of Dallas, TX.  With the current Pandemic & Recession I’d think that it’ll be quite some time before there any movement with that site.  Also a hotel was being proposed as well.

[KJHburg]

the 125 Baldwin Cherry tower is still being marketed by KDC of Dallas and they mean business look at their projects.  I do think they want an anchor and I think their views are spectacular and the a little closer to the neighborhoods of major execs. I have seen multiple projects of theirs in Dallas and their huge State Farm campus in Dunwoody in ATL. 

https://kdc.com/our-work/125-baldwin

Edited September 15, 2020 by KJHburg

[Norm2]

8 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

the 125 Baldwin Cherry tower is still being marketed by KDC of Dallas and they mean business look at their projects.  I do think they want an anchor and I think their views are spectacular and the a little closer to the neighborhoods of major execs. I have seen multiple projects of theirs in Dallas and their huge State Farm campus in Dunwoody in ATL. 

https://kdc.com/our-work/125-baldwin

I think this tower will be a hard sell because the neighborhood isn't a destination center like Uptown and South End. Hopefully They can eventually snap up a tenant to get the dirt moving though.

[DMann]

So, on my way to the downtown farmers market today I cut across the parking lot that was going to be 1 Brevard.  Looks like fresh soil samples have been taken from there.

[atlrvr]

Yes, sold to a developer if office and apartment towers out of Atlanta, though I'm not aware of specific plans yet.

[Spartan]

On 9/14/2020 at 2:42 PM, southernnorthcarolina said:

 A few topics which don't merit a thread of their own -- I guess this is as good a place as any.

1.  What is the status of the proposed highrise in Cherry?  It seems to have dropped out of the news.

2.  Some months ago, it was announced that the parking garage (but not the office building) of BB&T Center (200 S. College) had been sold.  What about the office building?  Is it a tear-down, while keeping the garage intact?  The "anchor" tenant, BB&T, doesn't occupy much space -- I think three floors ± -- but of course they're leaving, including the first floor lobby.  For years, the largest tenant has been BofA, for back-office space.  Hard to imagine they still need that space, with all the BofA-branded space uptown, old and new.

3. Speaking of uptown space, there's a lot of it that his hit the market of late.  A couple of months ago, I started a thread asking if uptown is overbuilt, with respect especially to office space and hotels.  I'll add parking, too --parking garages in recent years have been profit centers for developers and owners.  I have to assume that parking rates, if they have not dropped sharply yet, will soon.  Uptown office space has to be grossly oversupplied in the current environment.  And it's not just the epidemic.  As James Carville might say, it's the riots, stupid!  It's not just New York which has plywood storefronts, city-sanctioned grafitti on the streets, attacks on police officers, and a rise in violent crime.  Larger companies may order their staff to get off of Zoom, and come back to their uptown quarters, as J.P. Morgan just did in New York.  But will smaller companies renew their leases in uptown office towers?  SouthPark and Ballantyne, and working from home,  may be looking more attractive to them.  And hotels, given the collapse of the convention business, are clearly hurting now; new hotels coming on line will make the problem worse.  I realize I'm out of step here with my pessimism.  It is natural for a real estate forum to have an optimistic consensus.  But I think hard times are coming for uptown real estate.    

 

There is a lot of negative press on cities and urban living (particularly from right leaning media outlets) and a certain  subtext of smugness about suburbia that comes with it. It's hard to say that the pandemic hasn't affected cities more, but that's inevitable. I think it is very shortsighted to assume that what you see now is the way things will stay. It's tough for all of us to see the big picture as it unfolds, particularly when times are as unprecedented as these. 

 

If space opens up in uptown  buildings, South Park, etc. I think it will get filled eventually because we're still growing, still having people move here.

 

 

On 9/14/2020 at 5:32 PM, Blue_Devil said:

Most companies have now seen minor to significant drops in production. "The term work from home fatigue" is coming up in meetings daily. Turns out people are actually more productive in the office with less distractions. 

 

This is real. People CAN work from home, and are probably willing to do it for a while. I think in the long run we'll all be back in the office,  but with more flexibility if we need to work from home from time to time.

 

[KJHburg]

random photos of uptown since many are not visiting these days. 

still like the Camden Grandview townhomes what a night view they must have. 

[CLT2014]

Looks like Charlotte Center City Partners is trying to save Uptown businesses from demise (not sure how well this will go):

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefive/c5-things-to-do/article246117365.html

1.) Parking is now $1 on weekends at Cousins Properties & BB&T Center
2.) 5 - 9PM Friday - Saturday the city will close streets for special programming:

• This weekend Tryon will close between 5th and 6th street for outdoor dining via StreetEats with live music in the street and a self-guided tour
• Oct 3: 7th Street Public Market Sidewalk Market with pop-up vendors along Rail Trail side of the market
• Future: Outdoor move nights, art installations, and pop-up retail events
• Special markets and interactive decor in holidays
• Outdoor fitness activities in the park

 

Edited September 30, 2020 by CLT2014

[QCxpat]

Today 1: 20 p.m. CMPD Central Division

Edited September 30, 2020 by QCxpat

[KJHburg]

this is indeed good news about Uptown more attention is given to getting people to return with promotions, events, reducing parking rates etc. 

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefive/c5-things-to-do/article246117365.html

[ertley]

19 hours ago, QCxpat said:

Today 1: 20 p.m. CMPD Central Division

 

 

Others can weigh in here, because I'm certain there are tons of aspects I'm not considering, but if Charlotte is finding it difficult to combat its dearth of affordable housing, why couldn't new city buildings like this be designed to have affordable housing incorporated, say as a residential component above? The city could form a private/public partnership, or even just with Inlivin (sp?). 

Some folks might not like the idea of living above a police station, but I know it wouldn't bother me, and I think plenty of people, especially seniors, might appreciate the added guarantee of security it would bring. Obviously fire stations would be too noisy for agreeable living, but police stations themselves are relatively quiet, right? The city could even prioritize residence for people who would most benefit from proximity to police and/or social services. 

It might not be cost feasible now, with land in the city still available, but as the arguments (like with Hall House preservation) escalate about the need to provide housing in all areas of the city, it seems like this could (eventually) be a solution. 

To me this building just *looks* like it should have a residential (mini)tower above it.