Misc. Uptown Projects/News

[tozmervo]

that's funny. on the occasions that I do have to drive in for work, that's the lot I park in. figures

[ah59396]

Man, BB&T + Romare Bearden = DEVELOPMENT.  

[DMann]

Man, BB&T + Romare Bearden = DEVELOPMENT.  

You just couldn't REESEsist saying that, could you?

[Guest]

Makes me giddy for the Gateway Station project to be done, this part of downtown will be very very different in 10 years.

 

DO YOU HEAR THAT LEVINE, PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY DOING THINGS TO BETTER THE CENTER CITY!!!

Edited July 25, 2013 by Guest

[Urbanity]

It would be sweet if most of those garages on 4th between Poplar & Tryon were retrofitted on the ground level with retail spaces

[carolinagarnet]

The hotels they've built in the area are all in suburban areas (I believe), so they all have the classic suburban Four Points look. I hope this place is built in a more urban fashion because replacing a surface lot with a traditional highway hotel would be pretty disappointing. That's a fairly big lot, but I'm not clear on how much of a footprint a traditional hotel would occupy.

[MilZ]

I'd expect them to treat this one better than their suburban buildings due to the location and exposure. I can't imagine they would want stucco or vinyl to represent their brand in the middle of the city.

[kermit]

always glad to see a surface lot go, but gezzz, a mid-low-rise limited service hotel there? (with a crappy suburban restaurant to boot)

[CLTProductions]

You would think they would have a restaurant that would cater to the ballpark that is across the street, no?

[ah59396]

Let's not panic.  I've been in many world class cities that have limited service hotels in their downtown.  Who knows...maybe they will surprise us!?

[CLTProductions]

Let's not panic.  I've been in many world class cities that have limited service hotels in their downtown.  Who knows...maybe they will surprise us!?

Having been born and raised in Cleveland and being a Cleveland sports fan, I have learned to give up 'hope' a long time ago......this has obviously carried over to Charlotte. 

[MilZ]

hmm... This is out of character for OHM and super wishful but maybe... a rooftop pool  and balconies for gamedays... doubtful but maybe.

Edited July 25, 2013 by MilZ

[nonillogical]

Its actually a fairly small lot...I'd be surprised if they did less than 10 stories on top of several levels of parking, just based on what I imagine must be some insanely high property value. 

[Guest]

Its actually a fairly small lot...I'd be surprised if they did less than 10 stories on top of several levels of parking, just based on what I imagine must be some insanely high property value. 

You hit the nail on the head, this should be every bit the scale of Hyatt House/Place/Sierra. 

[Prodev]

The description for the pre-submittal meeting is "proposed hotel, retail and attached parking deck". Based on the size/dimensions of the site, I don't think there's a way to do more than +/-75 units unless they go vertical. I think it'll be very much like the Hyatt House,with probably 3 levels of parking above the ground floor lobby/restaurant, then 8-10 levels of rooms assuming they're going to do +/-150 rooms, making it a total of 12-14 or 15 stories,

Edited July 26, 2013 by Prodev

[15895]

I think that's very exciting

[ssh214]

I think it is safe to say that this decade is the decade for infill and medium density projects, which is perfectly fine as long as there are projects; last decade was definitely the decade for the big projects... And the "transformative" crescent project doesn't count until something actually happens 

Edited July 26, 2013 by saamh

[15895]

^ it's only 2013, on the bright side for this decade.

[Urbanity]

I think it is safe to say that this decade is the decade for infill and medium density projects, which is perfectly fine as long as there are projects; last decade was definitely the decade for the big projects... And the "transformative" crescent project doesn't count until something actually happens 

 

Can I be frank and say I could care less about another Transformative project in comparison to infill?      Charlotte's already got a beautiful skyline but what it NEEDS now is filling out within the Center City.  

 

My biggest desire for the city (in order) is more retail (goods vs. bars/dining), less parking lots, more mass rail transit, and then more transformative towers.  We've already got the big - let's get the real...

 

P.S. - I'm not making an argument against more towers - I would love them - but I'm thrilled that the street level Center City Charlotte is catching up to the Skyline level Center City Charlotte.

[CLTProductions]

Can I be frank and say I could care less about another Transformative project in comparison to infill?      Charlotte's already got a beautiful skyline but what it NEEDS now is filling out within the Center City.  

 

My biggest desire for the city (in order) is more retail (goods vs. bars/dining), less parking lots, more mass rail transit, and then more transformative towers.  We've already got the big - let's get the real...

 

P.S. - I'm not making an argument against more towers - I would love them - but I'm thrilled that the street level Center City Charlotte is catching up to the Skyline level Center City Charlotte.

Couldn't agree more. One of the biggest complaints I have with the city is the perceived 'gaps' uptown. Sure it looks great from 77 or whatever, but when you actually get down here it seems rather empty by comparison.

[ah59396]

Yes, yes, yes.  I want density.  No more parking lots.  As long as they have good street level presence, they can be 3 stories for all I care.  The big buildings will come.  We NEED density.

[15895]

^ yeah.

It's going to be nice to walk around downtown as opposed to just walking up and down downtown (Tryon/College). Walking through giant parking lots kills the downtown feel to me, so all this infill makes uptown feel much, much bigger to me.

[Niner National]

Yes, yes, yes.  I want density.  No more parking lots.  As long as they have good street level presence, they can be 3 stories for all I care.  The big buildings will come.  We NEED density.

I'd rather see residential density personally. If Uptown ever hopes to get to 50,000+ in population, we need to start seeing midrise apartments/condos over 10 floors in height. These little 4-6 floor apartment buildings are only adding a few hundred new residents at a time and while there is no shortage of parking lots in uptown, there is still a finite number of them.

 

Much of uptown is dead on weeknights and Sundays.  I think we need to see at least a tripling of the Uptown population before that changes. Not sure that'll happen unless we start getting more 10-20 story residential projects.

[nonillogical]

I'd rather see residential density personally. If Uptown ever hopes to get to 50,000+ in population, we need to start seeing midrise apartments/condos over 10 floors in height. These little 4-6 floor apartment buildings are only adding a few hundred new residents at a time and while there is no shortage of parking lots in uptown, there is still a finite number of them.

 

Much of uptown is dead on weeknights and Sundays.  I think we need to see at least a tripling of the Uptown population before that changes. Not sure that'll happen unless we start getting more 10-20 story residential projects.

True but I think for that weeknight activity to develop we REALLY need some more mid-range housing uptown making it an attractive neighborhood to people other than the wealthy. I lived in Tryon House for 3 years and loved it but quickly realized I was in 1 of maybe 3 buildings in all of uptown that could accommodate me and the other kind of people I met there, people who embodied the kind of urban lifestyle we dream of Charlotte having, but in very small numbers. Service industry people, artists, designers, startup business employees, etc. 

 

I don't know if its feasible to expect anything other than luxury housing in towers, and if we may have just missed the boat on this by eliminating all the older buildings that could be adapted into lofts and apartments? Is there a good example of non-luxury (but not "affordable housing") residential being built in other downtowns we can look to?

[Niner National]

With land and material costs as a high as they are, I'm not sure anything other than high-end housing makes economic sense in uptown. I think any "affordable" housing in uptown would have to be rent-controlled housing that gives the developer a tax break for making the housing affordable. Not sure how likely we are to see that. It seems the city is a lot more interested in providing that just outside 277 in Belmont/Optimist Park with Seigle Point and the Alpha Mills expansion. Doubt they'd want to give up the tax revenue a high-dollar parcel of land would generate.