Misc. Uptown Projects/News

[Desert Power]

On 6/23/2023 at 10:19 AM, videtur quam contuor said:

Has anyone here stayed in some of these new hotels? Do they function properly? Are they as advertised? (How are they advertised?) Which is better (est)? Among them which would a user recommend? Online site reviews are one way but a local personal reviewer would be best.

Are you a bot?

[dylansukkert]

Did the land sell? 

[RANYC]

17 hours ago, dylansukkert said:

Did the land sell? 

According to this morning’s bizjournals and a quote from the owner, the 0.7 acre property for sale for $3 million has not sold.  Her husband passed in February and there are “staffing issues” so a decision was made to close.  Bittersweet story, however one can make the argument that in this environment, putting your property up for sale likely doesn’t help staffing stability goals especially with so many media allusions to the property being a candidate for assemblage and up-fitting.

[atlrvr]

7 minutes ago, RANYC said:

According to this morning’s bizjournals and a quote from the owner, the 0.7 acre property for sale for $3 million has not sold.  Her husband passed in February and there are “staffing issues” so a decision was made to close.  Bittersweet story, however one can make the argument that in this environment, putting your property up for sale likely doesn’t help staffing stability goals especially with so many media allusions to the property being a candidate for assemblage and up-fitting.

0.07 acres for $3mm, or $43mm per acre.  

Given the rest of the block (aside from the Deluxe Fun Dining building next door) is owned by Preferred Parking, there is no assemblage value here, or at least no where close to $3mm.  Maybe 1/2 that.

[RANYC]

8 minutes ago, atlrvr said:

0.07 acres for $3mm, or $43mm per acre.  

Given the rest of the block (aside from the Deluxe Fun Dining building next door) is owned by Preferred Parking, there is no assemblage value here, or at least no where close to $3mm.  Maybe 1/2 that.

In an earlier bizjournals article, the commercial real estate broker working on the property tried to position it as an assemblage opportunity, but I tend to be doubtful as well, including doubtful about the price in this environment.

[j-man]

Parking Garage Retail conversion Uptown.

Edited July 1, 2023 by j-man

[go_vertical]

That corner looks so much brighter now.

[Desert Power]

Where is that?

[go_vertical]

1 hour ago, Desert Power said:

Where is that?

That's the parking garage refurbish at the corner of Church and 3rd.  Across the street from Ink and Ivy.

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

The side of this renovation facing Kimpton is going to be an Orange Theory. But the retail from the pic may be something different or is that whole thing Orange Theory?

Edited July 4, 2023 by CharlotteWkndBuzz

[RANYC]

Did anyone go to the fireworks in uptown on the 4th?  I'm out of town, but someone I know decided to check out Charlotte for the "long" weekend, and described a spectacle of low-brow hooliganism to kick off the start of the night's activities.  What the hell is going on for big events centered in Romare Bearden lately?  How many times does it take for us to have families come to either Truist Field or mass-gatherings near Truist Field, only to have to make a hurried and harried exit in pandemonious frustration.  How is it this Mayor isn't even getting credibly challenged?  Has Charlotte given up on itself?

[go_vertical]

The behavior that led to the fight in Bearden Park isn't just a Charlotte thing.  This is a societal thing happening all over the country.  People are forgetting how to act civilized around each other.  I think a heavy amount of blame should go towards social media.  We now have a generation entering their twenties having spent a substantial portion of their social lives "communicating" to the ether with the protection of anonymity and the daily BS we are seeing on the news is that online way of being taking over the public way of being.  While those of us that grew up before the internet and social media see the vile things being spewed online on a disgustingly regular basis as sad, disturbing, shocking, etc many see it as regular decorum.

Also, this whole thing where everybody thinks they're a celebrity/influencer and thus expects that level of attention is further rotting our society.  Too many people are painfully starved for attention and they are willing to get it by any means necessary.  Spending your formative years staring at a screen getting quick dopamine hits every ten to fifteen seconds while at the same time severely limiting your interactions with real people with differing viewpoints and opinions and engaging in healthy debate just breeds zealots who think they're the only one who's right. 

[AltNative]

I've been seeing a good amount of instagram and facebook posts about the violence and chaos at the park and under each post is a staggering amount of comments from people saying its their last time doing anything uptown when they can go to South Park or Southend and feel much safer. You can say "this is happening everywhere" but that won't really matter when the entirety of uptown looks like the present-day Epicenter.  Sure, the banks will never leave uptown but there are plenty of other businesses that I'm sure will be looking elsewhere when their lease is up. 

[Madison Parkitect]

10 minutes ago, AltNative said:

I've been seeing a good amount of instagram and facebook posts about the violence and chaos at the park and under each post is a staggering amount of comments from people saying its their last time doing anything uptown when they can go to South Park or Southend and feel much safer. You can say "this is happening everywhere" but that won't really matter when the entirety of uptown looks like the present-day Epicenter.  Sure, the banks will never leave uptown but there are plenty of other businesses that I'm sure will be looking elsewhere when their lease is up. 

Only a personal anecdote, but I don't feel super safe taking my young kids Uptown at night anymore. I'd probably do a nighttime parade since it's more spread out along Tryon, but I wouldn't want to be with them in a crowded place like Romare Bearden. During the day with them or at night by myself, yes. But not at night with them. I hate to feel this way because I'm a huge believer in cities and their contribution to society, but that's where I am right now.

[SydneyCarton]

I agree.  Uptown has become a lot more dangerous.  

 At the last Charlotte FC game I went to, there were around 20 teenagers on bikes doing wheelies and tricks — weaving through cars trying to get into the garage and by pedestrians.  There were tons of cops, but they didn’t say anything, perhaps out of fear that it would cause a backlash.

While this is not the danger I was alluding to, it’s representative of chaos and disorder that you find in cities these days.

Edited July 6, 2023 by SydneyCarton

[RANYC]

19 minutes ago, Madison Parkitect said:

Only a personal anecdote, but I don't feel super safe taking my young kids Uptown at night anymore. I'd probably do a nighttime parade since it's more spread out along Tryon, but I wouldn't want to be with them in a crowded place like Romare Bearden. During the day with them or at night by myself, yes. But not at night with them. I hate to feel this way because I'm a huge believer in cities and their contribution to society, but that's where I am right now.

I know my sample isn't representative, but I heard data from someone working with new college recruits at my employer that there's been a massive drop-off in the number of students wanting to stay in uptown since the start of the pandemic.  Thankfully, they're opting to stay in other areas in center city like Noda, Optimist, and South End.  This phenomenon might be less about souring sentiments on Uptown and more about a surge in supply in surrounding neighborhoods. 

 

But you're right, it's as though the ghosts of Epicenter are out looking for other haunts. 

 

What's striking too is Chief Jennings' comments that the disruption was planned/intentional.  It's as though there's some subversive group plotting to foil a community gathering, spook the broader public, and send parents with their young children scurrying in fear.  I was floored by his comments if they are rooted in fact. 

 

Sure there's some root cause like social media induced callousness, but while we deal long-term with root causes, we've got to put mechanisms in place to deal with the symptoms today.  Or do we just write off and scope out families and professionals as part of Uptown's routine social fabric and surrender Uptown to this low-rate, low-IQ hooliganism as part of our evolution into some notion of big city urbanity?  Might it be time for "broken windows" policing?

Edited July 6, 2023 by RANYC

[kermit]

54 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

I agree.  Uptown has become a lot more dangerous.   

1) I don’t disagree that Uptown feels more dangerous where there are lots fewer people around (like we see now). I was working nights in First Ward recently and I was more uncomfortable when I was there after dark than I had been at any point in the past 20 years.

2) The data indicate that violent crime in uptown has declined substantially since last year. So it is not accurate to say that it -is-  more dangerous. But its clearly presenting as more dangerous.

Quote

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said that despite recent shootings, violent crime in Uptown is down 17% over last year.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/violent-crime-uptown-down-since-014815800.html

 

Edited July 6, 2023 by kermit

[AltNative]

Just now, kermit said:

2) The data indicate that violent crime in uptown has declined substantially since last year. So it is not accurate to say that it -is-  more dangerous. But its clearly being presented as more dangerous.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/violent-crime-uptown-down-since-014815800.html

 

People don't have to see someone violently murdered in front of them to feel unsafe and not want to go into uptown anymore. You think those hundreds of parents running with their kids in their arms during the July 4 chaos are telling themselves "well violent crime is akshully down this year! Lets go to a Knights game this week!" ? Cuz sad to say, they ain't ever coming back and I can't blame them. Perception is reality.

[kermit]

37 minutes ago, AltNative said:

People don't have to see someone violently murdered in front of them to feel unsafe and not want to go into uptown anymore. You think those hundreds of parents running with their kids in their arms during the July 4 chaos are telling themselves "well violent crime is akshully down this year! Lets go to a Knights game this week!" ? Cuz sad to say, they ain't ever coming back and I can't blame them. Perception is reality.

Why does data sharing generate this kind of vitriol? Was it somehow inappropriate to use evidence as well as anecdote in this discussion?

[I didn’t dismiss anyone’s  concerns in my post, I actually shared my own in the unquoted section]

 

Edited July 6, 2023 by kermit

[RANYC]

17 minutes ago, kermit said:

1) I don’t disagree that Uptown feels more dangerous where there are lots fewer people around (like we see now). I was working nights in First Ward recently and I was more uncomfortable when I was there after dark than I had been at any point in the past 20 years.

2) The data indicate that violent crime in uptown has declined substantially since last year. So it is not accurate to say that it -is-  more dangerous. But its clearly being presented as more dangerous.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/violent-crime-uptown-down-since-014815800.html

 

I'd argue that violent crime is down because pedestrianized routines & activity-levels are down outside of special events, and so there's fewer people to target for violent crime. 

Notwithstanding violent crime data, an important metric for me is Uptown's hostility/spook factor.  Every time I see a family in uptown get spooked by a guy yelling out expletives while the parents grab their kids' ears, or a seeming vagrant snaps and snarls at a random passerby (I did witness this up close several weeks back in 4th ward along 6th Street), I basically count that family and their potential future engagement with uptown as a high-probability loss for the district, and I think such an encounter is just as important an input into a safety metric for uptown as an actual violent crime stat.

Edited July 6, 2023 by RANYC

[Madison Parkitect]

38 minutes ago, kermit said:

1) I don’t disagree that Uptown feels more dangerous where there are lots fewer people around (like we see now). I was working nights in First Ward recently and I was more uncomfortable when I was there after dark than I had been at any point in the past 20 years.

2) The data indicate that violent crime in uptown has declined substantially since last year. So it is not accurate to say that it -is-  more dangerous. But its clearly being presented as more dangerous.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/violent-crime-uptown-down-since-014815800.html

 

I do still think Uptown is pretty safe overall. Like I said, I wouldn't feel worried taking my kids to a parade or a sporting event or even just walking around after dark. But I'm not feeling good about being with them in a big group of people like the fireworks, it just feels like a recipe for, at the very least, some panic and chaos. 

[carolinaboy]

My tiny city also had 4th of July "fireworks". Unfortunately IT IS happening all over the place. I admit I don't go to Charlotte often but when I do I have primarily been to Southend or Optimist Hall and University City areas. I more-than-likely would only go uptown if I ever go to a Panthers or FC game.

I second the comments above about the absurdity of social media and it's negative effects on the mental well-being/behavior of many of our young(er) folks. But, it's not only social media it's also lack of accountability but I digress.

[1020AM]

lol at all the coded language in this thread. just say what you want to say.  most of you commenting now just don't feel safe when white people aren't the vast majority whether something happens or not.  i wonder what those kids on the bikes looked like? (this is part of the "culture" y'all scream about on here) I wonder why southpark and southend make you feel safer? i live uptown and my family has for over 20 years and it's no more or less any safer than any other part town. 

uptown is perfectly fine all the time, but you're using this one incident to go off on safety, fear and low key bigoted rants. this is America. anything can happen anyplace at any time. humans are dangerous period. 

[SydneyCarton]

17 minutes ago, 1020AM said:

lol at all the coded language in this thread. just say what you want to say.  most of you commenting now just don't feel safe when white people aren't the vast majority whether something happens or not.  i wonder what those kids on the bikes looked like? (this is part of the "culture" y'all scream about on here) I wonder why southpark and southend make you feel safer? i live uptown and my family has for over 20 years and it's no more or less any safer than any other part town. 

uptown is perfectly fine all the time, but you're using this one incident to go off on safety, fear and low key bigoted rants. this is America. anything can happen anyplace at any time. humans are dangerous period. 

The kids on bikes were miscreants.  Their color is irrelevant.  If a bunch of redhead kids named Seamus were doing the same thing, my opinion wouldn’t be any different.  

A group of around 200 thugs on motorcycles descended on Chapel Hill a few weeks ago and caused havoc.  While they were all black, their color, once again, is irrelevant.  If they were all wearing yarmulkes and celebrating Rosh Hashanah, they wouldn’t be deemed any less threatening.

Please don’t assume that everything is racist.

 

Edited July 6, 2023 by SydneyCarton

[go_vertical]

1 hour ago, RANYC said:

What's striking too is Chief Jennings' comments that the disruption was planned/intentional.  It's as though there's some subversive group plotting to foil a community gathering, spook the broader public, and send parents with their young children scurrying in fear.

I took his "pre-planned" comment as there was a group of friends that knew another group of friends would be at the park and someone was going to confront someone else about something that was said or done previously.  Kind of like when we were all in high school when two angry idiots had plans to meet in a perking lot somewhere after school and by the end of the day half the school knew and had gotten there beforehand to watch.

Sure, this type of stuff has always gone on, but in my day it was two kid that would tustle on the ground for a couple of minutes, nothing would REALLY happen, and someone would break it up so that everyone could go to Waffle House or Hardee's.  Now the speed and ease to which things escalate is just absurd.  When too many people that are quick to activate the caps lock key when at home gather in public this is the result.