Misc. Uptown Projects/News

[CLT2014]

1 hour ago, RANYC said:

Someone posted about this CVS in Manhattan, along 14th street.  It got me to thinking about big chain re-uses of otherwise vacant, moribund historic structures in CBDs, including in Charlotte's.

First pic is the NYC CVS.  Second pic is the Charlotte National Bank building that could perhaps be reactivated as a similar use.

The Charlotte National Bank Building is an office condo association so for it to convert uses from privately owned offices to  retail lease, the individual owners would have to vote to sell or decide it makes more financial sense to move their business out and become landlords to a retail tenant.

I def like the premise though! 

I think the retail will come to Uptown eventually as it becomes more of a neighborhood. The pace of residential construction needs to accelerate though against offices. I work Uptown and don't live there. When I'm at work.... I'm working. I'm not shopping for clothes, running errands, or getting dinner. I do those things close to home and I think most others do too. Uptown needs to become more of a residential neighborhood as well or it will continue to be a transient place people visit for a specific thing (work, soccer game, et.. ) and then leave ASAP. 

Edited December 10, 2023 by CLT2014

[RANYC]

6 minutes ago, CLT2014 said:

The Charlotte National Bank Building is an office condo association so for it to convert uses from privately owned offices to  retail lease, the individual owners would have to vote to sell or decide it makes more financial sense to move their business out and become landlords to a retail tenant.

I def like the premise though! 

I think the retail will come to Uptown eventually as it becomes more of a neighborhood. The pace of residential construction needs to accelerate though against offices. I work Uptown and don't live there. When I'm at work.... I'm working. I'm not shopping for clothes, running errands, or getting dinner. I do those things close to home and I think most others do too. Uptown needs to become more of a residential neighborhood as well or it will continue to be a transient place people visit for a specific thing (work, soccer game, et.. ) and then leave ASAP. 

I agree.

[KJHburg]

4 hours ago, RANYC said:

Oh wow, has a decision been made to convert the old data center spot to residential?  I may have missed that.  That's great news.

sorry for the confusion.  I was talking about the Duke office bldg site on S Church and the separate Duke data center site on S College where the demo is taking place.  On the data center site part of the land swap was so the convention center could keep enough of a parcel for a high rise 300-400 room hotel.  

from the Biz Journal in 2022

""Tom Murray, CRVA chief executive, presented the plan to Charlotte City Council during its regular meeting last night. Murray explained that the CVRA wants to enter into a land-exchange agreement with Berlin-based Millennium Venture Capital to swap a portion of 501 S. Caldwell St., which is owned by the city, for a portion of 401 S. College St., which MVC is in the process of purchasing from Duke Energy.

The exchange would allow for the addition of a hotel next to the convention center, something Murray has for years said is necessary to keep Charlotte's ability to draw events in line with competing markets like Nashville, Tennessee, and Austin, Texas.""  this did happen and the other developer MVC of Berlin may indeed put housing at that site too.  They mentioned office hotel or residential.

so there could be residential on the South College Street site along with a hotel.  

 

from the same article:

""If approved, the city will give 2.2 acres of its South Caldwell property to MVC for 0.7 acres of the South College property. Murray said because the city will be giving away much larger piece of land, MVC has agreed to demolish the building at South College and prep the site for development, which will cost about $6 million. The firm is also planning $3 million in improvements to the convention center plaza.

MVC's plans for the remainder of the South College property include a multifamily development, office building and high-end, ground-floor retail. The firm is in the due diligence phase of its purchase of 401 S. College St. and is required to close by Dec. 2. Millennium is also in the process of purchasing Duke Energy's six-story parking deck at 410 S. Mint St.""

CRVA pitches land swap with Millennium Venture Capital - Charlotte Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

Edited December 10, 2023 by KJHburg

[DJ8hep]

Okay, definitely a fan and will be returning promptly!

[DMann]

I think the problem with the Charlotte National Bank Building is condominium offices, making a single decision ownership difficult

[KJHburg]

that is some good business for a Saturday at the Monarch Market and I think Crescent has a success on their hands. 

[Professor]

15 hours ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

The U.S. hasn’t really done pedestrian-centric density all that well in most places. So which places does the U.S. have that does pedestrian density somewhat well?  Or from New York to Jacksonville are they just all around pretty much the same?

I’m actually in totally agreement with you AND I know Charlotte is 100% capable of doing & being those things. 

And I find your post to generally be very accurate, very sober, very honest & I enjoy reading your post. Really, I’m just projecting on you (since you’re entertaining it) based on a comment with Larry Singer. So my post are sorta unnecessarily directed at you so apologies for that. 
 

But To see Charlotte change in the way some of us espouse, if Charlotte wants to be different than Atlanta, we should champion those policies and maybe stop obsessing over statistics that is contrary to what we want. There definitely needs to be higher corporate taxes to at least the historical amount. There needs to be more taxes on the wealthy, more social programs, more policy that punishes low dense development, not approve developments like in the form of river district. And yes, Charlotte maybe would be passed up for a Fortune 500 HQ over say Austin or Nashville over taxation. Is that terrible? Yea, maybe charlottes growth would slow down. But maybe that slower growth would better align with the vision that some have for Charlotte? 

The Amtrak money NC got. You can thank Democrats for that. You can thank our focus on sustainability. Republicans are against it. You can thank we preferred to invest in green infrastructure over further tax cuts. Our policies are NOT always business friendly. And I think we shouldn’t run away from that. You can’t really have it both ways. Does one want low cost, low government investment, next-to-nothing funding of transit and refusal to build adequately? Charlotte could easily support the same infrastructure as MARTA. It just cost money that Charlotte & NC has or could have but chooses not to build.. You don’t become a 18-24 hour city with good transit, density, etc., by being cheap, & by voting Republican. And you’re not going to be some low cost, low tax, high growth booming area stealing Fortune 500 HQ’s from other high cost areas by voting Democrat. IMO. And I bet Larry Singer would agree on that. & I’m fine with not putting “most business friendly” and “lowest corporate taxes” at the top of my list of things I support. I think that’s a bad thing (to an extent).

What I would like to see is more retail at all levels, small diners like the ones that once existed, improvements in transportation to those outside the inner-city (lake area/Ballantyne), safe/walkable access to important places like the Amtrac rail station, NCMF, midtown,  Elizabeth, Midway-Plaza, and the new North Camp area from uptown. Let's also throw in a planetarium, a movie complex, ice-skating/entertainment venue, and maybe even a hop-on-hop -off bus for tourists. I believe the one difference between me, and some others is that I visualize all of this coming eventually (not fast enough) as we grow. We can't simply turn into a giant crowded city exploding with shoppers and pedestrians overnight. Besides, we lack a river, beach, or a mountain in the city like practically all cities the size of Charlotte or larger enjoy. Nevertheless, we manage to flourish without and outpace practically every other city. I am not a republican as assumed (but definitely not a democrat either) however, I do believe the city could accomplish wiser invests of tax dollars than subsidizing multi-billionaire Tepper with his venues and backing the electing of more city savvy/educated/successful business and investment people with successful pasts and focus on all people sitting into the city council. It should be an organization planning for a safe great city for everyone to enjoy and envy. People need to simply see that we don't have the population needed at this point to fulfill their dreams of being a bustling NYC. Unfortunately, we also don't have enough motivated newcomers moving here interested in investing or getting out and present new and exciting horizons. Bottom line, I'm fine enjoying the growth. I spent many of my greatest years living in London where blue laws were rampant, bars closed at 11:00 pm, and the streets were dead past 10:00 except for a few drunken Irishmen, rowdy futball hooligans, and me. Look how it has changed.  

 

[go_vertical]

16 hours ago, RANYC said:

Someone posted about this CVS in Manhattan, along 14th street.  It got me to thinking about big chain re-uses of otherwise vacant, moribund historic structures in CBDs, including in Charlotte's.

First pic is the NYC CVS.  Second pic is the Charlotte National Bank building that could perhaps be reactivated as a similar use.

If we EVER see more development around First Ward Park I could see the Treloar House being useful in a similar fashion.  Sadly, I'm pretty confident that Levine will continue to sit around twiddling his thumbs to the point where demo will end up being the only option.

[kermit]

20 hours ago, RANYC said:

Someone posted about this CVS in Manhattan, along 14th street.  It got me to thinking about big chain re-uses of otherwise vacant, moribund historic structures in CBDs, including in Charlotte's.

Walgreens on Milwaukee Ave at Damen (Wicker Park not CBD) in Chicago in a former bank building. Cosmetics are in the vault and the door still works.

Developers in Charlotte are never pushed to do this sort of conversion which is why we don't see it.

Edited December 10, 2023 by kermit

[CLT Development]

3 hours ago, go_vertical said:

If we EVER see more development around First Ward Park I could see the Treloar House being useful in a similar fashion.  Sadly, I'm pretty confident that Levine will continue to sit around twiddling his thumbs to the point where demo will end up being the only option.

permits were recently filed to do some repair work on Treloar House, but I think its to keep it from falling down only

[Professor]

20 hours ago, kermit said:

Walgreens on Milwaukee Ave at Damen (Wicker Park not CBD) in Chicago in a former bank building. Cosmetics are in the vault and the door still works.

Developers in Charlotte are never pushed to do this sort of conversion which is why we don't see it.

As long as we are giving examples of businesses that are not really relative, I thought I would post this photo of McDonalds in Casablanca, Morocco that is directly on the beach in an unbelievable spot. I actually ate next door at a great Moroccan place, but I thought I would post something irrelative myself. Maybe we can build a McDonald's on Sugar Creek? 

[nicholas]

1 hour ago, Larry Singer said:

As long as we are giving examples of businesses that are not really relative, I thought I would post this photo of McDonalds in Casablanca, Morocco that is directly on the beach in an unbelievable spot. I actually ate next door at a great Moroccan place, but I thought I would post something irrelative myself. Maybe we can build a McDonald's on Sugar Creek?

???

[CarolinaDaydreamin]

23 hours ago, kermit said:

Walgreens on Milwaukee Ave at Damen (Wicker Park not CBD) in Chicago in a former bank building. Cosmetics are in the vault and the door still works.

Developers in Charlotte are never pushed to do this sort of conversion which is why we don't see it.

Wow it looks similar to the Walgreens in Dowtown Atlanta too 

 

[RANYC]

1 hour ago, CarolinaDaydreamin said:

Wow it looks similar to the Walgreens in Dowtown Atlanta too 

 

Wow, that's a stunning reuse of a historical building into an everyday big-box retail use.  Historic rehabilitations are expensive propositions, and while I don't necessarily celebrate a downtown full of big chains, the big-chain corporates have the balance sheet to take on complex & pricey restorations.  If other inner cities show examples of pharmacy and other chains rehabilitating and reusing lovely historic structures so that they improve and activate the surrounding area plus give retail customers a chance to routinely engage with a building that might otherwise sit dormant or underutilized, then I'd love to see more of that replicated in our Uptown.  

Edited December 11, 2023 by RANYC

[15895]

10 minutes ago, RANYC said:

Wow, that's a stunning reuse of a historical building into an everyday big-box retail use.  Historic rehabilitations are expensive propositions, and while I don't necessarily celebrate a downtown full of big chains, the big-chain corporates have the balance sheet to take on complex & pricey restorations.  If other inner cities show examples of pharmacy and other chains rehabilitating and reusing lovely historic structures so that they improve and activate the surrounding area plus give retail customers a chance to routinely engage with a building that might otherwise sit dormant or underutilized, then I'd love to see more of that replicated in our Uptown.  

I think it’s quite common (and I mean outside of the typical suspects on the west coast, Chicago, Bos-Wash) with examples all over the heartland, Midwest, Great Plains, etc. From small cities having targets in historic downtown buildings, etc. to the larger ones. 

You know what’s really stunning is what the Midwest/heartland have done with their historic rail stations (Ohio, Missouri and others). It’s mostly civic-y uses for those amazing train stations like museums but still. The below is Cincinatti (and if anyone wants to geek out or be depressed. Go look at all these train stations that are among the most beautiful in the world yet sadly most don’t even see a single train or useful service).  

 Charlotte does have a couple crown jewel of historic buildings too for similar things posted above that would be nice to have some chains take over. 

Edited December 11, 2023 by AirNostrumMAD

[RANYC]

7 minutes ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

I think it’s quite common (and I mean outside of the typical suspects on the west coast, Chicago, Bos-Wash) with examples all over the heartland, Midwest, Great Plains, etc. From small cities having targets in historic downtown buildings, etc. to the larger ones. 

You know what’s really stunning is what the Midwest/heartland have done with their historic rail stations (Ohio, Missouri and others). It’s mostly civic-y uses for those amazing train stations like museums but still. The below is Cincinatti (and if anyone wants to geek out or be depressed. Go look at all these train stations that are among the most beautiful in the world yet sadly most don’t even see a single train or useful service).  

 Charlotte does have a couple crown jewel of historic buildings too for similar things posted above that would be nice to have some chains take over. 

Certainly on the exterior, at least, that Cincinatti structure looks like a train station fit for a Queen.

[15895]

2 minutes ago, RANYC said:

Certainly on the exterior, at least, that Cincinatti structure looks like a train station fit for a Queen.

Inside too & there’s other examples where it’s like. Opulent and looks like train stations of the wealthiest country in the world. Sad but at least they live on. 
 

Specifically as it relates to Charlotte, the reason I absolutely don’t like structures being torn down Willy-nilly (even if replaced by another structure), I just think it would be positive to be able to retain at least facades to start building on the culture. It’s actually a little disappointing the last 3 years seems to have been worse for tearing things down (including Polk Park at trade / Tryon) given a lot of stakeholders and stuff have spent years lamenting how much has been torn down and wanting to save our structures and they’re coming down as fast as ever. 

[Professor]

4 hours ago, nicholas said:

???

My prayers have been answered. Got to go!  I'm off to W. Sugar Creek Road. 

[Professor]

55 minutes ago, RANYC said:

Certainly on the exterior, at least, that Cincinatti structure looks like a train station fit for a Queen.

And the attached below looks like the entrance to a royal palace near Hickory that is fit for serving a finger lickin meal for King Charles.  

[15895]

39 minutes ago, Larry Singer said:

My prayers have been answered. Got to go!  I'm off to W. Sugar Creek Road. 

Im just pointing out, this isn’t a blog. It’s a discussion board. Do you prefer no one to reply until there’s a new salient, specific update? 

[turbocraig]

10 hours ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

…The below is Cincinatti (and if anyone wants to geek out or be depressed. Go look at all these train stations that are among the most beautiful in the world yet sadly most don’t even see a single train or useful service).  

Ummmm… nobody’s gonna talk about this?

[Professor]

17 hours ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

I'm just pointing out, this isn’t a blog. It’s a discussion board. Do you prefer no one to reply until there’s a new salient, specific update? 

Thank you.  I'm just hopping on the bandwagon with others. A McDonalds in Casablanca is just as significant as a Walgreens in Atlanta or other insignificant structures in other random places that have been welcomed on this thread.  This particular McDonalds represents questionable/unusual use of prime real-estate which corelates with the criticisms posted regarding the  conversion of parking lots into highly criticized, unpopular new structures uptown.  O.K. maybe the gate to the Colonel's house was a bit much, but a pinch of interesting trivia is usually welcomed. Did you know that the ole boy once lived near Hickory? Now you know, and your life is a wee bit richer. You're welcome.  

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by Larry Singer

[CLT Development]

6 minutes ago, Larry Singer said:

Thank you.  I'm just hopping on the bandwagon with others. A McDonalds in Casablanca is just as significant as a Walgreens in Atlanta or other insignificant structures in other random places that have been welcomed on this thread.  This particular McDonalds represents questionable/unusual use of prime real-estate which corelates with the criticisms posted regarding the  conversion of parking lots into highly criticized, unpopular new structures uptown.  O.K. maybe the gate to the Colonel's house was a bit much, but a pinch of interesting trivia is usually welcomed. Did you know that the ole boy once lived near Hickory? Now you know, and your life is a wee bit richer. You're welcome.  

 

So is that the story? I saw it once in Hickory and couldnt find any info.

[15895]

43 minutes ago, Larry Singer said:

Thank you.  I'm just hopping on the bandwagon with others. A McDonalds in Casablanca is just as significant as a Walgreens in Atlanta or other insignificant structures in other random places that have been welcomed on this thread.  This particular McDonalds represents questionable/unusual use of prime real-estate which corelates with the criticisms posted regarding the  conversion of parking lots into highly criticized, unpopular new structures uptown.  O.K. maybe the gate to the Colonel's house was a bit much, but a pinch of interesting trivia is usually welcomed. Did you know that the ole boy once lived near Hickory? Now you know, and your life is a wee bit richer. You're welcome.  

 

I don’t have a problem with the stuff you post that always drifts off topic, I don’t have a problem when I find post to be delusional and I certainly don’t have a problem with people discussing the little building by Skye / Hyatt House becoming a retail space similar to a Walgreens in Atlanta. 

It’s not triggering for me & I don’t feel the need to shut down conversation over it so. You do, that’s cool, but I was just wondering if you were aware this isn’t a blog & I guess you are. I never whined about your profane tirades in the past & I certainly am not going to whine over a passive aggressive KFC post. 

[Reverie39]

20 hours ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

I think it’s quite common (and I mean outside of the typical suspects on the west coast, Chicago, Bos-Wash) with examples all over the heartland, Midwest, Great Plains, etc. From small cities having targets in historic downtown buildings, etc. to the larger ones. 

You know what’s really stunning is what the Midwest/heartland have done with their historic rail stations (Ohio, Missouri and others). It’s mostly civic-y uses for those amazing train stations like museums but still. The below is Cincinatti (and if anyone wants to geek out or be depressed. Go look at all these train stations that are among the most beautiful in the world yet sadly most don’t even see a single train or useful service).  

 Charlotte does have a couple crown jewel of historic buildings too for similar things posted above that would be nice to have some chains take over. 

Man, I do like the modern look Charlotte is getting but there is just something about the art deco architecture from that era of American history that looks so darn cool. I was also noting the other day how cool Detroit's skyline looks thanks to that same style.