Mixed Use Spirit Square and Main Library Redevelopment

[CLT2014]

24 minutes ago, MothBeast said:

This is quite the debacle if true. No underground parking and the tower is only 17 stories? What happened to Truist?

I'd guess hybrid schedule has permanently changed Truist's square footage needs. I've also heard relocations to Charlotte from WS and ATL slowed down during COVID... hence only ~1,200 employees in Charlotte per LinkedIn. Throw in a tight labor market and I don't think they are going to make many people move from the legacy HQs... who might quit rather than move.

I interviewed somebody on their mobile app team who said he's one of two people based in Charlotte and all the other people they work with are from Atlanta or Winston and refused to relocate and while the two cultures hate each other, they are especially unified in hating Charlotte people who are "backfilling their jobs and stole the HQ." This guy was the most candid but I've also interviewed some other candidates who all said the Charlotte office is just a weird collection of people brand new to the company talking to ATL and WS on the phone.

Edited March 15, 2022 by CLT2014

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

We need new development on the north end of uptown and this is a good start.  The apartment tower will be much taller from what I hear @CLTdevelopmentright?  This is a Deloitte style tower but we need new life in this part of uptown.   

I thought the towers were the other way in height but if one is taller I would prefer the apartment towers location for the skyline anyway. Real shame about the parking though, was excited to avoid another deck. I just get frustrated seeing these huge PPPs stumble so often when so much hinges on them getting it right the first time. This project will absolutely be a net positive for North Tryon and I’m still super excited about the ground level experience.

Edited March 15, 2022 by Guest

[CLT Development]

2 hours ago, MothBeast said:

This is quite the debacle if true. No underground parking and the tower is only 17 stories? What happened to Truist?

Covid gutted the office plans, and parking is underground for the office, and above for the residential. 

Edited March 15, 2022 by CLT Development

[SydneyCarton]

I'm not too concerned about small towers.  Atlanta and Dallas, which are much bigger cities, build a lot of small towers.   Consider the new NCR building in Atlanta, for example.

[DMann]

The building in the photo next to Duckworth's is a hotel on the south side of 7th St.  The apartment building is slated for the north side of 7th street between College and Tryon.

[Reverie39]

I do think it's a little odd how unobstructed the view into Uptown is from certain angles. Like, you can see almost the entirety of the BoA and Truist Towers from the North, looks a little weird for some of our tallest buildings to be exposed rather than a central part of a skyscraper core. So in that sense I support some taller buildings around North Tryon. However in all other senses I totally agree that low and mid-rise buildings are fantastic too and I have always thought Charlotte could use more of those. They aren't as impressive from the air but it's much easier to make them super interesting from street level, something more attractive to pedestrians.

[SydneyCarton]

With the exception of Duke and the LU BoA, the trend Uptown is for shorter buildings (e.g., Ally, Deloitte, 300 S. Tryon, the next tower at LU, these Spirit Sq. towers, etc.)  However, the trend in SouthEnd is now to build taller.

It's good because it will make the skyline look more continuous with peaks and troughs.

Edited March 15, 2022 by SydneyCarton

[B Randy]

A LEGIT new multifamily building ON Tryon is a huge win for this part of town.  HUGE.  That critical mass is so needed in this spot.

Will take whatever office is ready to go on this site.   Tough area for office right now - lucked out that Truist moved in next door.

[Norm2]

It's odd to me that new office buildings in South End are being built taller than the new office buildings in Uptown.

[Hushpuppy321]

42 minutes ago, B Randy said:

A LEGIT new multifamily building ON Tryon is a huge win for this part of town.  HUGE.  That critical mass is so needed in this spot.

Will take whatever office is ready to go on this site.   Tough area for office right now - lucked out that Truist moved in next door.

I agree.  I think the Truist Office and New Residential will actually create enough momentum to finally get the Publix/Office  Project to break ground.  They all seem to like to start construction within the same timeframe it seems.

[wilmore]

1 hour ago, norm21499 said:

It's odd to me that new office buildings in South End are being built taller than the new office buildings in Uptown.

South End is just straight up a better location now IMO. There's not that much Uptown to really draw people there every day. 

[Norm2]

32 minutes ago, wilmore said:

South End is just straight up a better location now IMO. There's not that much Uptown to really draw people there every day. 

Uptown is the next Downtown Atlanta lol

[CarolinaDaydreamin]

3 minutes ago, norm21499 said:

Uptown is the next Downtown Atlanta lol

Highly disagree. Downtown Atlanta went multiple decades without a new high rise. It is now finally receiving some growth and has a very good core of old buildings. DT Atlanta has a ways to go but has a big park, good old buildings, two major universities surrounding it, but a lot of crime and homelessness. Uptown charlotte is more vibrant that downtown Dallas, but that is more comparable.

[RANYC]

43 minutes ago, wilmore said:

South End is just straight up a better location now IMO. There's not that much Uptown to really draw people there every day. 

SE is just the flavor of the moment, and things are a bit off-kilter and imbalanced coming out of a once-in-a-century pandemic.

Uptown is established and somewhat land-locked relative to South End.  Things could very quickly revert.  Let's not be so quick to write off Uptown given dust hasn't even settled on 40+ story Duke bldg, and has barely settled on 30+ story Ellis.  

I think Epicenter and 7th & Tryon could be quite catalyzing.  I'll take a new signature public plaza at 7th & Tryon any day over a bunch of inaccessible high-rises I can just gawk at (I, too, am excited about some new architecture to look at and the jobs coming...but just keeping things in perspective).  7th & Tryon are coming with spaces and amenities for the public at large, for families.  Riverside is nice to look at, but inaccessible unless you're over-paying for workouts or dinner. 

I'd rather not pit Uptown against SE.  Uptown and Carson are pretty much within walking distance of each other, and I'd call this a convergence rather than a shift of vitality.

Edited March 15, 2022 by RANYC

[j-man]

4 hours ago, Reverie39 said:

I do think it's a little odd how unobstructed the view into Uptown is from certain angles. Like, you can see almost the entirety of the BoA and Truist Towers from the North, looks a little weird for some of our tallest buildings to be exposed rather than a central part of a skyscraper core. So in that sense I support some taller buildings around North Tryon. However in all other senses I totally agree that low and mid-rise buildings are fantastic too and I have always thought Charlotte could use more of those. They aren't as impressive from the air but it's much easier to make them super interesting from street level, something more attractive to pedestrians.

Ive always thought that. When Im coming from Noda I absolutely hate that angle of the skyline. Looks so exposed and unfinished because the tallest and 3rd tallest tower are on the edge of what people view as the bulk of the skyline.  And this goes back to my point about the skyline also being so linear. Wish more would be built on the North side but not just in a straight line along with the other major buildings. 

Edited March 15, 2022 by j-man

[CLT Development]

11 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

It's good because it will make the skyline look more continuous with peaks and troughs.

This is a great description on how a great skyline should look.

8 hours ago, j-man said:

Ive always thought that. When Im coming from Noda I absolutely hate that angle of the skyline. Looks so exposed and unfinished because the tallest and 3rd tallest tower are on the edge of what people view as the bulk of the skyline.  And this goes back to my point about the skyline also being so linear. Wish more would be built on the North side but not just in a straight line along with the other major buildings. 

Both you and @SydneyCarton nailed my exact feelings! Gateway, Spirt Square, CTC, Brooklyn Village and Duke selling their properties should help this immensely. From there it'll be up to Daniel and the City & Council. 

Edited March 16, 2022 by CLT Development

[DMann]

From CBJ:

By Elise Franco  –  Staff Writer, Charlotte Business Journal 

24 minutes ago

 

Changes to a proposed parking structure garnered mixed support from Charlotte City Council last night as it discussed a massive uptown redevelopment project.

Assistant City Manager Tracy Dodson presented council with updates on the $600 million Seventh and Tryon redevelopment project during last night's regular business meeting. The project is a coordinated effort by four key stakeholders — the city, Mecklenburg County, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) — to transform the 3.1-acre block. The master developer is Metropolitan Partnership.

 

Plans call for a new Main Library, a 170,000-square-foot mixed-use building, a 400,000-square-foot office tower, market-rate apartments, 31,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and above-grade parking, all of which will be connected throughout a cultural corridor, according to the city.

Dodson said the development is expected to create more than 4,000 full-time, permanent jobs and up to 1,500 temporary jobs during the three-year construction phase. As she outlined the project status, Dodson noted a couple of changes since the last major update to council in 2020.

A planned, below-grade parking deck will now be built above grade, and the service level will go subterranean. The updated plan also calls for 810 parking spaces with 250 of those available to the public. Originally, 1,489 spots were to be built with 150 to 200 spaces for the public. Dodson said the change is due, in part, to a decrease in office space of about 50,000 square feet.

"The idea here is that you're coming out of that Seventh Street deck, and you're really flowing through the middle of the project being able to see and experience that retail and that plaza environment," Dodson said.

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by DMann

[RANYC]

According to the  bizjournal article, construction slated to begin this summer.  That's exciting.

Parking garage space count has gone down by 40% in latest plans.  

Assistant city manager made reference to a "cultural corridor" planned for the development.  Anyone know what that is?  Do we have other examples of cultural corridors in Charlotte or in the state?

[Guest]

Not going to be that great of an environment  if cars are constantly driving though it…

[stanforclt]

3 hours ago, RANYC said:

Parking garage space count has gone down by 40% in latest plans.

Parking garage space has only gone down because of the office space being smaller than expected IIRC

[RANYC]

1 hour ago, stanforclt said:

Parking garage space has only gone down because of the office space being smaller than expected IIRC

Yes, article mentioned that parking space count was reduced because office space is now 50,000 square feet less than originally planned, but that’s a 40% reduction in parking space count versus just an 11% reduction in office space.  Seems like perhaps there was a judgment that overall parking needs were overestimated in original plans.

[JRCLT]

I don’t think cars are driving through the corridor…? I think they’re talking about the pedestrian plaza in between the buildings on the block… unless that is now internal streets?

[RANYC]

13 minutes ago, JeanClt said:

I don’t think cars are driving through the corridor…? I think they’re talking about the pedestrian plaza in between the buildings on the block… unless that is now internal streets?

Yes, I, too believe the cultural corridor is pedestrian-only.

[KJHburg]

35 minutes ago, RANYC said:

Yes, I, too believe the cultural corridor is pedestrian-only.

It is a Paseo or walk way.  Not for cars.  In NYC it would be called an alley. 

[Guest]

Gotcha. Misunderstood the quote