University City Projects/News

[DEnd]

Take this from somebody that used to talk to Dubois on a regular basis back in the 00's.  He is at the mercy of funding.  He fights for the school's growth as a whole, not just one program.  Focusing on one particular program that the state is 100% against is a purely uphill battle while expanding the energy and engineering programs have a lot of private backing.  He brought football to a school that was to never have football, the sports programs (aside from basketball) have grown immensely.  The board of directors for the UNC system voted down football at Charlotte so many times that most had given up hope.  Charlotte was supposed to have a medical program BEFORE Dubois ever came to power, it's not his fault that it never was implimented.  That blame is 100% on CMC.  I originally went to UNCC on the promise that the program would be started by 2007, when I was to graduate.  Halfway through my sophmore year the BOD turned down the funding to start it up and that was that.

 

 

I've said this before but I'll say it again Charlotte needs an increase in its residency programs before we need a medical school.  The country currently produces over 1,000 MDs a year more than are matched with positions for residencies. In order to do that the federal government (or even the state, or city) needs to fund more residency slots.  The Association of American Medical Colleges is calling for 3,000 more federally funded residency slots.  Without these a graduate from a new med school will only be slightly ahead of those graduates from Caribbean and other international med schools.  It does the city no good to have a med school that produces graduates that are disadvantaged when it comes to getting matched to a residency program.  CMC absolutely wants a 4 year med school in Charlotte, but there are a lot of issues that go along with that.  In toady's environment going with the expansion of a known program is highly preferable over opening a new school.  Even with that it has taken years of work by the UNC SoM, CMC, the city, and the state to get the 2 year program up and running.    

[birky]

One of the issues facing all state schools, even Chapel Hill or NC State, is that everyone is fighting over the same diminishing pool of money.  App State, ECU, Charlotte, Wilmington, Asheville...these are all good schools.  For Charlotte to pull in more state money, it means less for someone else. It also means less money to UNC CH and NCSU - not happening.  Additionally, there has been a large, alarming trend across the country to reduce state funding at public schools. In fact, some reports suggest that by 2050, nearly all state funding to public universities will end.  This means schools are relying more and more on increased tuition + fees, donors, and bonds.  The obvious solution to this is to raise taxes instead of cutting them, but there is little to no public support for that kind of thing.  The pace of growth at UNCC should slow, which should allow the campus to catch up with its needs for space & facilities over the next couple of decades.

 

With regards to the cut programs, they aren't truly "cut".  Most of the programs are consolidated under different degrees. For example, the state cut the MA-Math Education program, which will now be offered as a concentration under the MA-Math program.  Stuff like that. Few were cut entirely, mostly due to low enrollment.  Statewide there has been a huge drop in applicants to education programs, and these cuts reflect that.

[Bikeguy]

^ I think we all know why there's been a drop in Education applicants, and none of it's good.  

[Third Strike]

Saw this in Accela:

https://aca.accela.com/charlotte/Cap/CapDetail.aspx?Module=LandDevelopment&TabName=LandDevelopment&capID1=15GP1&capID2=00000&capID3=00110&agencyCode=CHARLOTTE&IsToShowInspection=

 

Anybody have anymore information on this project? It's the parcel right in front of Ikea, and I believe part of it is suppose to be a storage facility. Accela says a retail center, and that it is being designed by Landdesign, but I see nothing on the Belgate website. Would be awesome if it was a mixed use development, especially since it is in front of BLE, but I'm not holding my breath at this point anymore.

 

[Prodev]

Its a 50k retail box and a 22k box. Self storage will be at Tryon & Ucity. great compliment to the car dealership.

[go_vertical]

Also should pair well with the new mattress store that is going up practically in the shadow of the BLE bridge over University City Blvd. This area is a lost cause.

[Niner National]

Lol @ ucity.

While campus is nice and I enjoyed my time there, it is easily the worst area I've ever seen for a major college.

Light rail is doing nothing to improve the immediate vicinity.

[caterpillar2]

I always believed that running the rail there instead of to Mooresville was incredibly stupid. The growth is in in Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, Mt. Mourn, and Mooresville and the traffic issues on I-77 are getting worse and worse. There seems to be no foresight into our real needs. Instead, we waste money on the tram that will serve no serious purpose and a mindless choice to run the rail to UNCC instead of northward. If we don't get rail service into the city from the north (the aforementioned towns) we will all become isolated  due to the growing nightmare of commuting by auto. People and corporations will not want to continue moving here.  Growing metro areas need to take care of basic needs even if taxes go up. That's life.

[Niner National]

Light rail is never going to run 30 miles to mooresville. That'd be a miserable trip unless you had few stations. If you only have a few stations, a commuter rail system is far more cost effective than light rail anyway.

Running it where it is still makes sense. Itll spur tons of development from uptown to Noda and revitalize some of the most depressed neighborhoods.

Beyond Noda I have little hope for redevelopment for quite some time, but I still think the current route was the right decision.

The northern towns need commuter rail, not light rail.

[cltbwimob]

Light Rail to UNCC is a good decision-even though it appears to have generated little in the way of TOD interest north of NoDa-because of its extremely high ridership potential.

 

The real problem that plagues University City, IMHO, is the same problem that plagues the University itself-lack of leadership.  In the University's case, lack of leadership stems from the fact that UNCCH and NCSU are way overrepresented on the BoG and the fact that local leaders refuse to stick their neck out for the University.  In the case of the area as a whole, lack of leadership comes in the form of planning bodies that recommend things like massive auto malls on parcels that should be reserved for TOD and a city council that approves such plans.

 

UNCC could be a great school (I am convinced it could be neck and neck with NCSU) and University City could be a gem of an area.  Instead, both will continue to languish because no one at the top cares for them in the same way we do. 

Edited July 4, 2015 by cltbwimob

[Third Strike]

Alright guys.

 

As many of you already know, NCDOT has tentative plans to widen NC 49 in front of UNCC to six lanes. It should be worth noting that for the next 25 days, the public can comment on the projects stated in the draft TIP. Here is the email address:

 

[email protected]

 

There is also a meeting being held on the 15th. Here's the location:

 

Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at 6:00 PM in Room 267 of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center

 

I will not be able to attend the meeting, but I will be sending in my comments to the CRTPO. It's probably a long shot, but maybe there is still a chance to change this project. I wouldn't want to see the funding for this road dry up, but maybe instead of widening the road, they could instead use that money to create a multi-use path along NC 49, intersection improvements, and more signalized crosswalks. If you feel the same, please send your comments to the CRTPO, or voice your opinion at the upcoming meeting.

[SgtCampsalot]

Can someone help me out with the layout of University City? I've got a few questions. Given that it's mostly suburban, single-use zoning in the entire area, I'm having trouble figuring out the "main" thoroughfares and main hang-out areas. I've driven around it so much, but most things are set back from the main roads into subdivisions, etc, so it's hard to tell from my car.

Is Mallard Creek Rd considered the "main" road? Or is Mallard Creek Church Rd considered that? Is N Tryon St considered the main "Hub", or is is really just this-or-that strip mall shopping center all around the area? I know and love the Wine Vault at N Tryon. I've found Caffecino, the great coffee shop that took Caribou's old spot, as well as Dilworth Coffee up near Prosperity Church Rd/Ridge Rd. But are there any little nooks or gems that I'm missing?

Also, are there any interesting overlooked spots with old brick buildings that go unnoticed? Like (just for example) how if you go over to W Sugar Creek Rd, in between its intersection with Mallard Creek Rd, a few miles from N Tryon, it has lots of old, interesting looking structures (that's an interesting road to drive down)? I'm really curious since the whole UC area feels so new and uncharted to me.

Thanks!

Edited August 23, 2015 by SgtCampsalot

[AuLukey]

Unfortunately University City is awash with dis-connectivity.  There are a few individual businesses I'd consider gems, but not really areas that I'd consider to be a hot spot.  The closest thing the University area has is around the lake in University Place (where the Hilton Hotel mid-rise is.)  There are tons of restaurants, bars, and a little retail in a compact pedestrian friendly area; but, sadly, it is surrounded on all sides with your typical big box/strip mall parking lots and 4-lane roads.  There is always a lot of activity there.  The area around it actually would have a ton of potential if the developer would just tear down all of the big box stores, but where is the sense in that if it's making money?  I had high hopes when the Walmart closed and sat empty for years.  I thought it might eventually be the catalyst for smarter development there.  Unfortunately, it was finally leased out by another retailer and will continue to be a blight on the area.

Venturing further out from the core of UC will render one strip mall or apartment complex after the next.  While it isn't ideal, the shopping center on MCCRd with Trader Joes has a lot of smaller retailers, but I wouldn't exactly call it a hot spot.

N Tryon is by far the main hub of UC.  With the state widening UCBlvd and Harris Blvd being "upgraded" to be more car-friendly, the only hope left is on Tryon and MCCRd.  With the advent of the light rail being built, there is hope that things will turn around in the area and smarter developments will begin to follow the pedestrians that are headed to and from the stations.  There are a lot of run-down strip malls and old car lots along Tryon south of Harris Blvd that could be redeveloped into something of importance once the light rail has opened.  UNC Charlotte still "has plans" to build along Tryon (rather than just the current set-back monolithic structures from the past decade) and there is a surprising large amount of undeveloped land north of the research campus along Tryon.  The park-n-ride parking decks (of all things) at UCBlvd and JW Clay will have street-front retail along Tryon, maybe they will be the start of something better.

I wish I had a better answer.  I lived in UC for nearly a decade and never really found a true core myself.

[SgtCampsalot]

I wish I had a better answer.  I lived in UC for nearly a decade and never really found a true core myself.

That was a great answer, thanks! I figured as much. The Trader Joe's strip mall is certainly the most interesting thing outside of the University Pointe/Lake area. That's an interesting point with the retail below the parking decks. The planning dept really changed their tune with that for the BLE, thank goodness.

University City Partners is frustrating.While they certainly have the area's best ECONOMIC interests at heart, they are so blatantly doing so through the old model of "get any business we can, any way we can", which explains their support for the Parks Chevrolet auto mall, and the re-leasing of the former Wal-Mart space. That makes sense for small towns, but not a future urban hub (I know the staff are aware of the urban-style development needed around the BLE, but they seem like toothless tigers in implementing it). I suppose the only hope for TOD in the immediate future is the new developments happening north of Tom Hunter Rd and south of U-City Blvd, on either side of N Tryon. Greenfields are far easier to get going than re-development, I suppose.

I'm very interested in Uni City's cultural future because I'm a native of the Charlotte region, and I have never seen a more ethnically diverse middle-class area in this city before I went to UC. It's really incredible.

[Niner National]

I was driving in the University area today and saw the finished product for university house  the project at the corner of 49 and mallard creek church road.

 

It has possibly the worst color scheme ever. It's like a combination of beige and this weird poop brown color that they overlaid with a high gloss clear top coat to amplify the terrible color and low quality paint job.

 

It is hands down the ugliest project completed in Charlotte in recent history in my opinion.

[SgtCampsalot]

I was driving in the University area today and saw the finished product for university house  the project at the corner of 49 and mallard creek church road.

It has possibly the worst color scheme ever. It's like a combination of beige and this weird poop brown color that they overlaid with a high gloss clear top coat to amplify the terrible color and low quality paint job.

It is hands down the ugliest project completed in Charlotte in recent history in my opinion.

Awwww, you can't tease us like that with no pics! Pics or it didn't happen!

[NCMike1990]

Awwww, you can't tease us like that with no pics! Pics or it didn't happen!

Here is what the project looked like back in April from Google Street View: https://goo.gl/maps/5OQDg

[SgtCampsalot]

Here is what the project looked like back in April from Google Street View: https://goo.gl/maps/5OQDg

Oh man, that is strange. My guess is they are going for thr theme of the UNCC campus, ie, a lot of brown and rred brick, and a lot of beige/cream/white.

I dunno, in some ways this project seems like in 50 years, if its in good shape, the facade will look like old brick buildings of yore,  but at the same time. It is highly bland on the eyes.

I donr know if anyone still say this, but my classmates and I used to say UNCC's campus looks like one big office park. That may be a little harsh, but, it kinda does.

 

 

[MilZ]

I visited a younger friend of mine a couple weeks ago who just moved into University House.  The kids that live there don't care what the outside looks like. 

[SgtCampsalot]

^^^ARE YOU FUDGEING KIDDING ME?! What corporation are these peoples' parents working at to afford this??

[go_vertical]

Man, my place was a crap hole when I was at school.

[Niner National]

College housing has gone for resort like amenities these days. No roughing it in terrible prison cell like dorms like people did years ago.

It looks much worse in person than it does in that Google Street view picture.

[dcharlotte]

^^^ARE YOU FUDGEING KIDDING ME?! What corporation are these peoples' parents working at to afford this??

In most cases it is not the parents. Apartment developers are happily cashing the checks provided by student loans.

UNCC is a CHEAP school to attend if you don't pay for luxury, and yet I know too many people who graduated with tons of debt as a result of paying mostly for housing. How you can attend a state institution and come out on the other side with that much debt is beyond me, but that's not my problem. 

[SgtCampsalot]

In most cases it is not the parents. Apartment developers are happily cashing the checks provided by student loans.

UNCC is a CHEAP school to attend if you don't pay for luxury, and yet I know too many people who graduated with tons of debt as a result of paying mostly for housing. How you can attend a state institution and come out on the other side with that much debt is beyond me, but that's not my problem. 

Yeah... I know people graduated from a public school with the same debt as people graduated from a private school (around a cool ~$100k). And I mean with degrees ranging from engineering to photography to theater... Loans are a slippery slope.

Edited August 31, 2015 by SgtCampsalot

[jednc]

In most cases it is not the parents. Apartment developers are happily cashing the checks provided by student loans.

UNCC is a CHEAP school to attend if you don't pay for luxury, and yet I know too many people who graduated with tons of debt as a result of paying mostly for housing. How you can attend a state institution and come out on the other side with that much debt is beyond me, but that's not my problem. 

Unfortunately, it is all our problem. These loans are forgiven or greatly reduced all the time and you and I end up paying for it.