First Ward Urban Village / North Tryon Vision Plan

[world44]

A couple of the retail spots have been filled at Quarterside. There is one "Colin's neighborhood Pub" in the corner spot (I'm pretty excited about it), a drycleaners(surprise, surprise), an owner who doesn't know what he's going to do with the spot, and another retail tenant plans for a pizza place but no retail spot assigned to it yet. 6 retails spots remain. The Quad (on 6th & Myers) is supposed to finish late summer / early fall. The Row (7th & Myers) is the unknown, currently they are further ahead on it than the Quad or the Ledge. And the Ledge will finish up last.

The Pub is not good news. Property will devaluate with this type of establishment....liquor and junk food. The Quad residents, especially those on the 2nd floor, will have to contend with many major issues such as the noise since the building is not built out of concrete.

BlvdCentro must have changed their name.....it's now Centro Cityworks. No explanation on why.

The Quad is way overdue. A friend bought in Feb 2006 and continues to wait and wait. With the announcement of the Pub, the condo will be immediately for sale at a very attractive price (with the upgrades),even though there were no plans for "flipping". In order to avoid the headaches, this person is willing just to get the money invested. In other words, cutting even. Unfortunately it has been a disappointment.

[UrbanFuture]

The Pub is not good news. Property will devaluate with this type of establishment....liquor and junk food. The Quad residents, especially those on the 2nd floor, will have to contend with many major issues such as the noise since the building is not built out of concrete.

BlvdCentro must have changed their name.....it's now Centro Cityworks. No explanation on why.

The Quad is way overdue. A friend bought in Feb 2006 and continues to wait and wait. With the announcement of the Pub, the condo will be immediately for sale at a very attractive price (with the upgrades),even though there were no plans for "flipping". In order to avoid the headaches, this person is willing just to get the money invested. In other words, cutting even. Unfortunately it has been a disappointment.

I seriously doubt that property will devaluate past the pre-sales price. If he bought in February 2006, as did I, he should be fine. Blvd Centro changed their name a while back as they try to re-invent themselves to continue to expand their business lines in a chaotic market. The Quad and the whole development are long overdue. They picked up a couple major delays by (1) originally planning to build one building at a time, and then when they all sold quickly, deciding to build the entire complex at once, and (2) by not accounting for some of the structural elements of the building in their blueprints and then having to redraw and reengineer some of the structure mid-way through the process. However, this is still a good deal and still an attractive price point. Your friend bought in the city at a mixed use project, surely they expected one restaurant establishment in the project given the 10,000+ sq ft of retail space. While I agree that it might be noisy on occasion, I don't see the bar scene trekking down 4 blocks from every other bar to party it up in the Pub. I think the pub will do just fine off of people in the first ward neighborhood and business folks from 2nd ward as well as people in Quarterside. It shouldn't be a wild place, but an enjoyable neighborhood watering hole.

I for one want something of substance there besides a drycleaner and nail salon.

[uptownliving]

I would also point out that the first floor retail section is made out of concrete...not wood. My vision of this place is a neighborhood bar along the lines of Alexander Michael's in 4th Ward. Its not going to be a nightclub with booming music. I suspect there will be more noise from the cars on the adjacent streets than from this Pub.

[dubone]

I agree. The desire to sell simply because they rented to a pub comes across as an overreaction.

I agree with Uptownliving that due to location, this will end up as a low key place for the neighborhood on the scale of Alexander Michaels.

[Charlotte_native]

The Pub is not good news. Property will devaluate with this type of establishment....liquor and junk food. The Quad residents, especially those on the 2nd floor, will have to contend with many major issues such as the noise since the building is not built out of concrete.

BlvdCentro must have changed their name.....it's now Centro Cityworks. No explanation on why.

The Quad is way overdue. A friend bought in Feb 2006 and continues to wait and wait. With the announcement of the Pub, the condo will be immediately for sale at a very attractive price (with the upgrades),even though there were no plans for "flipping". In order to avoid the headaches, this person is willing just to get the money invested. In other words, cutting even. Unfortunately it has been a disappointment.

If a pub devalues this property that will be unusual. Similar places in Gateway and other projects haven't changed the value at all and most residents seem to like having places they want nearby. I live in 230 South Tryon and we have a take out sushi place and a Jimmy Johns sandwich shop in the bottom of the building - - no affect on our values. I'd rather have a pub actually.

There was a long article in the Observer explaining why Blvd Centro changed their name a few weeks back. They rearranged the branches of their company for the development arm and the architectural firm. David Furman also used to be partners with Chris Branch of The Boulevard Company -- he felt Blvd Centro was still too close a name so decided to make the change.

[f0xym0p]

Having a pub devalues the property? I would never think that. To me it makes it makes it more desirable unless the residents will be able to hear loud music/talk late into the night, but I don't think that will be the case here.

[atlrvr]

I think it would be a fair statement that it devalues the property for world44's friend. If he plans on dumping it for cost, it seems like a good opportunity for a buyer that doesn't feel a bar is an adverse amenity. No housing unit appeals to an entire population, but what is a negative for one, can be a positive for another, with "value" being decided by what someone is willing to pay.

Beyond the theoretical response, I think a pub there is a good fit....it should have a captive population, and do well. Though many people moan over "boring" retail, this is a great site for some basic amenities since little service retail currently exists in 1st Ward. Anything that can cut down car trips is a good thing in my book, and destination retail would have the opposite affect.

[world44]

In actuality, the buyer is a single she. I don't know the demographics of First Ward but it seems that her concern is safety besides the tranquility since many reiterate that First Ward continues to be a somewhat problematic area. In addition, Blvd Centro did not notify her of the name change. When she signed the contract it was under Blvd Centro instead of Centro Cityworks. How the name change will affect the closing procedures and any aftermath remains to be experienced. Blvd Centro has not commented on this issue.

[Charlotte_native]

In addition, Blvd Centro did not notify her of the name change. When she signed the contract it was under Blvd Centro instead of Centro Cityworks. How the name change will affect the closing procedures and any aftermath remains to be experienced. Blvd Centro has not commented on this issue.

What difference would the name change make? Still the same builder, same developer, just a different name. Anyway, all developers build under LLC's for each individual project so her contract is likely with an LLC owned by Blvd and that wouldn't have changed anyway.

Again, there name change was nothing dramatic, just a simple change they made for simple reasons.

[Figursky]

I would see this pub being similar to the Corner Pub in fourth ward. It will likely be a locals bar that is fairly low key. It is actually the perfect spot for such an establishment.

[SmellyCat]

In actuality, the buyer is a single she. I don't know the demographics of First Ward but it seems that her concern is safety besides the tranquility since many reiterate that First Ward continues to be a somewhat problematic area.

I have lived in First Ward for a couple of years now and have not had any issues with crime, nor do I think First Ward stands out as being any more problematic than any other part of Uptown or Charlotte in general these days. There have been some car break-ins, but that appears to be endemic to the entire city.

I guess the buyer needs to ask herself the question if she's prepared to live in an area that has an urban fabric and all the inconveniences that come along with the conveniences, such as higher crime rates, occasional late night noise, fire and police sirens (there is a firehouse literally right next door to her project), arena traffic, etc.

[New Name]

Villa Fransesca is the Italian Restaurant coming to the corner of 7th and Caldwell. They've had a sign in the window for a while, and now it's actually under construction. Shouldn't be long.

[swh1972]

^ I saw this last week. They have replaced the windows and are working on the interior. I hope their food is good, because it is a very convenient location for me!

[dubone]

Safety in any dense area is often just a trick of the numbers. Everyone feels like it hits too close to home when something bad happens a few blocks away, but a couple thousand live in First Ward, so there is there is a chance for all sorts of things to happen within a few blocks of you. In addition, things like fights or worse that happen around the bar scene 5-10 blocks away, or property crime that happens in the parking lots 5-10 blocks away all get added to the numbers for uptown. All those numbers might make you feel unsafe, but it is not always a rational feeling. There are a lot of accidents on 77, but it is because there are a lot of cars, so as a percentage, it is not so bad. But if that many accidents happened on a rural route with very few cars, it would be a serious situation. Still, though, driving on 77 is far less safe than living downtown. Many more have died and been traumatized on that road than have downtown. But if you live downtown and commute on 77, then good luck to you.

I don't want to understate the crime that occurs in the business district and nightlife area that is technically in First Ward. In the Quality of Life surveys in 2000 and 2002, they only included the part of the neighborhood that is east of Caldwell. During those studies, the crime rates for violent and property crimes were quite low, well below the citywide average. In 2004 and 2006 studies, they widened the boundary to Tryon Street, covering Levine's wasteland, the nightlife spots like Coyote Ugly, Dixies, Bar Charlotte, etc., and many commercial buildings. The crime rates shot way up, and is now 4x the citywide average. Crime has not gone way up within the neighborhood portion. But now, when a car is broken into in 7th Street Station, someone gets in a fight at Coyote Ugly, or something happens in the vast wasteland of surface parking where no buildings are, they now go onto First Ward's statistics. Those issues are very localized and don't affect the residential part of the neighborhood at all, as evidenced by the fact that crime rates very low when they only included the residential part of the neighborhood. Further still, this is an area where the only residents added were those in Hall House and Tryon House, so you have all the crime from that area, but no residents, creating a very negative result for the numbers. Once that area fills in with residences, not only might some of that crime go down due to more eyes on the street, but the rate will come down, as that crime in commercial zones will be dilluted by having some residents. If that area between Caldwell and Tryon, with maybe 100 residents were its own neighborhood for statistics, the crime rate would be astromical. Purely a trick of having a tiny denominator. But also from the biological reality that drunk people are asses.

If you go to the neighborhood meetings around uptown, you'll hear first hand from the police that the uptown neighborhoods are not hot spots for crime. They are all rated as stable neighborhoods by the city's quality of life survey, even with the crime added in by the commercial areas.

All of that said, whether it is rational or irrational, if someone feels unsafe all the time, they should definitely move away. Living in fear is a sad thing. But since most crimes are domestic, you may want to sleep with one eye open anyway.

[carolina_fan]

City Council will get a presentation from Econ. Dev. next Monday during their dinner meeting regarding the long-proposed 1st Ward Park/Parking Deck that Levine wants. UNCC is pushing it forward as it will contribute to their vision (and parking needs) for their Uptown campus. Levine is proposing a TIF style financing mechanism to support the deck.

All and all, I'm very supportive of this in concept.....I had heard in the past though that Levine was only interested in leasing the air-rights above the deck to the County for a park, and would not sell or grant them that area. The County wasn't interested in that arrangement (nor should they be). Hopefully everyone is on-board this time around.

Does anyone know the outcome of this presentation? Is the city going to consider TIF style financing to support the deck?

[uptownliving]

Considering it...sure...but there is still a good amount to be worked on with this project before it will come before the full council for approval.

[swh1972]

Residents began moving into Enclave this past weekend. If you drive by at night, you'll notice that a few of the units have lights on. Although not exciting (unless you are one of the people moving there), this will add to the area population and should help with driving demand for retail in First Ward.

Also, the lot next to it, which was originally planned as a mixed income condo project, has a yard sign advertising the land.

Quarterside continues to make progress.

[atlrvr]

I saw an add somewhere for Renwick/Enclave offering 1 month free rent....ouch. That's a "no no" in this market.

The Ledge....looking good from this side. Can't say the same for the McDowell frontage.

The Row.

[world44]

What happened to the Quad in the photos above?

Interesting, the Row above has almost been completed while the Ledge and the Quad aren't. And it's taken two years to build the Quad, the first building planned to originally be built. Now the builder will add an incentive for the Quad and Ledge owners who can refer to buy at the Row, the Ledge, and the Quad....and they said the Ledge and Quad were sold out and had "waiting lists". Anyone who owns at the Quad care to state their thoughts?

[atlrvr]

Nothing happened to it....I just was in a hurry, so I didn't walk around to the other side. It is comparably complete as The Ledge.

[Miesian Corners]

According to the newest Chancellor's Newsletter, we should be getting a rendering of UNC Charlotte's new uptown campus in the next two weeks. The article goes on to say that construction on the (150,000 sq ft, 15-story) tower is set to begin in November. Finally, some good news about no-man's land in First Ward.

[AuLukey]

According to the newest Chancellor's Newsletter, we should be getting a rendering of UNC Charlotte's new uptown campus in the next two weeks. The article goes on to say that construction on the (150,000 sq ft, 15-story) tower is set to begin in November. Finally, some good news about no-man's land in First Ward.

Hopefully this part of the project will get the ball rolling on the rest of First Ward. I'm really excited to see the direction UNC Charlotte is going to take with urban LEED design. If the design turns out well, I hope they mimic the design on the upcoming EPIC building as well as the many other announced LEED buildings on the main campus.

[tiblerbrit]

According to the newest Chancellor's Newsletter, we should be getting a rendering of UNC Charlotte's new uptown campus in the next two weeks. The article goes on to say that construction on the (150,000 sq ft, 15-story) tower is set to begin in November. Finally, some good news about no-man's land in First Ward.

Wait, did I miss something? This building isn't 15 stories is it? I thought it was 5-6.

[Guest]

Wait, did I miss something? This building isn't 15 stories is it? I thought it was 5-6.

No what MC said is correct it is going to be 15 stories, and from what I hear will be quite modern unlike UNCCs UC campus' idea of "good design." I just hope my sources are correct.

[ralliegrl]

yes your sources are correct on it being a modern building, however it's more in the 10-13 story range.