Charlotte Development News

[ah59396]

The Federal DOT and NCDOT met in Charlotte this morning to announce that they will be funding 50% of the Blue Line Extension. This grant was necessary in order for the future construction of the 9.2 mile line.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/201...l-funding.html

Great news for Charlotte and a huge move in the right direction.

[urbanaturalist]

Originally Posted by ah59396

The Federal DOT and NCDOT met in Charlotte this morning to announce that they will be funding 50% of the Blue Line Extension. This grant was necessary in order for the future construction of the 9.2 mile line.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/201...l-funding.html

Great news for Charlotte and a huge move in the right direction.

So reading that article it said two more stations would have been added going towards I-485, with one of those being a Park-Ride after the current stop at UNC-Charlotte ("But there were no plans to restore them")....which of course is just to calm down the naysayers I think... its to bad they didn't add those two stations as it would have been good for commuters not wanting to drive all the way in downtown, and also there is a big amphitheather in that area, so folks could potentially take a train to see concerts... that's to bad.... but money for an extension is great news. Hopefully, they can RESTORE those stations at some point. I'm not in Charlotte, but I was checking out the route and noticed that on google maps....

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/201...extension.html

[Jeanf1990]

What is going on in Charlotte? ... Any news?

[EastOfTheCumberland]

Charlotte is so far ahead of us in Nashville, its embarrassing. All we really have going on now is a television show and some low rises. Nothing with any height.

[ah59396]

Someone else here may be able to give you a better recap with pictures and so forth, but as of now our largest projects that are U/C:

BB&T Field for AAA baseball in Uptown
Romare Bearden Park in Uptown
1.5mile Streetcar lines breaks ground next week
and beyond that a multitude of low/mid rise apartment projects

I did not make this map, but it give you a great idea of what exactly is going on. Most of the blue, especially along South Blvd is under construction and giving Charlotte some much needed urban density.

EDIT: Credit for this goes to Kermit over at UP

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid...022511,0.04416

[spencer114]

Originally Posted by EastOfTheCumberland

Charlotte is so far ahead of us in Nashville, its embarrassing. All we really have going on now is a television show and some low rises. Nothing with any height.

The shows good though and Nashville looks great on TV!

[rickydavisfan21]

Originally Posted by spencer114

The shows good though and Nashville looks great on TV!

Hey NOW Charlotte looks great in Homeland too! Although we are masquerading as DC...

Originally Posted by spencer114

The shows good though and Nashville looks great on TV!

Hey NOW Charlotte looks great in Homeland too! Although we are masquerading as DC...

Here is a little update on Charlotte Urban Residential Development

Uptown
Childress Klein 372 units 21 floors
Grubb Partners 250 units, 15 floors
Gateway West - 300 Units, 7 floors
Crescent Apartments - 250 units 15 floors
Fountains Uptown - 250 Units 7 floors
Levine Properties - 200 Units
Music Factory Apartments - 200 Units

1822 Units Total

Midtown
Lennar Properties - 255 units - 7 floors
Levine Properties - 140 units 12 floors
Morehead Properties -220 units 9 floors

615 Units

South End
Fountains: 208 units
Silos: 280
Colonial: 353
Junction 1504: 280
Camden Southline: 266 units
Cottages on Euclid: 19 (townhouses, probably not rental)
330 W Tremont: 164
Camden-West: 324
Park and Kingston: 153
Faison (Summit and Church): 200
1225 Church: 200
Cambridge Project (Simpson lighting): 200

Total 2647 new units

From what I hear there are at least 5 projects to be announced in the next couple months.

There are currently 2,055 residential units in SouthEnd. So in just 18 months there will be nearly 5,000 units built in SouthEnd. Amazing to me that when I was born just 27 years ago, SouthEnd was a slum full of porn shops and strip clubs.

Noda
Bloc90: 24 Units
Studio 6: 6 Units
Woodfield Noda: 250 Units
Yards at Noda: 330 Units
Meck Mills Redo: 120 Units
Gateway Apartments: 20 Units

Plaza Midwood
The Edison: 53 Units
The Nook: ? Units

Elizabeth
JBL Partners 350 Units

[spencer114]

I'll have to check out Homeland.
I mentioned a few months back that Charlotte was looking great on TV during the DNC. Looked good on South Park too

[CityTrip]

I lived in Charlotte from 1988 to 1992. I believe I went to some of those porn shops and strip clubs back then. The light rail line certainly had a huge impact on Southends revival.


There are currently 2,055 residential units in SouthEnd. So in just 18 months there will be nearly 5,000 units built in SouthEnd. Amazing to me that when I was born just 27 years ago, SouthEnd was a slum full of porn shops and strip clubs.

[CityTrip]

I was trying to reply to Rickydavisfans post by it didn't turn out right!

[EastOfTheCumberland]

Nashville is a nice city, but lacks so many amenities that Charlotte and Atlanta have.

[krazeeboi]

Originally Posted by EastOfTheCumberland

Nashville is a nice city, but lacks so many amenities that Charlotte and Atlanta have.

Atlanta is several times larger than Nashville, so that's not a fair comparison at all. As far as Charlotte goes, I think what Nashville might lack in amenities, it more than makes up for in built-in advantages that Charlotte lacks: the music culture, location along a river, robust higher-ed scene, etc. It probably has a more active downtown scene as well. Nashville has more going for it than you give it credit for.

[ah59396]

Originally Posted by krazeeboi

Atlanta is several times larger than Nashville, so that's not a fair comparison at all. As far as Charlotte goes, I think what Nashville might lack in amenities, it more than makes up for in built-in advantages that Charlotte lacks: the music culture, location along a river, robust higher-ed scene, etc. It probably has a more active downtown scene as well. Nashville has more going for it than you give it credit for.

As a Charlottean, I agree. We have to manufacture virtually everything we have out of nothing. Some will say that makes Charlotte soulless, I disagree, but it's a general perception. (I like to believe we are a city of people with a can-do, aspire to be great attitude, but anyways).

I envy the culture Nashville has though. I'd trade some of our shiny buildings for some Nashville street cred any day!

[EastOfTheCumberland]

Originally Posted by ah59396

As a Charlottean, I agree. We have to manufacture virtually everything we have out of nothing. Some will say that makes Charlotte soulless, I disagree, but it's a general perception. (I like to believe we are a city of people with a can-do, aspire to be great attitude, but anyways).

I envy the culture Nashville has though. I'd trade some of our shiny buildings for some Nashville street cred any day!

I would not envy Nashville at all. Your banking and business culture far exceeds Nashville. Outside of the Country Music shops and bars along Lower Broadway, there is nothing special about Nashville with the exception of Vanderbilt. I am ready to tell my partner its time to go back to ATL!

We moved for his job, but after these 6 months, I am ready to go back!

[spencer114]

You can't even begin to know the smallest of a small town in 6 months. I haven't been to Nashville. It may suck. But I've been to Atlanta and I can't imagine missing it.

Charlotte's "something out of nothing" is very impressive. I've always been envious of the can-do attitude of your civic leaders! Good job.

[ah59396]

Originally Posted by EastOfTheCumberland

I would not envy Nashville at all. Your banking and business culture far exceeds Nashville. Outside of the Country Music shops and bars along Lower Broadway, there is nothing special about Nashville with the exception of Vanderbilt. I am ready to tell my partner its time to go back to ATL!

We moved for his job, but after these 6 months, I am ready to go back!

I don't think you're giving Nashville a fair shake. Try to find the positives in where you live and search out the special gems. Every city has them. It's easy to point out reasons you don't like a place, but the fun of moving somewhere new is finding the places that give you a reason to keep coming around.

Nashville has some, at least give its year. I've been in Charlotte for 5 years and I still find something that surprises me once and a while!

[krazeeboi]

Originally Posted by EastOfTheCumberland

I would not envy Nashville at all. Your banking and business culture far exceeds Nashville. Outside of the Country Music shops and bars along Lower Broadway, there is nothing special about Nashville with the exception of Vanderbilt. I am ready to tell my partner its time to go back to ATL!

But that's the thing: banking and business has definitely been good for Charlotte without a doubt, but it hasn't done much to give Charlotte a unique sense of place--something that makes you want to visit the city to experience the essence and culture of the city itself instead of visiting just for a special event, to shop, visit relatives, etc. Downplay the music scene and higher ed (which goes beyond Vandy; there's also Meharry which gives Nashville two med schools and Charlotte doesn't even have one--at least not yet) in Nashville all you want, but it gives the city a sense of identity, something that Charlotte, in some respects, is still searching for. Also, the music culture and higher ed impact the culture of Nashville in ways practically every resident of the city can palpably feel in an immediate and direct fashion (patronizing the bars and clubs, attending campus lectures and cultural events, etc.), whereas when it comes to business and banking in Charlotte, that's only true for people who actually work in those industries. Nashville also appears to have preserved more of its historic urban stock and that's something Charlotte should have done also. And Nashville is no slouch when it comes to business either; as a matter of fact, the music industry and higher ed, along with healthcare and state government, play significant roles in Nashville's business culture. In terms of balancing business and culture, I think Nashville has the right mix while Charlotte's business profile largely overshadows its cultural profile. And I'm saying this as a former resident of Charlotte who's still rather fond of the city and prefers it over Nashville; I'm just able to see things as they are. So yes, in some respects Charlotte should be envious of Nashville--and vice versa.

We moved for his job, but after these 6 months, I am ready to go back!

You've not even been there long enough to give the city a chance.

[RobertWalpole]

Charlotte won't see a high rise office tower for many years.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by RobertWalpole

Charlotte won't see a high rise office tower for many years.

Thanks, Nostradamus.

[RobertWalpole]

Originally Posted by Dale

Thanks, Nostradamus.

You're welcome. Banks drove the Uptown office market. Banking everywhere is much weaker today than it was before the crash, and this is particularly true in Charlotte, which lost one of its two bank HQs. BofAs power center already is in NY, and its official HQ will be moved there within five years. Other than Chiquita, which got a great deal from a desperate landlord in the NASCAR "tower," most companies prefer to be in Ballantyne and other suburban locations.