Charlotte Construction Photos!

[RockHillJames]

I'll take a stab at that.

First off, I'm not sure that most mid-sized cities do have the same amount of development going on as Charlotte. There are 16 condo towers either under construction or proposed (and by that I mean serious proposals, there are at least 3 more that I don't count since the plans don't seem that solid). Among them are condo towers of 39, 42, 50, and 53 stories. Add to that two office towers (one at 750') and a Ritz Carlton hotel under construction and I'd say that's pretty active. That's not Miami numbers...but then again, what is?

Then again, I'm not really up on other cities construction projects, so who knows, maybe they are.

As for your questions:

1. I'd say the definition of downtown is changing. The Target/Home Depot site is in Midtown, is combined with a 15 story condo tower and is just outside of the 277 loop. I'd say that it counts as being downtown.

2. Nope. The land that the baseball stadium will sit on will be donated based on a very complicated land swap deal that gives Charlotte a park site that adjoins Tryon and allows the baseball team to build on the land previously slated for the park. The Knights are planning for a $35 million AAA stadium, financed by the team. The downside? It won't be built to allow for major league expansion. Since Charlotte is decades away from being able to support a major league team, that might not be a problem anyway.

3. Depends on what you mean by decent shopping. I think all destination retail will go to South Park. Nothing attracts retailers more than existing, successful retail and South Park has that in droves. With Neiman Marcus and Nordstroms in South Park, I don't see any big-time destination retail locating downtown anytime soon. There was talk of Saks entering the space now occupied by the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, but that's all it was, talk. I don't think Saks is in the expansion mode, but who knows? The best opportunity for downtown retail will be found in Midtown or 1st Ward, depending upon what Levine decides to do with his massive parcel. The master plan calls for a mixture of retail and residential on a very large scale. Tied in with the proximity to the light rail line and the Ritz Carlton, I could see retailers giving that site a very close look.

In the meantime I think we'll see smaller retailers filling in infill retail gaps. To be honest, that's not a bad thing.

I think it was ColDayMan who told me one time that you don't have a real downtown until there's a Payless Shoe store.

[Debauchalapolis]

Originally Posted by RockHillJames

I'll take a stab at that.

First off, I'm not sure that most mid-sized cities do have the same amount of development going on as Charlotte. There are 16 condo towers either under construction or proposed (and by that I mean serious proposals, there are at least 3 more that I don't count since the plans don't seem that solid).

Charlotte has plenty of activity going on right now, but the condo boom has been taking place in many cities for several years now. If anything, Charlotte is trying to catch up.

Originally Posted by RockHillJames

Add to that two office towers (one at 750') and a Ritz Carlton hotel under construction and I'd say that's pretty active. That's not Miami numbers...but then again, what is?

You're right Charlotte's numbers aren't Miami numbers and they are not anymore impressive than what's going on in Portland, San Diego, Denver, Minneapolis, Atlanta, etc...

Originally Posted by RockHillJames

I'd say the definition of downtown is changing. The Target/Home Depot site is in Midtown, is combined with a 15 story condo tower and is just outside of the 277 loop. I'd say that it counts as being downtown.

Well, I have to disagree with you. There is nothing uptown or downtown about that area. Even a Target/Home Depot and 15 story tower will change that.

Thanks for the explanation regarding the ballpark and your insight about the retail.

Have a great new year's and be safe!!

[RockHillJames]

I'd say pretty confidently that 18 towers going up in the space of 5 years is pretty good for any metro of 1.5 million or so.

My point isn't that other cities haven't done the same in the past, just that Charlotte is among the most active cities in the country right now.

I can see where you're coming from about the Target site, but with this development, coupled with what CPCC and Grubb are doing in Midtown will turn this area into another component of downtown. The transition is still about 10 years away from being complete, but the area around CPCC is incredibly more urban than it was just three years ago.

The real kicker will be whether or not the city can establish any pedistrian connectivity with downtown and midtown. The proposed streetcar line will help.

[boden]

Originally Posted by RockHillJames

Nope. We just keep building hoping one day someone will move here.

[Sulley]

Great shots of New Buffalo, NY!

[Style]

as of now there are a solid 9 towers that are under construction within the 277 loop. you could add three more to that number if you included towers that are about to start construction or are doing demo work on the site.

and thanks for the comments!

[JMininger]

Originally Posted by Debauchalapolis

Charlotte has plenty of activity going on right now, but the condo boom has been taking place in many cities for several years now. If anything, Charlotte is trying to catch up.



You're right Charlotte's numbers aren't Miami numbers and they are not anymore impressive than what's going on in Portland, San Diego, Denver, Minneapolis, Atlanta, etc...



Well, I have to disagree with you. There is nothing uptown or downtown about that area. Even a Target/Home Depot and 15 story tower will change that.

Thanks for the explanation regarding the ballpark and your insight about the retail.

Have a great new year's and be safe!!

Hold on now. Let's compare apples to apples here. Sure there are quite a few cities that have been experiencing a condo boom across the country. But these are typically cities that are in a completely different tier than Charlotte. Look at all the cities that you've mentioned .... Miami, Portland, San Diego, Denver, Minneapolis, Atlanta ... all of them have to be considered to be in a different tier than Charlotte based on size and regional impact. Now look at cities that are comparable in size to the Charlotte metro area ... Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Providence, Memphis, Columbus, Kansas City, Louisville, Jacksonville .... etc. These cities would kill for the type of development occurring in uptown Charlotte right now. There are even a few larger cities that would love to see that sort of development ... Cincinnati, Baltimore, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit .. etc. Even a top tier city like Dallas (where I lived for 8 years) which is still growing at a phenomenal rate would like to see that sort of development concentrated in its downtown.

What is impressive about the growth in Charlotte right now is that it is driven primarily by the private sector based on demand created by a growing local economy. In Indianapolis (my current home), which has avoided the decline experienced by most cold-weather cities, development in downtown is driven primarily from public projects with private development primarily taking place to capitalize on public projects ... for example, new hotels related to the new publicly funded football stadium and convention center expansion. I think what you are seeing in Charlotte right now is it's ascension into the next tier of cities. You can't compare it to Miami, which may be ascending into that first tier of international cities that includes New York, Chicago and L.A. However, in twenty to thirty years it may be fair to classify it in the same ranks as Denver, Portland or Minneapolis.