New 430 ft tower in Huntersville (Charlotte: to buy, construction, tax)

[XcapefromNJ]

I was reading about this new 430 ft tower in Huntersville, and thought something that big must be easy to find. It was.


ABB reaches major construction milestone with Huntersville cable factory tower

[SunnyKayak]

I never seen such a tower for that purpose. I wonder what they do inside the tower.

This is good for jobs for Huntersville they are hiring for lead production operator, production planner, process control engineer, design engineer, proposal engineer and supply chain manager.

[blueheronNC]

I'm just surprised that this eyesore was zoned, permitted, and allowed to go up in such a manner. Imagine what it'll look like in 10 years once mold, moss and acid rain go to work on it. It can be seen from miles around and is a prominent concrete fixture on the horizon even when viewed from uptown Charlotte. Basically looks like an oversized smokestack.

Couldn't they have come up with a better design? Maybe put some glass on the outside and some ornamentation on top to make it look more presentable? The shiny buildings in uptown are tall and take up space, but there's an aesthetic component that actually enhances the surroundings. As opposed to the dungeon-like concrete cigar rising from the forest.

Better yet, if they needed 430 feet of vertical space, couldn't something underground have worked?

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by blueheronNC

I'm just surprised that this eyesore was zoned, permitted, and allowed to go up in such a manner. Imagine what it'll look like in 10 years once mold, moss and acid rain go to work on it. It can be seen from miles around and is a prominent concrete fixture on the horizon even when viewed from uptown Charlotte. Basically looks like an oversized smokestack.

Couldn't they have come up with a better design? Maybe put some glass on the outside and some ornamentation on top to make it look more presentable? The shiny buildings in uptown are tall and take up space, but there's an aesthetic component that actually enhances the surroundings. As opposed to the dungeon-like concrete cigar rising from the forest.

Better yet, if they needed 430 feet of vertical space, couldn't something underground have worked?

Dig a hole 430 feet and- how wide??? - down into the ground? With the water table in that area????

[blueheronNC]

Originally Posted by anifani821

Dig a hole 430 feet and- how wide??? - down into the ground? With the water table in that area????

Well, I guess we won the siting for a reason. I imagine not many other places were willing to accept a 430-foot behemoth for only 100 jobs. At that rate, we could replace every sightline with concrete cigars and still not employ all of Charlotte.

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by blueheronNC

Well, I guess we won the siting for a reason. I imagine not many other places were willing to accept a 430-foot behemoth for only 100 jobs. At that rate, we could replace every sightline with concrete cigars and still not employ all of Charlotte.

Altho I can respect that you feel the tower is visually unappealing, I am having problems understanding what the big deal is, lol. It is a vertical structure that doesn't consume a huge footprint on the land . . . seems like the design is good use of "air space" . . . Why is it so awful having a structure like this on the horizon? It is utilitarian.

[blueheronNC]

Originally Posted by anifani821

Altho I can respect that you feel the tower is visually unappealing, I am having problems understanding what the big deal is, lol. It is a vertical structure that doesn't consume a huge footprint on the land . . . seems like the design is good use of "air space" . . . Why is it so awful having a structure like this on the horizon? It is utilitarian.

It's not just the tower. It's how govermental officials bent over backwards to win this project. It required a fly-by-night rewriting of the zoning code (which exists for a reason). The project only came because taxpayers sweetened the pot with a $2 million tax abatement for the company, a $2.15 million development grant, and a $6 million bridge across highway 115 for the sole purpose of serving this site. So we're talking $10.15 million in taxpayer money spent for 100 jobs, or over $100k/job. That's about as inefficient as Obama's stimulus.

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by blueheronNC

It's not just the tower. It's how govermental officials bent over backwards to win this project. It required a fly-by-night rewriting of the zoning code (which exists for a reason). The project only came because taxpayers sweetened the pot with a $2 million tax abatement for the company, a $2.15 million development grant, and a $6 million bridge across highway 115 for the sole purpose of serving this site. So we're talking $10.15 million in taxpayer money spent for 100 jobs, or over $100k/job. That's about as inefficient as Obama's stimulus.

Hee Hee Hee. Yeah, that is a lot of money to buy consensus to build something ugly.

[Whatsthenews]

Originally Posted by anifani821

Altho I can respect that you feel the tower is visually unappealing, I am having problems understanding what the big deal is, lol. It is a vertical structure that doesn't consume a huge footprint on the land . . . seems like the design is good use of "air space" . . . Why is it so awful having a structure like this on the horizon? It is utilitarian.

Same reason Duke say they won't build wind turbines?
Because they look ugly

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by Whatsthenews

Same reason Duke say they won't build wind turbines?
Because they look ugly

I wonder if back in the 16th C (or whenever it was) when they were erecting windmills in Holland, if folks were upset, saying . . . these horrible things are dotting the countryside and look like big beasts out there on the horizon - rather than - "How charming! Let's put these in our paintings!" lol