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The development that's taken place in Downtown CLT is simply incredible.
Charlotte has always been a beautiful city, but the new development(s) hold promise of making Downtown a "destination" (again).
There are, however, two questions I have about Downtown:
1) Packard Place. It is not a handsome building, nor do I know it as being historic. It sits on a prime piece of real estate...wondering if anyone knows the history of this property, along with the potential for the owner(s) to redevelop this parcel?
2) First Ward. While Fourth Ward is low in density, it's value is in it's history. There are parts of Charlotte that I love, and Fourth Ward is not one of them, but I see it's place in the Downtown district.
First Ward is another matter; it's homes are low density, but are not distinguished by history. What's the history of First Ward, and is there any plan to redevelop First Ward into a high density area?
I'm not sure on the specifics of each ward, but the plan for central Charlotte is clear. This plan is nothing new because it's what every other metro of 2.5 million-plus has done.
Higher density will continue to take over the city. Look at all of the newer developments in town. If it's affordable, it's probably multi-family or an extremely small lot size. This trend has turned a lot of people on to Charlotte; and it has turned a lot of people off. People who are interested in city living will love what Charlotte is evolving into. People who hate cities will not like the new emerging Charlotte.
In the long run, Charlotte simply can't continue to move forward doing the same things that got Charlotte to this point. In order to progress, the city must embrace new ideas and new concepts of what it wants to be as a city.
On the other hand, there are still many property owners here living on large low-density Old Charlotte real estate. IMO, the city is trying to compensate for this with large multi-story apartments to help balance things out. We're not a city like Boston and Philly with blocks of historic row houses. Historic Charlotte is country and suburban; neither of which are sustainable for a 21st century emerging city. As a result, the biggest (and often times the ugliest) mega-block structure with 300-plus units gets built on any and every block of available urban real estate. Something has to compensate for the tax base drain that many parts of low density Charlotte has created. This explains why Charlotte (of all places) has the tallest residential building between Atl and Philly.
As things begin to balance out, I do believe that Charlotte will build more village like density levels. This much is the plan for North Tryon between 1st and 4th wards. In 1st ward itself, there are already plans for a 30 story apartment building near the 9th street light rail stop. The Vue (51 floors) already stands in 4th ward with others such as Avenue and Trademark. 3rd ward is coming up fast and that's because there wasn't much there in the first place to stand in the way of new developments.
Developments tend to follow the paths of least resistance. That path usually means freeway access, mass transit, cheaper land, proximity to large employment centers, and no NIMBYs to stand in the way. Based on that alone, I'd say that the Optimist Park area (just north of I-277 along North Davidson) will be Charlotte's next South End.
Last edited by urbancharlotte; 01-22-2017 at 09:23 AM..
The development that's taken place in Downtown CLT is simply incredible.
Charlotte has always been a beautiful city, but the new development(s) hold promise of making Downtown a "destination" (again).
There are, however, two questions I have about Downtown:
1) Packard Place. It is not a handsome building, nor do I know it as being historic. It sits on a prime piece of real estate...wondering if anyone knows the history of this property, along with the potential for the owner(s) to redevelop this parcel?
2) First Ward. While Fourth Ward is low in density, it's value is in it's history. There are parts of Charlotte that I love, and Fourth Ward is not one of them, but I see it's place in the Downtown district.
First Ward is another matter; it's homes are low density, but are not distinguished by history. What's the history of First Ward, and is there any plan to redevelop First Ward into a high density area?
Yes, actually. There's a 30 floor apartment tower that will get started in winter 2017 and there's an entire vision plan for Levine First Ward and more exciting, North Tryon Vision Plan. Google those two things.
Also you can google Brooklyn Village for 2nd Ward.
Yes, actually. There's a 30 floor apartment tower that will get started in winter 2017 and there's an entire vision plan for Levine First Ward and more exciting, North Tryon Vision Plan. Google those two things.
Also you can google Brooklyn Village for 2nd Ward.
Thanks for the suggestions Brooklyn Village has a lot of promise...hope it doesn't disappoint.
Quote:
Originally Posted by urbancharlotte
As things begin to balance out, I do believe that Charlotte will build more village like density levels. This much is the plan for North Tryon between 1st and 4th wards. In 1st ward itself, there are already plans for a 30 story apartment building near the 9th street light rail stop. The Vue (51 floors) already stands in 4th ward with others such as Avenue and Trademark. 3rd ward is coming up fast and that's because there wasn't much there in the first place to stand in the way of new developments.
Developments tend to follow the paths of least resistance. That path usually means freeway access, mass transit, cheaper land, proximity to large employment centers, and no NIMBYs to stand in the way. Based on that alone, I'd say that the Optimist Park area (just north of I-277 along North Davidson) will be Charlotte's next South End.
Great post ...hopefully Charlotte will continue following a village model, with some unique branding along the way.
I also agree with the "unsustainability" of the traditional suburban model. Hopefully the River District will not follow the model Ballantyne put forth, and if we're really lucky, developers will build the River District around a East/West light rail.
In the meantime, I look forward to seeing Downtown CLT reconfigured in such a way that it becomes more of a destination, complete with unique branding that makes it distinct.
Noting Brooklyn, the main drag was quite quaint, but many of the side streets were dirt paved and rutted, the homes were resembling log cabins and shanties. I think what made people mad, and still makes people like myself mad to this day was the promise of "urban renewal" and what we got for many years was what could've been a cow pasture Uptown, with sparse development at the cost of many poor working class African American homes, much of which has been forgotten by average Charlottians today.
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Brooklyn Village has a lot of promise...hope it doesn't disappoint.
