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Last week I went into 4th Ward for the first time in a long time, and I was absolutely floored: pedestrians everywhere!
Downtown CLT has changed greatly from the first time I had visited in 2007, when downtown was much more a "suitcase city" - (busy from 9AM-5PM, but largely dead outside of that timeframe.)
What can we expect from Downtown in the future, in terms of shopping and recreation? I am well familiar with all of the building that's going on; I am aware of plans to reinvent the main library, and I look forward to Brooklyn Village.
I know the City is taking initiatives in making Downtown a recreation destination; I would love to see a Barnes & Noble type store Downtown, along with sidewalk cafe's, local chains like Mast General Store, etc.
What would y'all like to see?
For anyone that hasn't been Downtown in awhile, the City has taken a 180 turn. It's both exciting and encouraging to see the City's initiatives at work .
Yes , it is!! I recall how it was when I was a teenager , with about 3 nightclubs. The Polk building on Trade was the unemployment office , and west of Graham , everything seemed barren. The construction of Gateway Village has increased the ^v of redevelopment that area of the city. Hopefully , this will continue to have a cumulative effect on other areas. Central has did a 360 as well , with at least 5 new apartment blocks under construction.
Yes , it is!! I recall how it was when I was a teenager , with about 3 nightclubs. The Polk building on Trade was the unemployment office , and west of Graham , everything seemed barren. The construction of Gateway Village has increased the ^v of redevelopment that area of the city. Hopefully , this will continue to have a cumulative effect on other areas. Central has did a 360 as well , with at least 5 new apartment blocks under construction.
Appreciate you sharing the history of our great City.
Forgive me for repeating myself, but my last visit left that much of an impression on me. I went at night, and witnessed an area aficionado giving a good sized group of people a neighborhood tour of 4th Ward.
A very positive experience overall. Moreover, there was a lot of bird activity in the neighborhood park, and I can't ever remember being in a Downtown area that is so hospitable to animal life.
Downtown CLT has changed greatly from the first time I had visited in 2007, when downtown was much more a "suitcase city" - (busy from 9AM-5PM, but largely dead outside of that timeframe.)
The first time I visited UT Charlotte at night was way back in 1981. I was a new student at UNCC and I went down there with a couple friends one night to check it out. But contrary to your experience, it wasn't completely dead at night. While the regular brick and mortar type businesses were all closed, there were a few ladies walking the streets who were very much open for business. They were shouting deals at us as we drove by.
The first time I visited UT Charlotte at night was way back in 1981. I was a new student at UNCC and I went down there with a couple friends one night to check it out. But contrary to your experience, it wasn't completely dead at night. While the regular brick and mortar type businesses were all closed, there were a few ladies walking the streets who were very much open for business. They were shouting deals at us as we drove by.
Your story made me chuckle, and I thank you for sharing it !
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I'm surprised that more people haven't participated on this thread, especially given the fact that this forum mainly serves to provide relocation assistance to perspective residents.
C'mon y'all ! I have been waiting for this moment; downtown Charlotte is becoming a City whose presence is all her own.
For while her footprint is small, it's growing distinct.
What suggestions do y'all have in making downtown Charlotte the City we wish her to be? I do remember a movement, a few years ago, that suggested building an artificial lake/significant water feature, downtown. I don't know if there's been any movement in this.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NDL
Your story made me chuckle, and I thank you for sharing it !
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I'm surprised that more people haven't participated on this thread, especially given the fact that this forum mainly serves to provide relocation assistance to perspective residents.
C'mon y'all ! I have been waiting for this moment; downtown Charlotte is becoming a City whose presence is all her own.
For while her footprint is small, it's growing distinct.
What suggestions do y'all have in making downtown Charlotte the City we wish her to be? I do remember a movement, a few years ago, that suggested building an artificial lake/significant water feature, downtown. I don't know if there's been any movement in this.
I think that the River District will check the box for water.
Your story made me chuckle, and I thank you for sharing it !
True story. If my memory serves, those "businesspersons" were working on North Tryon in the vicinity of the First Methodist Church.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NDL
What suggestions do y'all have in making downtown Charlotte the City we wish her to be? I do remember a movement, a few years ago, that suggested building an artificial lake/significant water feature, downtown. I don't know if there's been any movement in this.
Thank you for bringing this up. I was wondering what ever happened with that lagoon idea. That would have been wonderful. While the River District will be a wonderful asset for the public (and I hope it will be ensured as a truly public space, which would require the city own that land, or never permit it to be zone for anything else), the absence of a major water feature or major park in the downtown area leaves it sort of lacking, IMO.
Last week I went into 4th Ward for the first time in a long time, and I was absolutely floored: pedestrians everywhere!
I haven't participated in this thread because there really isn't anything to "discuss". Uptown is adding retail, offices, apartments, townhomes, hotels, and street-facing restaurants. To be honest, uptown is a very small world class city.
My question is how do we expand the uptown model into adjacent areas? Charlotte would be far more interesting if uptown were 20 sq/miles large instead of 2 sq/miles. Adding density to Plaza Midwood and Noda would do the trick. However, I'm already seeing complaints from people in those areas about how these "ugly apartments" are ruining the "character and feel" of those neighborhoods.
Also, I recently read about the complaints of Cherry residents over the 300ft height of a planned development (just outside of Cherry). "It's too tall" seems to be the popular opinion of angry Cherry residents (center city folks who actually have a suburban mentality).
There are also efforts to bring density and higher incomes into west side areas such as Washington/Lincoln Heights along Beatties Ford Rd. Guess what? Angry anti-gentrification campaigns are slowing down those efforts as well.
Those of us who are familiar with older established cities (and wish to see some of that from Charlotte) need to be very patient with Charlotte. She is NOT going to give up her sprawling comfort zone without a fight. I honestly see uptown as a curse and a blessing. Charlotte is fortunate to have such a dense, compact, and walkable downtown. On the other hand, there seems to be this Charlotte mentality that density ONLY belongs near uptown. That mentality is truly what's holding Charlotte back (ceding higher ed to other NC markets hurts as well).
As for uptown itself, the future is very bright. Folks in uptown have an urbanites' mentality. They walk everywhere, many do not own cars, they often use mass transit, and they're more concerned with location rather than square footage. To some extent, South End folks are the same way. I guess what I'm saying is that uptown's "next step" is to have neighboring areas of Charlotte with comparable density/walkability.
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