The 22 major development questions Charlotte faces in 2018

This was a banner year for development. Based on rezoning petitions alone, 2017 was the busiest year in the past decade. Projects ranging from townhomes to highrises, to the wholesale reimagining of Historic Mills, kept developers, construction workers, and interested citizens quite busy.

What happened this year is already behind us, but there are a ton of questions left to be answered. Here are 22 questions I have for developers, neighborhood leaders, and the city council as we head into 2018.

(1) Once Novel Stonewall Station, Uptown 550 on Stonewall, and Montage all finish, and Legacy Union and Tryon Place take shape, will Stonewall see a significant investment in the pedestrian infrastructure by the Department of Transportation and the city to make Stonewall the signature street it is becoming?

(2) What will phase two (and three and four) bring to Legacy Union? Will there be architecture variety in the complex, or will we get a beige PoMo Campus that could forever alter the uptown skyline? Will we get the large concentration of retail Uptown’s rapid growth has earned?

Rendering of the steps in front of the main entrance to Bank of America’s new tower at the Legacy Union development, on the former Observer site at Tryon and Stonewall streets.

(3) Optimist Park has a strong core of people who have lived in the neighborhood since it was redeveloped by Habitat for Humanity in the 1980s. What will the Blue Line Extension mean for these residents? Will gentrification greatly alter the nine or so blocks of single family houses in the area?

(4) What can NoDa, Villa Heights, Belmont, and Optimist Park do to increase connectivity? The impending influx of residents is bound to negatively affect traffic, a sticking note of Charlotte residents, how can this be remedied? Is the BLE enough to augment what will be a very real problem?

(6) NAI Southern Real Estate’s 20-floor Midtown office tower seems preprogrammed for a financial/accounting tenant. Who will be that tenant? Is the building being marketed to attract an anchor tenant? Is the neighborhood ready for high density development?

NAI Southern Real Estate’s 20-floor office tower design.

(7) Tryon Place has begun the process of updating and relocating utilities on site. When will we see it go vertical? Will it live up to the lofty expectations that we’ve been promised for the past three to four years?

(8) Will Crescent/Asana save 600 South College (Query Spivey McGee Building) or will another historic property be demolished in uptown? What’s next for Asana, Charlotte’s next real estate juggernaut?

(9) 1Brevard flopped for a number of reasons; price point and location amongst the most obvious reasons. There’s rumors of several condo concepts in the works, will Charlotte see its first successfully presold condo tower since before the recession?

(10) There is a real for-sale housing shortage. Some of the pre-recession apartment buildings, like Ashton, were built “condo ready.” Will 2018 see any conversions from apartment to condo?

(11) Will the new retail spaces debuting around Charlotte see success in leasing, or is retail dead? Should these projects succeed, will they lead to new vibrant local businesses started by creative and local entrepreneurs, or just more regional/national chains? Will the efforts of Edens at Atherton and Asana in the “Design District” result in the robust shopping district urban Charlotte is sorely lacking?

(12) Will breweries continue to shape Charlotte’s inner-city neighborhoods? These past two years saw breweries open outside of the traditional brewery districts, NoDa and South End. Where is the new frontier for Charlotte breweries?

(13) What is the next Charlotte neighborhood? Will its soul manage to survive gentrification?

(14) Daniel Levine mentioned that he is open to joint ventures to fully build out his land. How serious is he? Could the upsizing of his First Ward apartment project be a sign that he’s accepted some help, or is it a way to stall delivering something tangible uptown?

(15) South End has begun to show that it’s more than just an entertainment/residential district. With the construction of Dimensional Fund Advisors by Cousins Properties, the RailYard by Beacon beginning construction, and Spectrum hinting at a new office project, what does 2018 look like in the Class A/AA commercial sector for the neighborhood? Will South End see enough of a workforce increase that it will start to feel more like an extension of Uptown?

(16) Northwood Ravin has filed plans with the city for the redevelopment of the James K Polk Building in Fourth Ward. What will a redeveloped site look like? Will the Polk Building be saved and carefully/thoughtfully integrated, or will we see the building lost, and become a similar concept to Uptown 550?

(17) In addition to Polk, there are plans submitted to the city for a project by Dominion Realty Partners at 401 South Graham, a 35-floor office tower for Duke Energy, and Lennar’s “Market 42,” in First Ward. What will these high-rise buildings look like?

(18) Will the City Council and those involved with the Gold District have enough pull to control how the Gold District develops, or will development go uncontrolled? Will the planning department manage to influence the City Council enough to establish a new Unified Development Ordinance?

(19) If HQ2 is decided and Charlotte doesn’t make the cut, what does this mean for economic development in the region? Will this lead to an influx of new companies (maybe someone like Alliance Bernstein) to the region, now that they know it’s “safe” to go back in the water?”

(20) If HQ2 is decided and Charlotte makes the cut, what does this mean for the city from a gentrification, economic mobility, and real estate price perspective? Will Charlotte go from affordable to unaffordable practically over night?

(21) Will Charlotte see its first thousand room hotel announced? There are a number of likely locations (Duke Energy Data Center, newly acquired Duke property fronting College.) It’s likely a $100 million public subsidy will be needed. Will that fly with tax payers, who are reluctant to shell out for public interest projects (see arena, transit)?

(22) Most importantly, has “biege” run its course yet? Can we get some better design in 2018?

I invite city council members, developers, and neighborhood leaders to reach out to me in order to answers these questions in 2018.

Photos: Charlotte Observer, Ely Portillo, Beacon Partners, Hal Shute, Gensler

This story was originally published December 18, 2017 at 12:32 AM with the headline "The 22 major development questions Charlotte faces in 2018."