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Mar. 04, 2005
Uptown living at its highest
53-story residential tower planned
at Trade & College
DOUG SMITH
The owner of
Charlotte
's old convention center plans to demolish the 32-year-old uptown building
and replace it with a 53-story residential tower and retail/entertainment
center.
Afshin Ghazi, president of The
Ghazi
Co.
, expects to implode the 200,000-square-foot building at Trade and College
streets in about 45 days.
For
Charlotte
leaders, this appears to be the final chapter in a 10-year saga to
reinvigorate a pivotal center city corner.
Two attempts to infuse the site
with upscale department stores, hotels and office towers ended in
frustration when national developers trying to buy the land from the city
failed to deliver.
The old building has been vacant
since the new
Charlotte
Convention Center
opened in 1995 at Stonewall and College streets.
The new high-rise -- the tallest
of five announced uptown over the past 10 months -- is to share the
3.2-acre site with four other buildings in Ghazi's 265,000-square-foot
EpiCentre.
The complex is to include a
10-screen movie theater, restaurants, bars, shops and offices.
The site is a block east of The
Square, across Trade from the NBA arena and near a trolley and light-rail
stop.
Flaherty & Collins Properties
of Indianapolis will develop the residential high-rise with
floor-to-ceiling windows, a swimming pool, a garden terrace, secured
parking and other amenities in a joint venture with The Ghazi
Co.
"
Charlotte
is definitely a dynamic market that is taking off," said Anthony
Birkla, vice president of development at Flaherty & Collins. "Our
central uptown location ... is going to put our development in the center
of the action and make it a very exciting place to live."
Birkla expects to start
construction in April and deliver the first of 400 one-bedroom,
two-bedroom and two-story penthouse units by late 2006.
The building would have more
floors than the 46-story
Hearst
Tower
, uptown's second tallest, but Birkla said it's too early to determine how
high it will be in feet. Residential floors typically are shorter than
office floors.
Also undetermined, he said, is
whether the estimated $130 million project will be condos or apartments.
Developers have disclosed plans in
recent months for more than 1,500 uptown residential units, including new
projects and conversion of a 13-story office building to condos.
About 10,000 people live in the
center city -- up from about 5,500 in the mid-1990s -- and urban planners
expect that number to double by the end of the decade.
With the arena, due to open this
fall, and more dining and entertainment amenities on the horizon, real
estate experts say
Charlotte
's skyline could be shaped through the remainder of this decade by
residential towers rather than office skyscrapers.
David Furman of Boulevard Centro,
which has announced three projects recently, earlier said he believes
demand is strong enough to support the new developments in the pipeline.
He said industry experts on the
resurgent popularity of urban living believe the lifestyle typically
appeals to 1 percent to 2 percent of the population.
That means in
Charlotte
-- which has a metro area population of about 1.5 million -- the pool of
buyers could range from 15,000 to 20,000, he said.
The Ghazi Co. bought the old
convention center building and land late last year for $14.5 million plus
an undisclosed amount for confidential buyout agreements.
Ghazi indicated at the time that
he was re-evaluating the original plan to convert the structure to a
retail/entertainment center.
Tom Flynn, city economic
development director, said officials were aware of Ghazi's plans to expand
the project to include a residential tower.
"We think it adds to the
feasibility of the project -- having that other component," he said.
"We had always encouraged the developers to make it more of a
mixed-use project."
The EpiCentre project is in line
to receive $3.2 million from the city and $3.2 million from the county if
the developers complete it as promised.
The nine lower floors of the
residential tower will house four levels of parking and five levels of
offices and stores.
Ghazi said the entire project is
expected to exceed 1 million square feet in five buildings. The
retail/entertainment portion is valued at about $90 million.
Ghazi is working with
Charlotte
's Consolidated Theatres to operate the cinema, which would have beer and
wine service and include premium seating. Also in the plan: a "
European Street
" of small cafes, pubs and sidewalk dining and a rooftop plaza for
special events.
The EpiCentre will connect to the
Overstreet Mall network of office buildings and shops.
Ghazi said tenants have committed
to about 160,000 square feet of the retail/restaurant space. He expects
the first shops to open in early 2006. The theater would open in late
2006.
Ghazi's partners in the
retail/entertainment portion are George Cornelson of The Cornelson
Co.
and Shawn Wilfong, one of the associates in Ghazi's company.
Ghazi is working with DMR
Architecture, R.J. Griffin Construction Co., and D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co.
Andy Cox of Cox & Schepp Construction is his construction manager.
Flaherty & Collins, which has
60 properties in six states and five under construction, is one of the
largest multifamily developers in the
Midwest
. Gromatzky Dupree & Associates of
Dallas
is designing its tower. Officials are still determining how to handle
construction.
Ghazi hasn't set a specific date
for demolition of the old convention center. But the Charlotte Area
Transit System issued a notice Thursday that the implosion would occur at
6 a.m. on a Sunday. Spokeswoman Jean Leier said the bus transportation
center -- next to the site -- will temporarily relocate to Marshall Park
during the demolition.
Doug Smith
Posted on Fri, Mar. 04, 2005
Uptown
Towers
| List of the highest
Bank
of America Corporate Center
• 60 stories
• Trade and Tryon streets
Hearst
Tower
• 46 stories
•
North Tryon
between Fifth and Sixth streets
One
Wachovia Center
• 42 stories
• College and Second streets
Bank
of America Plaza
• 40 stories
• Trade and Tryon streets
Posted on Fri, Mar. 04, 2005
Uptown residential towers
These
projects are planned or under way:
1. Epicentre
WHERE: Trade and College
streets.
SIZE: 53 stories.
PRICE: Not yet set.
COMPLETION: Late 2006.
2. Avenue
WHERE:
North
Church
and West Fifth streets.
SIZE: 36 stories, 386 units.
PRICE: $170,000s to $320,000s.
COMPLETION: Early 2007.
3. Trademark
WHERE: West Trade and Mint
streets.
SIZE: 28 stories, 162 units.
PRICE: $198,000 to $625,000.
COMPLETION: Late 2006.
4. The Park
WHERE: Third and
Caldwell
streets.
SIZE: 21 stories, 107 units.
PRICE: $156,850 to
$700,000-plus.
COMPLETION: Undetermined.
5. Courtside
WHERE: Sixth and
Caldwell
streets.
SIZE: 17 stories, 107 units.
PRICE: Low $150,000s to
$600,000-plus.
COMPLETION: Late 2005.
6. 230 South Tryon
WHERE: Tryon and Third streets.
SIZE: 13 stories, 110 units,
converted from office building.
PRICE: $150,000 to $1.5
million.
COMPLETION: Summer 2006.
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