First Look at Charlotte’s Newest Uptown Office Tower

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First Look at Charlotte’s Newest Uptown Office Tower

A new flagship banking tower is coming to Uptown Charlotte, forever changing our skyline, and pushing our CBD (central business district) even further west.

F.N.B. Corp (parent of First National Bank), will be building their new flagship mid-rise at 401 South Graham Street, between the BB&T Ballpark and the Bank of America Stadium.

Architect Rule Joy Trammell & Rubio just released the final rendering of Charlotte’s newest Uptown office tower;

via Rule Joy Trammell & Rubio

The new tower will include over 160,000 square feet of Class A office space, 215 Luxury Class A residential apartment units, and street-level retail space anchored by the new flagship FNB branch.

When complete, FNB will occupy roughly 30,000 square feet of office space with additional options to expand to accommodate future growth.

“FNB’s continued growth puts us in an exciting position to participate in projects that contribute to economic expansion in the markets we serve,” said Vincent J. Delie, Jr., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of F.N.B. Corporation and First National Bank. “FNB Tower-Charlotte will provide our local teams with a centralized base to collaborate, share experiences and engage with the community, which enables us to even better serve our clients and the neighborhoods we call home.”

DRP Chairman and CEO Andy Andrews commented, “We look forward to delivering Charlotte’s newest tower in this extremely visible and marquee location.” FNB Tower-Charlotte will be DRP’s third recent large-scale project in the Charlotte market, and its second downtown high-rise tower development with FNB as the anchor tenant. “This location is surrounded by all of the growth and activity of Uptown Charlotte, and we look forward to enhancing the Charlotte skyline with this efficient and innovative high-rise development,” stated Beau McIntosh, DRP Managing Director.

FNB Tower-Charlotte is expected to be completed sometime in late 2020.

Over 45,000 Lined The Streets To Watch Charlotte’s Largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Steve
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Over 45,000 Lined The Streets To Watch Charlotte’s Largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Yesterday morning, thousands of people gathered in uptown to celebrate the 22nd annual Charlotte St. Patrick’s Day parade and Charlotte Goes Green festival.

The parade kicked off at 10am in the heart of Charlotte to the sound of pipes and the cheers of the spectators lining the streets on a perfect day. The combination of flags, floats, kids, and pipe band music made everyone smile and be Irish for a day.

Organizers now estimate that there were over 3,000 marchers and float participants, and more than 45,000 people lining the streets to watch the festivities.

Did you have a good St. Pattrick’s Day?

March 18-24 is National Safe Place Week

Charlotte Stories
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March 18-24 is National Safe Place Week

Last year 33 kids in the Charlotte community relied on the Safe Place program for help because they were homeless, had runaway, or were experiencing family conflict which put them in crisis.

As the managing Safe Place agency in this area, The Relatives partners with National Safe Place to create a safety net of local businesses, churches, schools, transportation services, and community locations willing to post Safe Place signs and identify themselves as places where youth in crisis can go for help. A child/teen in crisis can request help at any of the 653 Safe Place sites in our community and immediately be connected to The Relatives’ Youth Crisis Center, accessible 24/7.

This coming week (March 18th-24th) is ‘National Safe Place Week’. To help grow awareness seek out a Safe Place sign, take a selfie with it, then tag 5 friends and #TheRelatives.

Find out more about The Relatives and how you can get involved on their website here.

22nd Annual St Patrick’s Day Parade Marching Through Uptown Charlotte Today

Charlotte Stories
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22nd Annual St Patrick’s Day Parade Marching Through Uptown Charlotte Today

Cead Mile Failte! (100,000 welcomes)!

The 2018 Charlotte St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Charlotte Goes Green Festival invites our sponsors,  vendors, and you to participate in the Twenty-Second Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Charlotte Goes Green Festival, which will take place today, March 17, 2018.

Thousands of spectators watched Charlotte’s Twenty-First Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade as it marched through the heart of Charlotte to the sound of pipes and the cheers of the spectators lining the streets on a perfect day. The combination of flags, floats, kids, and pipe band music made everyone smile and be Irish for a day. The parade has grown to be one of Charlotte’s biggest and best.

The Twenty-Second Annual Parade promises to be another great one! The Charlotte Goes Green Festival was very well attended as capacity crowds enjoyed the beautiful afternoon weather as they listened to Irish music, watched performances by Irish dancers, played in the Celtic Kids Zone, had lots to eat and checked out the great Irish/Celtic vendors that attend the festival from around the U.S.

Parade: The Charlotte St. Patrick’s Day Parade is a non-profit event, open to the public. It is produced by the Charlotte St. Patrick’s Day Parade Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and will include pipe & drum bands, musical groups, neighborhood associations, schools, alumni groups, cheerleading and drill teams, international organizations, police, fire, elected officials, commercial businesses, and more.

The parade will step off at 11:00 A.M. at N. Tryon St. and 9th Street in uptown Charlotte. It then marches south to 3rd Street where it takes a left and marches down 3rd St. to Caldwell.

Here is the complete parade route;

Bi-Lo Confirmed It Will Close 9 Charlotte Area Stores As Part of Bankruptcy

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Bi-Lo Confirmed It Will Close 9 Charlotte Area Stores As Part of Bankruptcy

Parent company of Bi-Lo, Southeastern Grocers, has just announced that it will be closing 94 “underperforming stores” over the next several weeks as part of their bankruptcy restructuring.

“It is our goal to work through our financial restructuring as quickly and efficiently as possible, and we will emerge from this process likely within the next 90 days,” the statement notes.

The company will be shutting down 9 area Bi-Lo or Harveys stores in Charlotte, Concord, Gastonia, Pineville, Black Mountain, Lincolnton, and Morganton;

Click here to see the full list of stores that will be closing.

Bi-Lo, along with most other grocers, has been fighting with staying competitive in today’s world of discount food suppliers like Wal-Mart, Lidl, and Amazon Prime Pantry.

Where do you buy most of your groceries? 

Has this changed over the past few years?

Legendary Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart Signs With Giants

Steve
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Legendary Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart Signs With Giants

Legendary running back Jonathan Stewart has just been signed by the New York Giants, according to a press release by the team this week.

He will now be reuniting with our offensive coordinator Mike Shula and our former general manager Dave Gettleman in NY.

“I am very pleased that we were able to make Jonathan a New York Football Giant,” Gettleman commented in a statement. “He is a quality runner with power and speed and brings a veteran, professional presence to our locker room. He’s a terrific addition for us at this time.”

The cutting of Jonathan Stewart was an especially hard blow to Panther fans, as he not only had one of the best personalities on the team, and continually poured into our community, he also holds one of the highest numbers of records in franchise history, including;

Rush attempts: career (1,501), playoffs (90), rookie season (184)
Rush yards: career (7,318), playoffs (423), rookie season (836)
Yards per carry: playoff season (5.22 in 2014), rookie game (8.67, 2008-11-16 DET)
Rushing touchdowns: playoffs (5), playoff season (3 in 2015), playoff game (2, 2016-01-17 SEA)
Total touchdowns, playoff game (2; with 3 others)
All-purpose yards, rookie season (1,232)
100+ rushing yard games, playoffs (2)

Stewart was cut by the Panthers on March 2nd so they could free up their salary cap.

Yesterday afternoon, Stewart commented on the new move by tweeting, “Excited to get to the big 🍎 to continue my career as a New York Giant! All Glory to God!”

What do you think about Jonathan Stewart playing for the Giants?

Charlotte’s Light Rail Extension Officially Opening To The Public Today

Steve
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Charlotte’s Light Rail Extension Officially Opening To The Public Today

The new $1.1 billion LYNX Blue Line Extension (BLE) saw its official groundbreaking on July 23rd 2013 – now almost 5 years later, it’s finally opening to the public.

CATS (Charlotte Area Transit System) will take the first official ‘revenue service’ trip at 10am on March 16th.

The finished Blue Line (including the new extension) now spans the entire diameter of Charlotte, about 19 total miles from South Blvd. and 485 in the SouthWest to UNCC in the NorthEast.

The original line was 9.6 miles and the new extension will add an additional 9.3 miles to the total length.

The city recently released this high-speed video tour of the completed Blue Line Extension;

The new line will feature a total of 11 stations and 4 large park-and-ride structures with over 3,100 total parking spaces (2 of them are directly across from UNCC on Tryon St.). It’s expected to carry an average of 25,000 riders per day.

Are you excited about the new light rail extension? 

2 Charlotte Area Students Are Making National Headlines After School Walkout

Steve
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2 Charlotte Area Students Are Making National Headlines After School Walkout

This past Wednesday, over 2,545 schools across the nation, and at least a dozen schools around the Charlotte area participated in the national #Enough National School Workout.

The 17-minute walkout saught to remember the lives of the 17 people killed at Stoneman Douglas and press lawmakers to specifically support the following legislation items;
  • Banning Assault Weapons & High Capacity Magazines / S. 2095
  • Expanding Background Checks to All Gun Sales / S 2009
  • Passing Gun Violence Restraining Order Law / H.R. 2598 /  S. 1212
  • Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act / S.1856 / H.R. 1556

While a number of schools in Charlotte had organized walkouts with hundreds of students participating, some schools were less than enthusiastic about it.

One school just west of Charlotte, in the town of Belmont, is now making national headlines after two of its students decided to defy school administrators to make their voices heard.

via Erin Tracy-Blackwood

At 10am, 16-year-old Atraiyu Yeldell and his friend, Michael Humphries were the only two students to walk out of Belmont’s Stuart W. Cramer High School, even after being threatened with suspension.

“It was very quiet, and as I approached [the door to exit the school] I heard the administrators calling my name. One of the administrators even tried stepping in front of the door. I just had my mind set on doing what was right,” Yeldell told Vice News.

After walking around the school in 30 degree weather holding signs that read, “Can we live?” and “Save the students”, Yeldell and Humphries returned to the school to await their punishment.

Another North Carolina student, in the town of Wilson, also made national headlines for being the only student in his school to participate in the walkout.

BET tweeted the video that Justin made after walking out of school, which has now received over 110,000 views;

Using the power of social media and his moment in the spotlight, Justin also created a GoFundMe page to help raise money for his college tuition.

In less than 2 days, he’s already raised over $12,000

What do you think about Wednesday’s school walkout?

Duke Energy Giving North Carolinians $500,000 To Buy New Wood Stoves

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Duke Energy Giving North Carolinians $500,000 To Buy New Wood Stoves

Duke Energy just committed $500,000 to help North Carolina residents replace their high-emitting wood stoves with cleaner, more efficient models, in partnership with the American Lung Association.

“Over the past decade, Duke Energy has steadily improved air emissions from its power generation fleet, and we continue to focus on improving air quality in other ways in North Carolina,” said David Fountain, Duke Energy’s North Carolina president. “Replacing older, less efficient wood stoves with cleaner models is yet another way we can all help improve overall air quality and reduce our environmental impact.”

The program covers residents of Cherokee, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Mecklenburg and Swain counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Since 2010, the American Lung Association has successfully implemented a number of wood stove changeout programs across the country.

In addition to lowering particle pollution emissions, the program also supports local retail stove businesses that are working with the American Lung Association. Customers can contact participating retailers.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), wood smoke contains several harmful air pollutants and is made up of a mixture of gases and fine particles. The more efficiently you burn wood, the less smoke is created.

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that 11.6 million households in the United States burn wood as either a primary or supplemental source of heat. An EPA-certified wood stove uses up to one-third less firewood than an older, less efficient stove.

Homeowners who live in the project areas and own a non-EPA certified wood stove or qualified fireplace can apply for a voucher. Vouchers are available for:

  • Up to $750 for replacement of a non-EPA-certified wood stove or qualified fireplace with a new EPA-certified wood stove
  • Up to $1,500 for replacement of a non-EPA-certified wood stove or qualified fireplace with a new EPA-certified wood-pellet stove, ductless heat pump or new gas stove
  • Up to $4,000 for a single-story home or up to $4,500 for a two-story home for replacement of a non-EPA-certified wood stove with a new EPA-certified wood or wood-pellet stove, or ductless heat pump with a new heater rated gas stove, for an income-qualified homeowner
  • Up to $6,000, or up to $10,000 for income-qualified customers, for replacement of an older technology hydronic heater with a new EPA-certified wood pellet hydronic heater or other clean technology home heating device

Applications for the vouchers are available online.

In recent years, Duke Energy has focused on lowering air emission. Since 2005, the company’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have decreased by 30 percent, sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions have decreased by 94 percent and nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions have decreased by 70 percent. This is primarily due to the addition of pollution control equipment, decreased coal generation, increased natural gas generation and replacement of higher-emitting plants.

Funding for the changeout program was part of a 2015 Duke Energy settlement with the EPA and environmental groups.

NC Governor Roy Cooper Calls For Increased Gun Regulations Across The Board

Steve
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NC Governor Roy Cooper Calls For Increased Gun Regulations Across The Board

Exactly one month after the deadly shooting at a Florida high school, and the same day thousands of students across the country walked out of school in protest, NC Governor Roy Cooper released a new memo calling increased gun regulations across the board.

In the memo, the governor outlined four specific areas he will be working toward changing;

#1 Raising the age of assault weapons purchases

“Until the federal government takes action to discontinue the sale of assault weapons to civilians, North Carolina law should be updated to raise the legal age of sale of these weapons to age 21 and require anyone buying them — at a store, online, or at a gun show — to go through the same background check and permitting process as they would for a handgun.”

#2 Increased security on North Carolina background checks

“To ensure that we are doing our part to make background checks more effective, I’ve directed the State Bureau of Investigation to undertake a comprehensive inventory of the quality of information our state shares with the federal background check system.”

#3 Bump stock ban

“Right now, it appears as though the federal government is moving to ban so-called ‘bump stocks.’ If that effort falls through, we should take action in North Carolina to ban these devices, which turn semi-automatic guns into machine guns.”

#4 Addressing mental illness 

“Finally, it is clear that there needs to be better diagnosis and treatment of people with mental illness, especially those who might turn violent…We can also increase the number of school personnel who receive youth and adult mental health first aid training…”

Governor Cooper closed his memo by saying, “The steps I’ve outlined here are meaningful, common sense changes that we can make to better protect our children and our communities. We can’t wait for Washington to act this time. The safety and security of our kids are on the line, and I urge the General Assembly to join me in taking decisive action to do right by them.”

What are your thoughts on the plan?

 

 

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