Sustainable Land Development Today - March 2008 - (Page 24) COLLABORATION The $125 Million Race Phase I of Piedmont Town Center turned into a race against time to meet contractual obligations. By James Williams In November of 2004, a joint venture plans for good projects by companies team composed of Crescent Resources with good track records. and Lincoln Harris, both of Charlotte, Then again, while mixed-use projects N.C., won the competition to develop a have proliferated across the country in new corporate headquarters building for recent years, mixed-use remains relaPiedmont Natural Gas Co. Inc. in the tively new to municipalities and someSouth Park area of the city. The 200,000 square foot building would anchor a $125 million mixeduse development called Piedmont Town Center. The joint venture retained the Charlotte office of LS3P Associates, Ltd. to design the project. Shelco, Inc., also of Charlotte, signed on as the general contractor, while Charlotte-based Cole Jenest & Stone completed the design/build team as land planner and civil engineer. Including the Piedmont headquarters, Piedmont Town Center will have more than 400,000 square feet of office space, structured parking for more than 2,000 cars, 100,000 square feet of retail, and 180 residential units, all on an 11-acre site. In the beginning, the schedule seemed tight but doable, even accounting for rezoning and permitting. The gas company wanted to move in within two years and even specified a move-in date, along with Expansive glassed areas and large balconies in the project’s other requirements in the lease. Two north face provide skyline views of uptown Charlotte. years to design and construct an office building seemed practical. But the start of construction would have to times raises unanticipated issues. At wait for the rest of the Town Center de- Piedmont Town Center, several issues velopment to be permitted. drew out the time it took to earn comNo Piedmont Town Center, no Pied- munity approval, to rezone the property, mont headquarters building. and to complete the permitting process. But everyone involved believed that Those problems eventually pressured the permitting schedule allowed ade- the contractor, who had to build the projquate time. After all, the city of Charlotte ect on a fast track. had traditionally been amenable to good To be sure, history suggested that difficulties might arise. The Piedmont Town 24 March 2008 Sustainable Land Development Today Center site was adjacent to neighborhoods of single-family homes built in the 1970s. In 2002, those neighborhoods had protested a request to rezone Southpark Mall to allow a necessary expansion of the region’s primary fashion shopping center. The neighbors didn’t like the idea of more dense development taking place in their backyards. The dispute eventually made its way to the North Carolina Supreme Court, which decided in favor of the mall. Making Friends with the Community The first of a series of public meetings to discuss the project with the community turned sour when community representatives objected to pieces of the project. Subsequently, officials from Lincoln Harris and Crescent contained the situation by demonstrating to the group that the consortium would work diligently with the community to address their concerns, large and small. The most serious objection was that the nature of a mixed-use development would create a conflict with the single family character of the surrounding neighborhood. There were less dramatic objections as well. For example, a group of residents living near a grove of old oak trees wanted to be assured that the trees would remain. In addition to the neighborhood’s concerns, wetlands on the site had to be preserved and the city wanted a stormwater retention facility to ensure against urban flooding — while protecting wetlands located on the site. Photo Credit: Gerin Choiniere Photography
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