8-acre 'Stream Park' designed as 'soul' for Ballantyne
Plus: Newly reopened movie theaters might close again; How to get your liquor license taken away; Duke Energy merger proposal still alive?; Checking in at App State after Covid death
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Today’s Ledger is sponsored by Providence Day School. Providence Day School exists to inspire in its students a passion for learning, a commitment to personal integrity, and a sense of social responsibility. Virtual admissions open houses are Oct. 29 and Nov. 8.
Details emerge on huge park behind The Ballantyne hotel; envisioned to add vibrancy to south Charlotte suburbs
Developer Northwood Office has released details on a new 8-acre park designed to be the center of activity in Ballantyne. (Courtesy of Northwood Office)
by Tony Mecia
The owner of The Ballantyne hotel is planning an elaborate 8-acre “Stream Park” on the site of the 18th hole of the hotel’s golf course — an area designed to serve as the centerpiece of the recently approved Ballantyne Reimagined development.
Northwood Office, which owns the hotel and the Ballantyne Corporate Park, had previously said it was planning an amphitheater and plenty of open space that would bring new vibrancy to Ballantyne. It’s part of a development approved by the City Council in June that includes 2,000 apartments plus retail and office space.
But newly released details and renderings of the “Stream Park” show that the developer is planning much more than just some outdoor seating, walkways and grassy fields.
Features of the park could include an “event lawn, hammock area, beach, landform green, porch, flex play zone and food truck plaza,” according to an article written by Northwood’s spokeswoman in the current edition of Ballantyne magazine, a lifestyle publication that Northwood produces. Developers also envision having a dozen ticketed concerts per year at the 2,000-seat amphitheater, as well as family movie nights and cultural performances. The area will also be perfect for “social distancing yoga,” the article says.
Golf out, park in: The Stream Park will be on land currently used as part of the hotel’s golf course.
The soul of Ballantyne: The park and amphitheater will “instill a sense of ‘soul’ connecting people with meaningful moments,” the article says. Construction is expected to start in the spring of 2021, it says.
It quotes Rhett Crocker, CEO of land architecture firm LandDesign, as saying:
We wanted to create a place that can be a world-class park built on play for all ages. … Your experience should not always be the same — that is the magic. We wanted to create ‘that place’ where you are comfortable with your kids, hanging out with friends during lunch or in the evening, or passing through on a jog or bike ride.
Rock wall, climbing structures, bridges, bike paths: Rather than offer traditional playground equipment, the park will have structures on different levels that appeal to different age groups.
Northwood officials have declined several requests from The Ledger to discuss the project since the rezoning was approved in June. The Ballantyne magazine article and renderings provide the most detailed information yet about the park and amphitheater, which are the centerpieces of the larger development. The plan the City Council approved includes 2,000 apartments, 300 townhouses, 300,000 s.f. of retail and 400,000 s.f. of new office space in two phases.
The development is part of a trend throughout Charlotte in which areas known mostly for single-family housing and traditional shopping centers are laboring to create more of an integrated mix of higher-density housing, open space, entertainment options and retail. It’s seen as a way to enhance the quality of life of nearby residents, as well as a way to infuse energy and young people into areas to ensure their future. There are similar moves in SouthPark, Matthews, University City and elsewhere, though the Ballantyne project is unique because it’s being done mostly by a single developer that owns more than 450 acres.
What about traffic and schools? The magazine article provided no new information on the apartments or possible retail tenants, and it did not mention concerns from some Ballantyne residents that the project will create traffic congestion and overburden already crowded schools. On traffic, developers plan to add a network of roads that could help, the state plans to widen N.C. 521 to the South Carolina border, and the city has plans to extend the light rail line through Pineville into the development. On schools, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and another developer are working on a nearby project to build a new south Charlotte high school that could open in 2024, The Ledger has reported (🔒).
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With no Bond, local theaters might close again
Don’t get your hopes up for heading to the movies anytime soon.
New rules in North Carolina kicked in on Friday allowing theaters to reopen, but it looks as though major theater chains might keep their screens dark for several more months, if not longer.
Regal Cinemas, the country’s second-largest theater chain, is considering closing its theaters nationwide, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and Variety over the weekend. In Charlotte, Regal operates theaters at StoneCrest, the Arborteum, Phillips Place, Birkdale and the University City area.
Blame Bond: It’s a hard time for movie theaters. Customers are nervous about returning, even with capacity limits, and studios are reluctant to release new movies to empty screens. On Friday, the producers of the upcoming James Bond movie, “No Time to Die,” said they were shifting its release date from this November to April 2021. Theaters were counting on blockbusters to bring customers back.
AMC, which runs theaters at Park Terrace, Northlake Mall and Carolina Pavilion, said last week before the Bond delay that it plans to open its theaters in North Carolina between this Friday and Oct. 16, WBTV reported.
The movie app Fandango shows that Regal theaters were open this weekend and showing a mix of unheralded newer movies and older favorites. In addition to five 2020 releases, the lineup at the Regal Cinebarre Arboretum on Sunday included “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Bridesmaids,” “Jaws” and “Back to the Future.” —TM
Today’s supporting sponsors are T.R. Lawing Realty…
… and Count on Me CLT. To help save lives, jobs and businesses, please wear a mask, wait 6 feet apart and wash your hands often. Visit CountOnMeCLT.com for more information.
Here’s what you need to do to lose your N.C. liquor license
The N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission took rare action over the weekend and suspended the alcohol permits of a Charlotte bar in the University City area.
The commission took action Saturday after the bar, El Centenario Night Club, opened repeatedly despite government orders keeping bars closed, according to ABC records.
It’s rare for a business to have its permits suspended. Usually, after a violation, businesses pay a fine to avoid a suspension — as The Ledger has documented repeatedly in the last year or so.
Here’s the timeline of El Centenario, located at 5920 N. Tryon St.:
May 22: ALE agents find El Centenario open and serving alcohol “with no social distancing measures in place and no employees or patrons were seen wearing face coverings.” Received written warning.
July 26: CMPD finds 300 patrons in attendance and the club serving alcoholic drinks. CMPD issues citation.
July 30: ALE shows up to give notice of violation. The bar’s owner admits he had been open for several weekends in a row.
Sept. 5: A female ALE agent goes undercover, finds about 350 patrons inside dancing and drinking. “There were no social distancing requirements or any basic sanitation practices.” She wrote in her report that “I observed couples touching bodies and dancing in an intimate manner.” In addition, while in line at the bar, “an unmasked male stood within a foot of me and asked if he could buy me a drink,” she wrote. Bar keeps selling drinks after 11 p.m.
Sept. 27: CMPD responds to “a large fight involving thirty patrons” at 2 a.m., when the bar was still serving alcohol.
Oct. 3: N.C. ABC Commission suspends alcohol permits. The bar’s Facebook page contains an ad showing it’s “Latin Saturdays” and bills it as a “Save Our Bars Protest”:
Files say owner Kevin Galyon said he understood the warnings but that “he had several bills to pay and had to open.” He told WSOC’s Joe Bruno that he had utility bills coming due and no way to pay them.
You can read the full summary of charges against the bar on The Ledger’s supplemental website here.
—TM
Duke Energy stock surges as analysts say merger would make financial sense
Duke Energy’s stock surged 11% last week, erasing its losses for the year, as investors are apparently betting that some kind of merger might lie ahead for the Charlotte-based utility. (See stock prices, below.)
A report last week said that Florida-based NextEra Energy made an offer for Duke but that Duke turned it down. But it’s not necessarily the end of the matter.
Analysts who ran the numbers on a potential merger last week said it could make some sense — even if NextEra paid a big premium:
A Scotiabank analyst said a merger would be “accretive to NextEra’s 2022 EPS [earnings per share] by 15% to 20%,” according to Utility Dive — which is analyst-speak that means it would increase earnings.
A report by CreditSuisse found that a Duke-NextEra deal “would potentially result in significant accretion, even with a sizable acquisition premium,” which in plain English means it would be good for earnings even if NextEra had to pay a lot of money.
… And if NextEra has to pay a lot of money for a deal that’s financially positive, that could be a big boon for Duke shareholders — which explains why the stock surged last week. Public companies work for their shareholders, so wouldn’t Duke’s board have to take a close look at such an offer?
Because utilities are so closely regulated, a merger of this size would be tricky to pull off. Every state where the two companies operate would have to approve and agree that it’s good for consumers.
But there’s a lot at stake, potentially, for Charlotte. The way you save money in mergers is to eliminate duplicative jobs — like headquarters positions. And Charlotte has a lot of those. —TM
The scene at App State after Covid death
Is Appalachian State becoming North Carolina’s next Covid college hotspot?
Last week, student Chad Dorrill, 19, became one of the few college students to die of Covid — prompting questions about whether the university of 20,000 students in Boone is taking enough precautions.
After a day in the mountain town last week, The Ledger’s managing editor, Cristina Bolling, co-wrote a piece in the New York Times this morning examining the issue, headlined: “A Student Dies, and a Campus Gets Serious About Coronavirus”:
Mr. Dorrill’s death has shaken the rural Appalachian State campus in the Blue Ridge Mountains, sparking questions about whether the college is doing enough to keep its students and faculty safe. …
Cases at Appalachian State, part of North Carolina’s state university system, spiked sharply last week. On Thursday, the school canceled an upcoming football game and announced outbreaks in four residence halls, two fraternity houses, the volleyball team and the football program. The school’s dashboard shows more than 700 confirmed Covid-19 cases at the 20,000-student campus since early June. …
As students absorbed the latest blows from the pandemic, the campus was quiet on Friday, bereft of the usual student crowds shuffling in and out of academic buildings. Signs posted in flower beds and around buildings warned students to wear masks. Most seemed to be complying.
Emma Metzger, a senior and communications major, said the death was “a big wake-up call for a lot of people,” though many students “still only wear masks because they don’t want people to think badly of them in public.”
You can read Cristina’s full New York Times piece here. —TM
In brief:
Hotel-motel grant program: The city of Charlotte is starting a grant program this week to help owners of hotels and motels. The application is available Tuesday and the application period runs through Oct. 18. Foundation for the Carolinas is holding webinars on the application process today and Wednesday. More details here.
S.C. restaurants can fully reopen: S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster signed an order Friday allowing restaurants in the state to operate at 100% capacity. They had been at 50% capacity. (WBTV)
Vietnamese restaurant rescue: After receiving $60,000 from patrons in a Go Fund Me account, the first thing the owner of Lang Van did was give $1,000 each to her employees. (CharlotteFive)
No layoffs: As other banks lay off workers, BofA CEO Brian Moynihan says the Charlotte-based bank will stick by its no-layoffs pledge for 2020: “We’ve said no layoffs for this year and we’ll stick by that,” he said. (Bloomberg)
Taking stock
Unless you are a day trader, checking your stocks daily is unhealthy. So how about weekly? How local stocks of note fared last week (through Friday’s close), and year to date:
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Reporting intern: David Griffith