Charlotte’s 2021 highlights — and lowlights — via ‘Charlotte Squawks’ (Part 1 of 2)
Plus: Bank branch planned for former funeral home site; A nonprofit that puts tools in other charities' hands; Tepper-affiliated company buys land near stadium; You're invited to be a Ledger sponsor
Good morning! Today is Monday, December 20, 2021. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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Today’s Charlotte Ledger is sponsored by Carroll Financial. Carroll Financial recently joined forces with Wealth Enhancement Group to offer even more financial planning and investment services to the Carolinas.
2021 in review, with musical parody: Uptown is empty. Work and school go virtual. And there’s a big sign on a bank tower.
There are a lot of things you can say about 2021, but one we can all agree on is … it was a year!
Now that year is almost over, so it’s time to look back.
We could compile a list or write some long, boring year-in-review article. Or we could link up with our good friends at “Charlotte Squawks” and revisit 2021 in all its forgettable glory with videos and laughs. (We’re choosing videos and laughs.)
Charlotte Squawks is an annual stage show poking fun at politics, pop culture and sports through satire and musical parodies. The show is co-produced by Blumenthal Performing Arts, Mike Collins of WFAE’s Charlotte Talks and local attorney Brian Kahn. After a year’s delay, it returned to the stage in August with “Charlotte Squawks 16: Going Viral!”
Brian was kind enough to share some of the videos from this year’s edition. Squawks had plenty of material to work with — LaMelo Ball, the Truist sign, family togetherness during pandemic lockdowns, empty uptown restaurants, unending real estate development … and much, much more.
We’re pleased to relive some of those in this newsletter over the next two days.
PART 1: Will we ever get out of this pandemic?
Do you remember the early days of 2021? No? You blocked them out of your memory? Yeah, so did we.
Covid cases were surging. Hospitals were at capacity. And schools were ordered closed. Kids were at home with online school, and parents were at home with online work. And all we wanted was some time — just a little time — alone.
“Alone” (Parody of Heart’s song)
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The pandemic also highlighted differences in the generations. (Did you see South End during Covid? It looked the same as South End before Covid.)
Squawks explored some of the tensions between jacket-and-tie-wearing, CSI-watching Baby Boomers and selfie-taking, avocado-toast eating Gen Z-ers and millennials:
“OK Boomer!” (Parody of the title song from “Oklahoma!”)
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The pandemic was rough on everyone, in different ways. And it was rough on pets, too, who were unaccustomed to having their humans around so much.
In an ad for “Save a Pet,” spokesman Joe Bruno implores us to consider helping our furry friends: “Every day, Charlotte pets are freaking out because you’re still at home. … They’re crying out for help because they need their own space back.”
“Save-a-Pet with Joe Bruno”
—
While the rest of Charlotte recovered from the depths of the pandemic, the center city has been the one area of town noticeably slower. Restaurants were empty or closed. Workers at the large banks and other big employers continued working from home, sapping uptown of much of its vitality.
But to those who ventured uptown, there was another big, noticeable change, too — the massive “TRUIST” sign atop what used to be called the Hearst Tower, now Truist Center — along with gaudy purple lights.
Who’s ready for some a cappella insights into Charlotte’s uptown?
“Uptown Mashup” (Parody of The Bellas’ mashup in “Pitch Perfect”)
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After months of working from home in near isolation, a lot of people in Charlotte had trouble adjusting back to pre-pandemic life — a time when people met in person, shook hands and didn’t leave the house in pajamas.
Squawks envisioned what it would look like if you had a doctor helping Charlotteans manage that transition back to normal life:
That’s it for Part 1!
COMING TOMORROW: In a special Tuesday edition of The Ledger, Squawks will help us examine some of the year’s other fascinating Charlotte stories — including the return of traffic congestion, the rise of a Charlotte Hornets superstar, the pace of development, the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit and the small matter of the expansion of the “men’s grill” at Myers Park Country Club.
We’ll see you in your inbox tomorrow at 8 a.m.
Until then: If you enjoy what you see, follow Charlotte Squawks on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@CltSquawks) — and check out next year’s show in June!
Today’s supporting sponsors are Payzer …
… and T.R. Lawing Realty:
New Chase Bank branch slated for the site of the former Harry & Bryant funeral home
Plans are underway to demolish the former Harry & Bryant Co. funeral home on Providence Road in Myers Park and build a new Chase Bank branch on the site.
Demolition is expected to begin next month, and construction should wrap up in the summer on the bank, which will include wealth management offices “to cater to the demographic profile in that area,” real estate investor/developer Brian Bucci told The Ledger on Sunday.
Bucci paid $3.97M in January 2021 for the 1.12 acre parcel, which sits on the dividing line between the high-dollar Eastover and Myers Park neighborhoods.
Bucci initially planned to build an office building on the site, but had to go through the rezoning process to get the proposed 40,000 s.f. building approved.
“While that was happening, Covid hit and the tenants who were interested in the office building disappeared,” Bucci said.
In the meantime, he kept leasing the building to the funeral home, which held its final funeral Dec. 12.
Construction plans call for two low country oak trees planted by the Bryant family patriarch to remain on the site, Bucci said, and for the positioning of the bank to “look like the bank has always been there.”
Founded uptown in 1883, Harry & Bryant was one of the oldest continuously operating business in Mecklenburg County. Property records indicate its stately white two-story building dates to 1926.
Prior to the Bryant family’s sale of the property earlier this year, Harry & Bryant had been part of the Service Corporation International national funeral home business for 35 years — the same company that owns McEwen Funeral Services in Charlotte. Harry & Bryant changed its name earlier this year to McEwen Funeral Service and Cremation at Myers Park as part of the consolidation.
Jeff Dimond, who was manager at Harry & Bryant for six years and employed there for 21 years, said the funeral home’s business is continuing with its sister firm, the McEwen Funeral Service-Pineville Chapel on Park Road near Atrium Health Pineville. —CB
Related Ledger article: Harry & Bryant funeral home, Charlotte’s oldest business, to relocate (March 6, 2020)
Nonprofit spotlight: The charity that equips other charities
This month, The Ledger is highlighting a few local charities doing good work in our community. The full list of Charlotte-area nonprofits recommended by our members can be found here.
Sometimes, nonprofit organizations need help and support from other nonprofits to serve their communities. That’s exactly what Charlotte ToolBank does.
Charlotte ToolBank is a nonprofit organization that serves other nonprofit and charitable organizations by providing them with access to tools and special event equipment for their projects. Since its founding in 2011, Charlotte ToolBank has provided $11.2M in tools and has equipped 331,000 volunteers.
“The ToolBank allows other organizations to be successful,” executive director Maureen Krueger said. “If someone is passionate about animals, and they want to make sure that animals are cared for in our community, the ToolBank is the one behind the scenes helping those organizations build kennels, build crates, raise money, have fundraisers.”
Charlotte ToolBank has provided over 237,000 tools to 750 organizations, including landscaping and construction tools and tents, tables and tablecloths for special events. It charges only 3% of the retail cost, so organizations can save money on the tools they need to serve the community. They primarily rely on individual donations, corporate grants and foundation grants to supply the tools.
“The coolest thing for me about the ToolBank is that we touch all mission focuses, so whatever someone’s passion is, we can serve that organization and help further that organization to help them grow,” Krueger said.
While it primarily serves Charlotte organizations, Krueger said any organization can register to become a member agency if they are willing to pick up the tools.
“The pandemic has really shown our member agencies a path to creativity,” Krueger said.
Right now, the Charlotte ToolBank staff is a team of two: Krueger and a special projects manager. Its board of directors consists of 15 members, and pre-pandemic, Charlotte ToolBank worked with over 700 volunteers to help prepare the tools for pick-up and provide maintenance. Currently, Krueger said they see about 200 in-person volunteers and are always welcoming more.
As they continue to grow, Charlotte ToolBank is looking for a bigger warehouse to expand its operations and help even more organizations in the area. —Lindsey Banks
Ledger sponsorships available for this newsletter — and for exciting spring 40 Over 40 celebration
Does your company want to reach Charlotte’s best-informed audience? We’ve got a couple opportunities your business might consider for the new year:
Newsletter sponsorships: See those banners above — Carroll Financial, Payzer, T.R. Lawing? Why not have your company’s message in one of those spots in a future newsletter?
40 Over 40 in-person celebration: We’re in the market for a select number of sponsors for a fun event in late April, in which we are honoring the 2022 recipients of our 40 Over 40 awards — people who are making big contributions to our city and happen to be aged 40+. We’ll also acknowledge our previous winners from 2020 and 2021. It’s an impressive group. (We’ll start taking nominations in January.)
For details on either of these, email brie@cltledger.com.
In brief:
Tepper uptown land purchase: A real estate holding company affiliated with Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper bought four parcels totaling 4.6 acres at 1040 W. Morehead Street, near Bank of America Stadium, for $15.5M last week, according to real estate records. Although nearby land owned by Charlotte Pipe & Foundry is considered to be the leading site for a future stadium, Tepper has said he envisions an “entertainment district” in the area as well.
Med school land purchase: A 4.538 acre parcel on Baxter Street, near the site of the planned Wake Forest Baptist School of Medicine, sold for $35.8M last week, according to real estate records. It was purchased by RR Assemblage, a Delaware real estate holding company.
Police shooting: (WSOC) Police shot and killed a man on Saturday night who they say forced his way into his ex-wife’s Ballantyne-area home and began stabbing her 13-year-old daughter. The girl was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and was in stable condition Sunday, officials said.
Crossword solution: Here are the answers to Saturday’s Charlotte Ledger crossword — the final of 5 planned crosswords we have rolled out on consecutive Saturdays in November and December. Check out all the puzzles and answers on our Crosswords page.
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; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project