5 Things to Know: Renderings Released for Morehead & Tryon Development
...and four more stories from March 6-11, 2022
Renderings Released for Morehead & Tryon Development
Developers with Riverside Investment & Development and Goettsch Partners held an unveiling Wednesday to give a name and discuss updates to the mixed-use development planned for the corner of East Morehead and South Tryon streets, where Midnight Diner currently sits.
The Queensbridge Collective will include a 42-story office building and two apartment towers planned at 38 and 30 stories. Construction is expected to begin on the site at the end of this year, with the first phase including the two largest towers scheduled for completion by spring 2025 and the second phase set for mid-2026.
The $750-million development will include a mix of commercial and residential uses, including retail, restaurants and potentially a hotel, as well as 2,000 above- and below-ground parking spots. No tenants have yet been announced as lessees.
The development will displace The Midnight Diner, which has plans to reopen on a 1-acre site near Spectrum Center; and Uptown Cabaret, which has not yet announced plans for relocation.
The development will lead to drastic changes in the northernmost part of South End, including road projects that include the widening of East Carson Boulevard, South Tryon and East Morehead streets, as well as the widening and realignment of Morehead Square Drive. Road changes will also include new bike lanes and pedestrian crossings.
According to developers at Wednesday’s unveiling, the Queensbridge Collective development was named for its potential to bridge Uptown to South End. An actual bridge, the Rail Trail Pedestrian Bridge, is scheduled to be completed nearby in 2025.
NC Supreme Court Ensures DV Protections for LGBTQ+
The N.C. Supreme Court on Friday affirmed a Court of Appeals decision establishing that people in same-sex dating relationships cannot be excluded from domestic violence protections. The opinion in M.E. v. T.J was issued after the defendant appealed the December 2020 Court of Appeals decision holding that it was unconstitutional to exclude LGBTQ+ couples from domestic violence protections.
North Carolina was the last state in the nation to deny certain domestic violence protections to those in same-sex dating relationships.
In a release following the ruling, M.E., a survivor of domestic violence who was denied a protective order simply because the person who was verbally and physically threatening to her also happened to be a woman, said she appreciated the N.C. Supreme Court for “being clear that no one who is a victim of domestic violence will be denied their right to have protection.”
“No matter where we come from or who we love, we should all be able to agree that everyone deserves to have protections from domestic violence,” she said.
M.E. was represented by the ACLU of North Carolina and attorney Amily McCool of the Scharff Law Firm.
“We appreciate the N.C. Supreme Court’s clarification that the Court of Appeals ruling stands undisturbed against meritless, merely technical attacks,” said Irena Como, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of North Carolina, in the release. “Our state constitution provides robust protections against sex-based discrimination, including discrimination arising from sexual orientation and gender identity. In holding that the administration of justice prohibits the elevation of form over function, especially in domestic violence proceedings involving people who have been traumatized, today’s decision ensures that the legal system should conform to the needs of people, not the other way around.”
Commissioners Closer to Finding Scarborough Replacement
At its meeting on Tuesday afternoon, the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners voted to narrow down the candidates to replace Ella Scarborough while she is on medical leave from the board.
Each commissioner was given a list of 18 candidates and told to vote for up to seven of them. Any candidate who received four or more votes moved onto the interview process, which four of them did: Beverly Earle, Mary T. McCray, Wilhelmenia I. Rembert, and Sam Spencer.
Commissioners are scheduled to begin interviewing the four nominated applicants on Saturday, March 12, beginning at 8 a.m. at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center in Room 267. Members of the public can access and view the meeting in-person, on the Government Channel, or online.
Atrium Health Breaks Ground on Radiation Facility
Atrium Health on Thursday broke ground on a state-of-the-art facility that will bring two advanced radiation therapies to children and adult patients with complex tumors. The $69-million facility will be the first site to offer these treatment options in the Charlotte area. It will be constructed on Atrium Health’s midtown campus and around the corner from the soon-to-be-built Wake Forest School of Medicine – Charlotte and “The Pearl” innovation district.
The two treatments are proton beam therapy, a form of highly precise radiation therapy; and gamma knife radiosurgery, a non-invasive treatment for brain lesions.
According to an Atrium release, proton beam therapy targets radiation precisely to the tumor, leaving the areas around it unharmed. It’s been used clinically for more than 60 years and has been proven to be safe, effective and to improve quality of life. It’s not widely available, however, due to the expertise, expense and space it requires.
Gamma knife radiosurgery is a unique technology that targets brain lesions that are difficult to treat through surgery or radiation due to their location. Like proton therapy, gamma knife radiosurgery delivers targeted radiation with extreme precision, leaving very few effects on the tissue around it. It is done entirely as an outpatient procedure and doesn’t require an incision or general anesthesia.
During construction of the facility, radiation oncologists will receive specialized training in proton beam therapy and gamma knife radiosurgery. In addition, Atrium Health will hire specialized physicists to join the staff in this work. The center is expected to open in 2023, with gamma knife radiosurgery beginning mid-year and proton beam therapy beginning later that year.
Search Continues for Shooters in Stray-Bullet Killing
Police are still searching for the people responsible for killing a man who police say fell victim to a stray bullet in southwest Charlotte early on the morning of Saturday, March 5.
According to a CMPD release, 49-year-old James Freiberg was killed in his home on Hillgrove Lane in Steele Creek at around 3 a.m. on March 5 after he was struck by a bullet from a shootout that took place outside of the home and didn’t involve him. According to a social media post from his wife, James woke up to the sounds of gunfire and ran to his young daughter’s room to ensure she was safe. That’s when he was struck by the stray bullet.
A warrant filed Friday stated police who responded to the scene had reason to believe multiple people involved in the shootout went into one apartment in the complex, and one person even tried to escape through a window of the apartment before going back inside. Investigators who filed the warrant believed suspects, witnesses, and/or evidence involving the killing is inside the apartment. It’s unclear at the time of this writing whether that warrant was approved or whether police have gained access to the apartment.
CMPD has released a few grainy photos of a suspect vehicle that fled the scene, which they believe is a dark gray or black Dodge Charger/Challenger with extensive front-end damage including a right front headlight out and possibly several bullet holes. The vehicle was seen heading on Highway 160 towards I-485. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 704-432-TIPS and speak directly to a Homicide Unit detective Jones, the lead detective assigned to the case. The public can also leave information anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.
Another man who was shot died in a Matthews hospital this week, though police believe the shooting took place in Charlotte. At around 3:30 p.m. on Monday, CMPD received a call from Matthews Police about a gunshot wound victim who had arrived at Novant Matthews Hospital. The victim, 24-year-old Juwan Hernandez, was pronounced dead by hospital staff just before 4 a.m. An investigation found that the shooting occurred at the Springfield Gardens Apartments in southeast Charlotte. Hernandez was the 11th murder victim in Charlotte this year.
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