Whither Wachovia?
The time of reckoning is coming soon for Roy Carroll II, who wants to turn on the lights in the city skyline's infamous Dark Tower, aka the old Wachovia Building.
Carroll will need city help to make this work. Does the City Council have the gumption, especially during an election year, and as it narrows the search for a new city manager to replace the hard-to-replace Ed Kitchen?
Carroll wants to put shops, offices and residences in the 16-story tower. The city could help with parking. So could Jefferson-Pilot, which owns the building.
If Kitchen only could have hung around a little longer, I believe he could have cajoled the council to step up. Now I'm not so sure. Sigh.
Comments (2)
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If Mr. Carroll needs council to ease up on zoning, restrictions, etc., he has my vote. I think a mixture of retail and residential would be great for that building. However, if this is another "my brains and your money proposition," then I say no way. I for one am getting tired of taking the risk but not sharing in the profits. There are plenty of banks and venture capitalists in the market place for Mr. Carroll to visit. And if they don't want to do the deal, that should tell the city something about how great the deal really is.
Posted on September 23, 2005 12:00 PM
I agree. That building needs to come back to life, and it can fill a need as a major, very attractive source of downtown housing.
Posted on September 23, 2005 6:23 PM