During the members’ only program, Chris Hemans, Brian Leary and Clay Grubb provided various perspectives on where Charlotte is with retail, future developments and potential opportunities.  Some of the discussions included:

• There is a need to grow retail in uptown – CCCP is offering pop-up events so local retailers can test the market for their product.
• Varying opinions were heard about the types of retail that can help drive more growth – restaurants attract customers, who then may linger to shop for other “soft goods”, but does Uptown have too many restaurants?
• Driving retail to street level will be difficult in the existing buildings due to the cost of implementing.
• New developments on North Tryon, South Tryon and Stonewall can help create clusters of retail.  New projects are being designed to activate ground floors and open to the street.
•  Incentives to small retailers are tough for the public sector as there is a sensitivity on spending tax payers dollars. But developers need to meet the lenders expectations for lease income.
• Deck parking and having to pay for parking is a challenge for those not familiar with the uptown area but can be overcome through education.
• The upfit or new construction permitting issues are problematic for restaurants and retailers in general…..but that is a city/county wide issue.