South Boulevard's Queen Park Cinema sign comes down

Several alert readers pointed out that the towering sign for the old Queen Park Cinema came down on Wednesday (see before and after photos below).

The huge sign, long a familiar landmark for South Boulevard commuters, first advertised the Queens Drive-In, which opened in 1962. After the drive-in closed, the tower was kept to advertise the Queen Park Cinema in the same location. The cinema was torn down in 2004 to make way for the Lynx light rail line.

The sign before

The sign after dismantling began Wednesday

The sign came down Wednesday as Pappas Properties moves forward with plans to create a transit-oriented office, retail and residential complex at the site, near Scaleybark Road. "It's always sad to see a familiar landmark, or icon, go away," said Rodney Gardner, the Charlotte resident who noticed the sign's dismantling Wednesday and snapped the photos.

He and others on social media were wondering what the developers of the site plan to do with the sign. Peter Pappas said the sign's massive size and the high cost of refurbishing it made it a challenge to incorporate into the new plans. "Our design team spent a lot of time and effort trying to come up with a way to incorporate it," he said. "We just couldn't figure out a way."

D.H. Griffin Construction Co. has the sign now, he said, adding that he is unsure what the contractor plans to do with it. The construction company couldn't be reached Wednesday evening.

New office, retail complex planned along South Boulevard

When you think about the development boom in the South End these days, the first thing you typically think of are the apartment complexes sprouting like mushrooms along the South Boulevard corridor. But commercial real estate firm CBRE and development firm Pappas Properties are hoping to add a substantial new office park to the mix. CBRE has just begun marketing a new mixed-use development planned for South Boulevard, near the Scaleybark light rail stop, according to Anne Vulcano, a senior vice president at the firm.

Billed in marketing materials as "Charlotte's next great TOD (transit-oriented development)," it would bring more than 487,000 square feet of office space spread across three six-story buildings located at South Boulevard, near Scaleybark Road. It would also include an unspecified amount of retail. CBRE is marketing the office space, while Pappas is handling the retail. "This is a fantastic location for the new 'urban' office tenant," Vulcano told me in an email. "Hop the light rail to amenities and the CBD (central business district). Drive to SouthPark if that is your flavor. The best of both worlds."

Developer Peter Pappas honored as SouthPark Citizen of the Year

Noted Charlotte real estate developer Peter A. Pappas, whose body of work includes some of Charlotte's best-known mixed-use real estate projects, was honored today by the Charlotte Chamber's SouthPark chapter as its 2014 SouthPark Citizen of the Year.

Pappas, founder and president of Pappas Properties, received the award during a luncheon at Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant in SouthPark Mall. Among those present to congratulate him were businessmen Nelson Schwab and Johnny Harris, former Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones and Charlotte Deputy City Manager Ron Kimble.

Peter A. Pappas

Chamber President Bob Morgan introduced Pappas by noting his role in helping develop signature high-end projects such as the Metropolitan, Birkdale Village, Phillips Place, the Berewick subdivision in southwest Charlotte and the Sharon Square neighborhood in SouthPark.

"Anything we do, we want it to be an asset to the community," said Pappas, who is also CEO of Terwilliger Pappas, a firm he formed with Ron Terwilliger last year to develop multifamily properties. "We want to be able to look back on it and say, 'This has added value.'"

Pappas joined Morgan for a question-and-answer session in which the developer talked about the evolution of SouthPark and trends in the real estate development industry. Asked by Morgan whether he sees any lessons to learned for SouthPark in the demise of Eastland Mall, Pappas said areas shouldn't be taken for granted just because they're successful.

"That doesn't mean we should quit investing in that area," he said.

After the luncheon, Schwab called Pappas "one of the most hard-working guys you'll ever meet." He added: I think by sheer hard work, grit and determination he gets things done that otherwise wouldn't get done. I think we're the beneficiary as a community of some great projects."

Pappas said he is honored to join Tim Belk of Belk Department Stores, Allen Tate of the Allen Tate realty firm, Piedmont Natural Gas CEO Thomas Skains and real estate developer Johnny Harris as recipients of the award.

"I'm truly flattered to be a part of that group," he said.