Commonwealth in Plaza-Midwood

The developers of the Commonwealth project in Plaza-Midwood have commissioned what they’re calling a “sizzle video” that showcases what life will be like there — and it’s unlike any rendering we’ve ever seen.

Hot rendering 🔥 alert: Developers have a new ‘sizzle video’ of the Plaza-Midwood Commonwealth project

The developers of the Commonwealth project in Plaza-Midwood have commissioned what they’re calling a “sizzle video” that showcases what life will be like there — and it’s unlike any rendering we’ve ever seen.

With a backdrop of upbeat music, the 2-minute, 19-second video blends footage of real people in actual existing neighborhood businesses — a woman shopping for a bracelet at Moxie Mercantile, and a family eating pizza at Emmy Squared — with real-looking animated renderings of people living their best lives: sunbathers relaxing by a rooftop pool that contains an inflatable pink squirrel, couples sharing an embrace on a lawn, folks enjoying drinks on a terrace overlooking uptown.

To be clear, those scenes don’t actually exist — yet. The development’s 383 apartments, 150,000 s.f. of office, and 100,000 s.f. of retail are under construction at the intersection of Central and Pecan avenues, on what was mostly a surface parking lot.

The video “provides an emotional attachment,” said Bobby Speir, senior vice president of mixed-use for Crosland Southeast. “Especially for those not in the real estate development world, if you go through 3D like that, you can put yourself in the middle of the project. You can visualize what’s there.”

He declined to disclose the cost of the video, other than to say: “They’re not cheap, especially for 2 minutes of the film.” It was made by Boston-based Neoscape, a marketing agency that has an office in the Plaza-Midwood area.

More sizzle: Speir says he foresees the use of more “sizzle videos” in Charlotte, as technology improves and developers look for new ways to engage potential tenants: “Not many projects in Charlotte have gone to this level to date, but I see that changing.”

Barry Fabyan of JLL, which is handling the office leasing for the project, said the video should be helpful.

“We are getting more and more, where you blur the lines and have to ask yourself if some things are there yet or not,” he said.

We should be able to compare the video to reality toward the end of 2023 when the first parts of the project are estimated to be completed. —TM