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Mapping out big changes for Charlotte’s University City area

By Ashley Fahey

Darlene Heater Darlene Heater, executive director of University City Partners (MELISSA KEY)

By Ashley Fahey

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One of the most dramatic changes in a suburban submarket within the city of Charlotte is taking place in University City.

The area around UNC Charlotte has taken off, especially after the Lynx Blue Line extension opened in 2018, adding multiple transit stations in northeast Charlotte and a direct rail connection between the university’s main campus and uptown. Meanwhile, developers, investors and companies are making big strides with projects around North Tryon Street, J.W. Clay Boulevard, Innovation Park and University Research Park — just a few of the areas in University City seeing growth.

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For the first time in about a decade, new office construction is underway. Even older offices originally developed as build-to-suits for big companies decades ago are getting new life. Big-name companies like Principal Financial Group and United Rentals have signed on to expand or relocate within the submarket.

And that’s just been in the past couple of months.

To say all of this activity has kept Darlene Heater, executive director of University City Partners, busy is an understatement. The economic development group is finishing up a master plan for the area, expected to be complete in the spring, while Heater and her organization continue to advocate for infrastructure improvements, better connectivity throughout the area and park space to keep up with growth.

The Charlotte Business Journal recently spoke with Heater about the rapid changes going on in University City. Read that interview here.

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