Local

Master developer sought for Gateway Station, mixed-use district in uptown Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte Area Transit System and N.C. Department of Transportation have formally invited developers to submit qualifications to build a multimodal transit hub and ancillary mixed-use development in uptown Charlotte.

[ALSO READ: Mixed-use development proposed for southwest Charlotte]

Gateway Station is a long-planned transit facility that will combine Amtrak trains, buses, the streetcar and future light-rail service into one centralized location. CATS broke ground last summer on the infrastructure portion, which includes 2,000 feet of rail track, signals, five new bridges and a boarding platform. That work is targeted for completion in 2022, said John Lewis, the CEO of CATS.

Still left to be built is the actual station. Lewis has said numerous times, and reiterated last week, that the transit agency wants to work with a private developer in a public-private partnership to build not just a station but also supportive development nearby to maximize the potential of the site, which straddles Third and Fourth wards on the west side of uptown.

“We’re looking for an iconic, mixed-use, transit-oriented development that has not just Amtrak but local bus, intercity bus, light rail, et cetera mixed in with a pretty robust vertical development that can be anything from hotel to retail to office space to residential,” Lewis said.

The request for qualifications, released Friday afternoon, seeks the construction of a 12,000-square-foot local and express bus facility, a 27,000-square-foot Amtrak station, “aesthetic enhancements” such as lighting under the new bridges, at least 40 affordable-housing units, and a multi-use path that provides north-south connectivity across the site and integrates retail space.

Read more about the project and what's in the RFQ here.