CHARLOTTE — Uptown Charlotte remains challenged by a two-years-and-counting pandemic, empty offices and small businesses scratching to stay alive as everyone tries to figure out what comes after COVID-19.
Despite those hurdles — which are shared by cities across the nation and the world — real estate development and related growth trends continue to show resiliency and momentum. This week brought news of a 31-story tower planned for West Carson Boulevard in a joint venture between Crescent Communities and Nuveen Real Estate. The project will include 560,000 square feet of office space and a 200-room hotel.
It will sit at the edge of uptown and South End, where seemingly everyone wants to be now.
Nearby is The Spectrum Cos.’ Vantage South End, consisting of two office towers encompassing a combined 600,000 square feet, a 200-room hotel, restaurants and more. One of the towers opened last year; the second will be ready this spring.
Last fall brought an announcement by Chicago-based Riverside Investment & Development Co. of plans for a three-tower, $750 million office and residential project at 1111 S. Tryon St. The site and scope of Riverside’s development will, along with a pedestrian bridge planned nearby, blur the lines between South End and uptown.
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Construction on the $11.5 million, 280-foot pedestrian bridge is expected to begin in the spring of 2023 and wrap up two years later. U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is the lead private donor, having given $1 million as part of a public-private funding model.
All those projects signal that Charlotte is, so far, overcoming the headwinds and uncertainty of Covid-19.
“In spite of really challenging macroeconomic trends and the uncharted waters of two years of pandemic, we’ve set a foundation for another strong decade,” Charlotte Center City Partners President and CEO Michael Smith told CBJ. “To me, that’s amazing.”
Center City Partners this week released its State of the Center City report, the nonprofit’s yearly summary of real estate development in uptown, South End and midtown. Those three contiguous areas are in line for $4 billion worth of new development as sales of existing buildings and towers have set multiple records since 2020.
According to the new report, the development pipeline will add 5.5 million square feet of office space, 437,000 square feet of retail, 750 hotel rooms and 5,600 apartments.
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