CHARLOTTE — A vacant, 1970s-era office tower in Uptown earned a historic landmark designation after nearly an hour of discussion by Charlotte City Council.
Council voted 10-1 on Sept. 28 to approve the designation for 301 South Tryon, formerly called the Jefferson-First Union Tower and later Two Wells Fargo Center. Council member Renee Johnson, who represents District 4, cast the lone dissenting vote.
Chicago firms Riverside Investment & Development and Singerman Real Estate acquired the property at 301 S. Tryon St. for $36.5 million in April from Wells Fargo & Co. It sits on 3.4 acres bounded by South Tryon, South College and East Third streets and East Martin Luther King Boulevard.
301 South Tryon includes more than 800,000 square feet of office space across two adjoining buildings — a 30-story tower and an 11-story tower. It also has more than 30,000 square feet of retail space, a plaza fronting the larger tower, a building atrium and a 540-space parking structure. The historic designation includes the 30-story tower and 12-story atrium connector.
James Anderson, vice president at Riverside, said during the meeting that local tax credits associated with the historic landmark designation are essential to making the conversion financially feasible. The firms plan to apply for state and federal historic tax credits to offset the cost of the project.
“Our proposed redevelopment of 301 South Tryon will preserve a significant historic building while removing one of the largest office vacancies in the central business district,” Anderson said. “Just as importantly, we will transform the large public plaza and atrium into welcoming places with year-round activity.”
He added, “Together, these uses will bring more people to Uptown shops and restaurants, particularly during evenings and weekends, and add housing closer to jobs and transit.”
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