CRANES, STEEL BEAMS AND HARD HATS TO MAKE WAY FOR OFFICES, HOTELS,
CONDOS AND A NASCAR HALL OF FAME
Uptown undergoing a dramatic face-lift
Visitors, developers impressed with center city's 30-plus projects
proposed or under way, official says
DOUG SMITH
The thousands of visitors who pour into uptown for the
Carolinas' Carrousel Parade on Thanksgiving Day might not recognize their
old landmarks.
But they will see construction cranes and steel beams.
The changing face of uptown is one of this year's Next Big Things in
Charlotte.
Commercial and residential projects are planned or under way in a
building boom Charlotte Center City Partners says has exceeded $3.6
billion in investment over the past two years.
Out-of-town developers view the center city's pedestrian accessibility
and compactness inside the Interstate 277 loop as the perfect pallet for a
diverse mix of housing and entertainment.
Condo owners are now residing at Courtside, the first high-rise
residential project completed among a flurry of 14 proposed, announced or
started over the past three years.
The recent development surge also includes office buildings, arts
facilities, hotels and the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Visitors are impressed, said Tim Newman, chief executive officer of the
Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.
Meeting planners who spent time in Charlotte recently "were amazed
by all of the amenities within walking distance and particularly by the
things under construction," he said.
For a closer look at the activity, we took a spin around the center
city, shot aerial photos and compared our findings with the Observer's
archive of stories.
The accompanying map pinpoints 33 projects inside the loop or just
barely outside it.
There likely are more. Not all developers share details with the
public. And some projects in the formative stages are still too
speculative.
DEVELOPMENT
1 The Citadin condos
JLT Partners plans 427 units in two 25-story towers and two 11-story
buildings. The first building will have 89 units. Demolition of an old
apartment building will be the initial step late this year or early next
year.
2 The Vue condos
Churchill Development Group plans to start work in the first quarter of
2007 and complete construction in 2009. The 50-story tower will have 403
units.
3 TradeMark condos
Boulevard Centro has begun construction of 202 units in a 28-story
tower on West Trade Street. Owners are to start moving in by summer 2007.
4 Avenue condos
Novare Group's 36-story tower will have 386 units. Construction is
under way. Workers have completed the 20th floor and expect to reach the
top by spring.
5 230 South Tryon condos
110 units, 13 stories. Spectrum Properties has nearly finished
converting a 13-story office building to 110 condos. Owners are moving in
and construction is to be completed early next year. An adjoining Ruth's
Chris Steak House is to open in late January.
6 EpiCentre entertainment center and condos
The Ghazi Co. is developing a 267,000-square-foot entertainment complex
with offices and a hotel. Flaherty & Collins is developing the
428-unit, 50-story condo tower called 210 Trade as part of the project.
Both are under way. The entertainment center is to open in the spring. The
condo tower is to be finished in spring 2008.
7 The Park Condominiums
Construction has begun on a 21-story, 107-unit project. Developer Pete
Verna says the first condos will be available in fall 2007.
8 Courtside condos
Boulevard Centro recently completed construction of the 17-story,
106-unit project, and owners are occupying units.
9 TWELVE condos and hotel
Novare Group plans 400 condos and 140 hotel suites in a 33- to 35
--story building. Construction is to start in early 2007 and be completed
by early 2009.
10 The Tower condos
The owners of the Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Hotels are developing
26 units in a 15-story project between the two hotels on Second Street.
Construction is under way. Buyers will be able to customize luxury units
starting in spring 2007.
11 Boulevard Centro tower
In the conceptual stage. The developer is evaluating a 28- to 30-story
residential tower next to Charlotte Bobcats Arena.
12 Carolina Theatre condos
In the planning stage, this project proposes 25 condos floors atop
seven parking levels. Camden Management Partners wants to start work by
early 2007.
13 Wachovia Corp. South Tryon project
This block-wide development at Tryon and Stonewall streets features a
48-story office tower and a 30- to 35-story condo tower to be completed in
late 2009. Also included: two museums, a performing arts theater, Wake
Forest University's business school and the Afro-American Cultural Center
directly across Tryon.
14 Trinity Capital Advisors Apartments
Developers are considering a seven- to 20-story building, about 400
units, on the Polk Building site at 500 W. Trade St. Details are being
determined.
15 Beazer Homes development
This is a 400-unit residential/retail project planned on 20 acres
across West Morehead Street from Bank of America Stadium. The site
includes the Coffee Cup restaurant, whose future is still being
determined. Construction likely will start early next year.
16 Skybridge Terrace condos
Skybridge Terrace LLC plans a 144-unit condo project along Calvert
Street off the 1200 block of West Morehead. Construction of the first
building is to start in early 2007.
17 Warehouse 3 and Skybox
Citiline Resortline Cos. has started construction of
commercial/residential condos in Third Ward. The project includes a
converted warehouse, a four-story building and three-story residential
townhomes.
18 Uptown Village
Ark Group is converting a former textile mill complex in the northwest
corner of Fourth Ward into a "stroll district" of outdoor
stages, restaurants, courtyards, nightclubs and a recording studio. The
centerpiece is the N.C. Music Factory, which focuses on entertainment,
dining and the arts.
19 The Renwick
Colonial Properties Trust is developing condos next to the Carole A.
Hoefener Community Service Center in First Ward.
20 Quarterside
Boulevard Centro has begun developing shops, offices and about 200
condos on the former site of First Ward Park and a shopping center off
McDowell Street between Sixth and Seventh. The first units are expected to
open by late next year.
21 Bank of America office building and hotel
The bank plans to start site work this year and finish a Ritz-Carlton
hotel in 2009 and a 32-story office tower in 2010 across College Street
from its 60-story tower.
22 The Trust condos
Developer Jim Donnelly plans to convert the former Home Federal Savings
and Loan Building at 139 S. Tryon St. to eight luxury condos.
23 NASCAR Hall of Fame and office building
Site work is under way for the hall, due to open in fall 2009 on
Caldwell Street. Lauth Property Group will build a 19-story tower at the
Caldwell and Stonewall streets corner.
24 Alpha Mill apartments
Crosland Inc. is converting a 117-year-old mill into apartments and
adding new buildings to create 167 residential units at 12th and Brevard
streets. Residents have begun moving in. The project is to be finished in
spring 2007.
25 Metropolitan development
Pappas Properties and Colonial Properties Trust are developing 200
residential condos, an office tower, stores and restaurants on the old
Midtown Square site. The project includes a stacked Target and a Home
Depot decor-oriented store to open in fall 2007 across Independence from
the condos. The developers plan to finish everything but the office
building by the third quarter of 2008.
26 Royal Court condos
Pinnacle Properties has broken ground on a 11-story, 119-unit condo
building off East Morehead Street. Buyers should be able to start moving
in by the first quarter of 2008.
27 Garden District Row
The Drakeford Co. is developing nine single-family houses at Eighth and
Alexander streets in First Ward. The project is to be finished by early
2007.
28 701 North Church
The Boulevard Co. plans to complete nine townhomes in Fourth Ward by
spring.
29 Brooklyn Village
Spectrum Properties wants to revive the name of an historic African
American community with an urban village of condos, apartments,
restaurants, shops, offices and a park. The proposal hinges on a yet-to-be
approved public-private land swap. The project would take three years to
complete.
30 Third Ward Park/baseball stadium
This project also depends on approval of the public-private land swap.
The county owns a Third Ward park site that could shift closer to Tryon
Street to make room for a baseball stadium if a swap is approved.
31 The Garrison at Graham
Hawkins & West is pre-selling 45 lofts atop parking at 10th and
Graham streets next to a Circle K convenience store. No word on a
construction start date.
32 Walnut Hill
The Drakeford Co. has started construction of about 40 condos off
Wesley Heights Way near West Trade Street. Construction is expect to wrap
up in summer 2007.
33 UNCC building
The university plans a 100,000-square-foot classroom and office
building at Ninth and Brevard streets in First Ward. Officials would like
to open it in 2009. Doug Smith
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