Charlotte, NC

[DC_Dude]

Jul 18, 2024 -Development

By 2035, SouthPark will be a walkable, mixed-use district — here’s how​

A message from: SouthPark Community Partners

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Get up to date: SouthPark is getting a major upgrade — one that'll make the area more walkable, energetic and accessible.
What you need to know: SouthPark Community Partners (SCP) recently unveiled the SouthPark Forward 2035 Vision Plan, a blueprint to shape the community's future and make it easier for people to connect and businesses to thrive.

• SCP's nonprofit mission is to lead SouthPark's advancement by driving economic vitality, creating memorable experiences and ensuring residents have access to a better quality of life.
• The new plan builds off the vision for the SouthPark Loop — a three-mile urban trail that connects SouthPark's experiences — and offers an inclusive, pedestrian-centered community center with active gathering spaces.
• It was developed through a review of prior SouthPark studies, robust technical analysis and several months of public engagement.

Plus, plus, plus: SCP has committed $1 million towards Vision Plan-related projects over the next three years.
What to expect: The goal is to evolve SouthPark from a collection of distinct centers to a cohesive mixed-use destination with welcoming neighborhoods, the region's best shopping and a vibrant employment hub.
The plan…
Is organized into three key themes — places, connections and mobility — that represent the best opportunities to affect transformational change in SouthPark. Plus, they reflect the community's top priorities.
️ Offers opportunities to expand the open space network throughout SouthPark, creating spaces to gather, recreate and explore.

• Ideas include a festival street along Carnegie Boulevard, renovations to Symphony Park, a park along Cameron Valley Parkway and a linear park along Fairview Road.

Offers six recommendations to improve the pedestrian and cyclist experience and establish SouthPark as a trail-oriented destination through the Loop as well as a Living Ends project to better connect surrounding residential neighborhoods and complete street retrofits.
Offers a phased approach to expanding transportation options to create a more inclusive and accessible place.

• Five catalyst project recommendations include a free shuttle program, the implementation of a mobility hub, the creation of a neighborhood bike share program and shared parking districts.

Why it's important: Charlotte deserves a clean, safe and consistent pedestrian network with innovative mobility strategies that better connect people and places.

• These existing and future open spaces will inspire new recreational and entertainment offerings to improve SouthPark's connected experience.
• Plus, more placemaking opportunities mean expanded amenity offerings for workers, residents and visitors.

"SouthPark's future vibrancy requires continual evolution in retail concepts, a focus on placemaking and programming, and a recognition that the cohesive experience within SouthPark will drive continued loyalty to the district as a whole," says SCP President and CEO Adam Rhew, "which is essential to ensuring SouthPark fulfills its promise as an economic engine for the Charlotte region."
Looking ahead: Home to four Fortune 500 companies and 32,000 workers, SouthPark is an economic driver for the entire region — and by 2035, it'll be a hub for open space and connection.

 

[DC_Dude]

The CEO is a Black also...Mr. Woods

New renderings: Work begins on Charlotte’s innovation district and med school campus​

Wake Forest University School of Medicine Charlotte

Crews officially broke ground Tuesday on a state-of-the-art innovation district called “The Pearl” in midtown, which will house the Wake Forest University School of Medicine Charlotte.​

Why it matters: Charlotte is the largest U.S. city without a four-year medical school. Officials say The Pearl will be transformative for the region, spurring innovation, entrepreneurialism and employment in science and research.

• Over the next 15 years, The Pearl and its tenants will create more than 5,500 onsite jobs, per a statement from Atrium. All told, the project could create around 11,500 total throughout Mecklenburg County.

Details: On campus, you’ll find the Howard R. Levine Center for Education, which will house the school of medicine, Wake Forest University School of Business, Wake Forest School for Professional Studies and Carolinas College of Health Sciences.

• The campus will also have a 331,000-square-foot research building, retail, apartments, a hotel and open community spaces.
• The development is near the intersection of Baxter and South McDowell streets.

What they’re saying: The Pearl will be a “city within a city,” according to Gene Woods, CEO of Charlotte-based Advocate Health, which Atrium is part of.

• “Not only will The Pearl serve as a major engine of economic opportunity, but it will also house game-changing academic programs for learners of all degree levels and set the stage for innovative health science businesses to grow into the core companies of Charlotte’s future,” Woods said in a statement.

Context: The Pearl is situated where Brooklyn, once the largest Black neighborhood in Charlotte, was before it was razed in the name of urban renewal. The name is a nod to Pearl Street Park, the first park built on land the city purchased for Black residents.

• Neighbors surrounding the area have said they worry that The Pearl’s development could lead to rising property values and displacement of longtime residents and businesses.
• In 2021, the city and county approved an incentives deal worth $75 million combined for The Pearl.

Go deeper: Neighbors worry about ripple effects of Atrium Health’s Innovation District
What’s next: The med school is expected to seat its first class in 2024 and open the following year.
Renderings courtesy of Wexford Science & Technology.

 

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[DC_Dude]

Food good too

 

[BlackGoku]

Food good too

It's overpriced and the one near me... but i'm happy for the family. She dont really need college if she's managing the restaurants.

 

[DC_Dude]

6 hours ago -News

Charlotte is ready to spill its tech "secret"​

• 

The view from Lowe's Tech Hub in South End. Photo: Alexandria Sands/Axios

Charlotte's growing tech workforce has long flown under the radar, but economic development leaders want to broadcast the city's hidden advantage to draw new businesses and investors.
Why it matters: Organizations like Charlotte Center City Partners say they believe they can lure more future-focused companies here by revealing the tech talent hidden in our banking, insurance and other industries.
What they're saying: Site selectors are catching on that Charlotte has a wealth of tech talent that's more affordable to hire, says James LaBar, senior vice president of economic development at Charlotte Center City Partners. Unlike in larger tech hubs, startups and smaller companies don't have to contend with industry giants when recruiting candidates in Charlotte.

• In other major cities, such as Austin, they're up against not only "the salary of Google, but the coolness of Google," LaBar explains.
• LaBar calls the tech talent Charlotte's "secret."

By the numbers: The average wage for a tech worker in Charlotte is $97,044 — far below $192,969 in the San Francisco Bay area or $119,983 in Austin, according to commercial real estate firm CBRE.

• CBRE ranks Charlotte among the top markets for high-tech job growth, with the pool expanding 19.3% to 71,050 workers between 2018 and 2023.

Zoom out: The Triangle's well-established tech ecosystem has helped the region attract big employers like Wolfspeed, Fujifilm Diosynth and Meta.

• The Raleigh-Durham market now boasts 75,150 tech workers, an increase of 17.9% between 2018 and 2023.

What's next: Charlotte Center City Partners emphasizes tech in its latest "State of the Center City" report, an annual publication designated to persuade prospective investors and companies of the area's potential.

• This year's book, titled "Innovation Meets Momentum," highlights Charlotte's intention to transition into an innovation destination. Center City Partners is supporting the establishment of the North Tryon Tech Hub in Uptown, where UNC Charlotte opened CO-LAB, a dedicated space for entrepreneurs.
• "Charlotte is not renowned for its entrepreneurship, yet it has a really strong community," says Michael Smith, president and CEO of Center City Partners.

https://www.axios.com/local/charlotte/2025/01/30/center-city-partners-tech-talent-workforce-uptown?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslocal_charlotte&stream=top

 

[DC_Dude]

Charlotte's development pipeline: $3.7B in new construction, $1.7B in "reimagined" buildings​

• Alexandria Sands

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Blue-shaded buildings were built since 2010. Green means under construction. Red is "reimagined" or renovated, like Bank of America Stadium. Purple and orange are planned developments. Courtesy of Center City Partners/Clayton Sealey

Charlotte's urban core has $3.7 billion in new development either under construction or expected to break ground in 2026, according to Charlotte Center City Partners' annual growth report.

• That includes more than 2.2 million square feet of office space, 338,800+ square feet of retail, 1,630+ hotel rooms and 7,110+ apartments.

Why it matters: CCP president and CEO Michael Smith still calls this a "strong pipeline," although the total is down from $4.2 billion in 2024 and $6.9 billion in 2023.

• Many major developments, such as the 23-story 110 East office tower in South End, have exited the pipeline as construction was completed. And few new projects have filled the void due to high interest rates and other economic challenges.

Yes, but: There's a new number to pay attention to this year: $1.7 billion. That's how much the public and private sectors are spending or have spent to rehab more than a dozen older assets across center city — from empty office towers to the NFL stadium.

• A large chunk of that is $800 million being spent on Bank of America Stadium renovations — of that, $650 million came from the city government.
• Other projects include the $375 million Spectrum Center renovations and the $250 million Brooklyn & Church project, converting the old Duke Energy headquarters into apartments and retail.
• Office buildings such as 101 Independence and One South have also undergone makeovers.

What they're saying: CCP's SVP of economic development James LaBar says it's important to show that Charlotte is reinvesting in its aging buildings.

• The organization has set a 2025 goal to make center city a preferred destination for investors and developers who want to work in the older office space.
• Smith says Center City Partners, CLT Alliance and the local government must collaboratively study what other cities are doing to promote building conversions and advocate for "tools" that attract capital. That could mean creating tax incentives, loosening building regulations or establishing other policies that simplify doing business in Charlotte.

Flashback: Last year Charlotte-based developer Asana Partners sought incentives from the city and county government for Brooklyn & Church, but it was unsuccessful.

• County leaders were especially reluctant because the pitch didn't include affordable housing or address economic disparities.

The big picture: Smith says it's important to ensure center city — "the greatest contributor of tax revenue to our community" — doesn't have failed buildings.

• Mecklenburg County will conduct a property tax revaluation in 2027. After that, buildings with declining values will contribute less to the tax base — unless they're reinvested in.

• "That burden will be borne by more single-family homes throughout our community," Smith says.

State of play: Uptown's official vacancy rate is around 23%, according to CBRE's latest report. Much of that is old office, however. Buildings constructed since 2000 are more than 91% leased, according to CoStar.

• Despite the vacancy rate, companies could consider Charlotte as having no availability if there's no new space to lease, LaBar says. The city could miss out on economic development deals because of this.
• "That's when the development community springs into action and projects like Crescents' Carson or Riverside's project ... Queensbridge take flight," Smith says.

By the numbers: In the first half of the 2020s, developers built 8 million square feet of new office, 12,000 new residential units and 2,850 hotel rooms in center city.

• From 2010 to 2019, 7.7 million square feet of office, 13,000 new residences and 1,800 hotel rooms were constructed.
• "We basically have already matched the prior decade," Smith says, "which was the best decade we had ever enjoyed."

Editor's note: This story has been corrected throughout to show the development pipeline's expected office and retail space as well as the number of hotel rooms and apartments.

https://www.axios.com/local/charlotte/2025/01/30/development-center-city-partners-conversions?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslocal_charlotte&stream=top

 

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[Da Backshot Champ]

Are the hoes easy down there? Also, are you allowed to buy Plan Bs down there, or should I bring my own case of them when I visit?