Atrium Health’s innovation district gets new name, in a nod to local Black history
Atrium Health’s new $1.5 billion innovation district will be named The Pearl, the hospital system announced Thursday.
The project will lead to the creation of a medical school, hotel, residential tower, offices and retail.
The new name is a nod to the history of Charlotte’s long-gone Brooklyn neighborhood and one of the last-remaining landmarks in the area: Pearl Street Park. Brooklyn was once Charlotte’s biggest Black neighborhood, before it was destroyed over half a century ago in the name of urban renewal.
Construction on the innovation district is expected to start by the summer, Hillary Crittendon, innovation district operation lead for Atrium Health, told reporters.
Meanwhile, people on social media were quick to point out that The Pearl name is similar to another local business in town, a dentistry with a few locations and a similarly-designed logo.
Charlotte is the nation’s largest city without a four-year medical school, according to Atrium Health. Both the city and county have voted to approve $75 million each to the district. The medical school is a partnership with Atrium Health and Wake Forest School of Medicine.
The school is expected to host its first class of students in 2024. That class will be comprised of about 48 students, Wake Forest School of Medicine Dean Julie Ann Freischlag has said.
The district surrounding the school will be near the intersection of McDowell and Baxter streets.
Tribute to the past
Residents in the nearby Cherry community have raised concerns about the district. After it was announced, some residents pushed for the inclusion of affordable housing and healthcare as well as protection against residential displacement.
Residents also spoke about the importance of noting Brooklyn’s history.
More than 1,000 families were displaced and 1,400 structures were destroyed in the thriving Black neighborhood in the 1960s and ‘70s under urban renewal, according to a brief neighborhood history published by the UNC Charlotte.
Brooklyn was also located close to the Good Samaritan Hospital in Third Ward.
The African American hospital was made up of hundreds of doctors, nurses and healthcare workers who served the community, Atrium Health CEO Gene Woods said Thursday in a recorded video. The building was torn down in 1996 to make way for what is today Bank of America Stadium, according to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.
One landmark, though, is still standing — Pearl Street Park. Charlotte’s first African American park is located closer to where the future innovation district will be built. The park reopened last year after three years of construction.
Atrium Health wants to give a nod to the surrounding neighborhood’s rich history, Woods said.
“It’s one that many might say has largely been overlooked,” Woods said. “But we’re here now to begin a new chapter of the story to honor this special place.”
The district will also feature a “walking museum” about local history, said Thomas Osha, executive vice president of Wexford Science and Technology, a developer that’s partnered with Atrium. Wexford helped develop Innovation Quarter, a similar medical and mixed-use project in Winston-Salem.
Markers placed around Charlotte’s district will explain Brooklyn’s history, Osha said. The outdoor component will be open for anyone to come learn about the neighborhood.
In response to concerns raised by residents, Atrium has committed to forming a community advisory council to help avoid any unintended consequences for nearby residents.
Other components of the project
Atrium plans to set aside at least $5 million in a new business incubation fund for minority-owned businesses, Woods has previously announced.
Atrium also said it will donate 14 acres to Inlivian, Charlotte’s housing authority, for the development of affordable housing in NoDa. Inlivian already owns 14 acres there as well. In total, the affordable housing development will result in the creation of about 400 affordable units, according to Atrium.
In the midtown district, Atrium has agreed to make 800 parking spots free and open to the public during weekends and evenings. More than 100 of those will be free and accessible 24/7, according to a recent presentation from Atrium to Charlotte City Council.
The ground floor leases of the district will be open to the public, according to Atrium. Amenities will likely include a place to grab a coffee, see work from local artists and have a space to work with free internet.
Logo resemblance?
Soon after Atrium announced the Pearl name, some on social media began pointing out how there’s already a business in town with the same name.
Pearl, a dentist’s office which has three locations around Charlotte, shares the same name. The font of its logo is also similar to Atrium’s newly-released logo.
The Pearl is closely tied to Innovation Quarter in Winston-Salem and shares a similar font type to align with that district, Atrium Health told the Observer in a statement. Atrium said the “P” used in the icon is distinctive to The Pearl brand and is closely related to the design of the Innovation Quarter, which was established over 20 years ago.
“While the dentistry operation is clearly using the pearl analogy for teeth, The Pearl is used as a historical reference and tribute to the community it serves,” Atrium wrote in the statement.
A phone message left with Pearl Dentistry was not immediately returned Thursday.
This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 1:42 PM with the headline "Atrium Health’s innovation district gets new name, in a nod to local Black history."
