Housing, retail plans unveiled for Iron District at old Charlotte foundry in uptown
Housing, a hotel, retail, office space and parking will be part of the first development phase of the Iron District, a mixed-use project on the former Charlotte Pipe & Foundry Company site in uptown and South End.
Pipe & Foundry announced Thursday that Trammell Crow Co. will lead development of the first phase of the high-profile project, taking up 12 of the 55.5 acre site at South Clarkson Street and West Summit Avenue near Bank of America Stadium. Trammell Crow will also assist in the master planning of the remaining space.
Initial plans call for 500 residential units, a 150-room hotel, 100,000 square feet of retail space, 150,000 square feet of Class A office space and over 1,200 parking spaces.
The development will sit on the northern portion of the site along Morehead Street.
Construction is estimated to begin mid to late next year, said Charlotte Pipe spokesperson Brad Muller. There’s also no firm estimates on development costs as of now.
“We are excited to share our vision to create something unique in the Iron District,” said Hooper Hardison, chief executive officer of Charlotte Pipe and Foundry in the news release.
From pipe production to potential parks
For over 120 years, Charlotte Pipe made cast iron, plastic pipe and fittings for plumbing applications in its uptown factory.
But in 2019, the company decided to relocate and announced the following year that it would be moving to Oakboro in Stanly County.
In 2021, the site was rezoned for mixed-used and with its prime location, there were rumors that the site would become a new Panthers stadium. But those plans never materialized.
Instead Charlotteans will get a new space to work, shop and live.
What’s the Iron District?
The multi-phase development has the potential to be a “complete urban ecosystem,” Charlotte Pipe said in a news release. After the first phase of development, the site could host pocket parks, along with pedestrian and bike paths.
The district has already committed to donating about 4 acres for a light rail stop that would serve the development and nearby stadium.
The district also already has a tenant with Blumenthal Arts. It is turning a 1.5-acre warehouse into an immersive event space. Blume Studios will debut Sept. 20 with the virtual reality exhibition “Space Explorers: The Infinite.”
This story was originally published September 12, 2024 at 2:36 PM.
