$700 million, skyline-defining tower rising in Charlotte just hit a key milestone
The skyline-defining Queensbridge Collective project on the edges of uptown and South End just celebrated a major milestone.
Structural framework on the project’s first tower —which rises 42 stories — is officially complete after breaking ground in May 2023. Developers Riverside Investment & Development and Woodfield Development, along with contractor Clark Construction Group, celebrated the final beam placement on Feb. 6.
With that beam in place, the residential portion of the $700 million project should open by September.
“This project, Queensbridge, the name is intentional. It’s the bridge between Charlotte’s two most important neighborhoods from a commercial and residential standpoint,” said Anthony Scacco, president of Riverside. “Being about six months out from our opening date, we’re feeling really great about the quality of the product and how it’s going to transform this area of the city.”
Apartments, pickleball, coffee and steak in new tower
The development at 1111 S. Tryon St. is at the former locations of Midnight Diner and Uptown Cabaret.
The popular 24/7 diner relocated about a mile away to 420 E. Trade St. The strip club, which opened in 1995, closed in 2023. The club’s website said it would have a new location in 2024, but it’s unclear if the business will ever reopen.
Sitting on about 2.75 acres, the overall Queensbridge project is part residential, part commercial.
And the housing will come first. The 42-story tower is set to be the second tallest residential building once complete. The tallest is The VUE Charlotte in uptown’s Fourth Ward, standing at 51 stories.
Queensbridge’s tower will house about 409 market-rate units and include amenities such as a pickleball court, a fitness center and coworking spaces.
There’s also retail spaces.
Charlotte-based Night Swim Coffee will open this year on the ground floor and Denver-based steakhouse Guard and Grace will open on the 10th floor in mid-2026.
There will be about three other retailers in the tower, including a rooftop restaurant space. Another retailer will be announced soon, Scacco said.
“Our goal for the retail was to have a mix of local and national operators,” Scacco said. The goal also includes making the building a “destination” for both residents and visitors.
The second phase of the Charlotte project
While the focus now is on the residential tower, office space is coming to the site too.
The adjoining tower, connected by a parking deck, will be a 35-story office building with about 600,000 square feet of space and its own set of amenities.
The details on that project are fluctuating, not surprising given the state of the office real estate market. With low tenant demand, office vacancies nationwide are increasing.
Charlotte metro’s office vacancy rate ended the year at around 24.6%, according to a report from Cushman & Wakefield, which includes suburban areas such as Matthews. In Charlotte alone, the rate was 22.4%, according to a JLL report.
But most of those vacancies are in aging buildings. Getting the commercial Queensbridge tower leased up isn’t necessarily a concern, Scacco said, especially with how new and central the space will be.
“Office space is becoming more residential and hospitality-like in terms of the type of services and amenities that are provided to the onsite workers,” Scacco said. It’s all about creating a “live, work, play dynamic” at the site, Scacco added.
Construction on the second tower is set to begin this year and the whole project should be completed by 2027.
Correction: This story was updated to note construction on the second tower will begin in 2025.
This story was originally published February 12, 2025 at 5:55 AM.
