New Atrium land swap in Charlotte for affordable housing was years in the making
Atrium Health, Charlotte’s largest hospital provider, has given 14 acres of land off North Tryon Street for the city to build affordable housing at The Pearl mixed-use medical school and med tech development area.
It’s part of a land swap deal that has been years in the making between the nonprofit health system and INLIVIAN, Charlotte’s public housing authority, Atrium announced Wednesday.
The land swap will support future growth at The Pearl, according to Atrium. And Atrium is getting property on Baxter Street from the deal. Atrium did not provide additional financial details about the deal and declined to comment on why it took years to complete.
The Pearl is also home to the Charlotte campus of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, the first four-year medical school for the region.
The North Tryon property was deed-restricted by Atrium to enable affordable housing in June 2024, according to the medical provider. The land is between North Tryon and North Poplar streets and adjacent to another 16-acre INLIVIAN affordable housing development.
At least 25% of the residential units built on the site must be reserved for affordable housing, and half of those must be made available to people earning 50% or less of the area median income. For a family of four, that’s an income of $56,100 or less.
Atrium exchanged its 3-acre property at 720 E. Morehead St. in Dilworth for a similarly valued, vacant 3-acre parcel at Baxter Street Park in Midtown that’s owned by INLIVIAN. The Morehead property is also being developed for affordable housing.
INLIVIAN and Atrium worked together to ensure the Morehead Street property was used for affordable housing through rezoning.
Atrium said it has contributed more than $51 million toward affordable housing and fighting homelessness in the Charlotte region over the past five years, including this latest agreement.
Atrium also has donated more than $15 million to the Housing Impact Fund to preserve affordable rental units around Charlotte. More than $1 million was sent to A Home For All, an initiative helping people on the cusp or experiencing homelessness, and more than $5 million toward Roof Above, a homeless services provider.
About the Pearl district in Charlotte
The Pearl is a $1.5 billion district in Midtown Charlotte, with retail, apartments and academic spaces. It was created through a public-private partnership among Advocate Health, Wexford Science & Technology and Ventas Inc., a real estate investment trust. Atrium is a subsidiary of Advocate.
Along with the medical school that opened last summer with about 50 students, The Pearl is home to several companies.
One is Siemens Healthineers, a German medical technology company that launched its first U.S.-based Experience Center in late September. IRCAD established its North American headquarters at The Pearl, and IRCAD North America is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atrium Health.
Wexford is also developing a residential building on about an acre of land that will include 5% of units deed-restricted for affordable housing, according to Atrium.
INLIVIAN affordable housing projects in Charlotte
It’s unclear when construction will start on the affordable housing project at The Pearl, but Inlivian is adding units for low-income residents throughout uptown and South End.
Around from The Pearl development, INLIVIAN is partnering with The Fallon Company on Centre South, a $500 million mixed-income, mixed-use development on the edges of Dilworth, South End and uptown. Centre South is a nearly 17-acre development along South Boulevard and South Caldwell Street.
The first phase is Twelve03 at 1203 S. Caldwell St., a six-story 329-unit mixed-income apartment complex that has been in the works for more than a decade.
Twelve03 will house market-rate and affordable housing units. Of the total units, 66 will be for those making 65% to 80% of the area median income. For a family of four, that’s an income level between $67,320 and $89,750.
The development stems from a public-private partnership between Fallon and Horizon Development Properties, INLIVIAN’s development branch. Tweleve03 should be completed by 2028.
INLIVIAN also recently opened Trella Uptown, a 353-unit mixed-income apartment complex in the middle of uptown at 426 N. Tryon St. It’s the site of the historic Barringer Hotel, which later became the senior-living Hall House.
A majority of the units, 70%, will be priced at market rate. But 106 units will be for those making 80% of the area median income or less. Including those in the 30% AMI or less bracket.
Like other housing authorities, INLIVIAN historically focused on building public housing. But that model creates income-segregated neighborhoods, concentrating poverty. It also limits where people needing affordable housing can go.
All three projects are part of INLIVIAN’s move to create more mixed-income developments in affluent neighborhoods of Charlotte, which doesn’t create neighborhoods with concentrated poverty and promotes economic mobility.
Moving toward mixed-income developments allows for more funding opportunities and potentially better locations for residents to choose from.
This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 12:55 PM.
