Uptown area will see $3 billion in development this year, despite COVID, report says
Uptown Charlotte and several surrounding neighborhoods have continued rapidly growing, a new study shows, despite COVID-19’s devastating effects on the economy.
The report from the nonprofit Charlotte Center City Partners was released Thursday. It found that $3 billion in new development is planned in the center city area this year. That includes office towers, retail space and hotels — projects that were hard-hit when the pandemic shut down the local economy.
Last year’s report indicated that $4 billion in development was planned for the center city in 2020. But as the pandemic’s economic effects widened, a number of projects across the city were put on hold or delayed, though construction did continue as an essential business.
Many of the office towers uptown are still empty, with thousands of workers that normally frequent restaurants and shops uptown staying home.
But Michael Smith, CEO of Center City Partners, said most major employers his organization has spoken with plan to eventually bring employees back in some capacity.
“The whole thesis of the death of the city, we do not subscribe to it at all,” Smith said. “Pandemics have occurred throughout all time and cities have repeatedly returned as vital components for commerce.”
Here are some of the highlights of the report. It defines the center city as uptown, South End and Midtown, where the Metropolitan shopping center is.
Office space
Nearly 4 million square feet of office space is planned, the report found. Charlotte has built enough office space in the last decade for over 48,000 workers.
The findings also show an increasingly corporate South End: there are over 17,000 employees in the neighborhood. And there’s 3.9 million square feet of office space inventory in South End, with another 1.4 million square feet underway.
And several major office building sales took place last year:
- The $445 million sale of Hearst Tower, now Truist Center, to Truist, the bank formed by the merger of BB&T and SunTrust and headquartered in Charlotte.
- The $201 million sale of the RailYard in South End to Atlanta-based Cousins Properties.
Hospitality
Over 2,000 hotel rooms are slated for the center city, the study found, despite the pandemic has taken a major toll on the travel and leisure industry.
There will be 35 hotels in the center city by 2024, which translates to more than 7,600 hotel rooms. That includes 10 under construction or proposed, including projects like the 22-story JW Marriott off Stonewall Street.
Retail
The center city holds 1.9 million square feet of restaurants and shops, and another 312,700 is in the works.
Uptown businesses have suffered as the office employees they rely on continue to work from home.
“There has been major disruption in the majority of their revenue,” Smith said. But he said his organization is working with those businesses to help them adapt to trends like online shopping.
Residential
More than 5,500 apartments are planned, the report found. Nearly 36,000 residents live in the area.
City boosters often tout Charlotte’s relative affordability to places like New York and California, though many longtime residents are being pushed out of the neighborhoods around uptown as prices increase.
The average rent in uptown is $1,640, the study found, and $1,553 in South End, both of which are several hundred dollars per month more than the average rent citywide.
