How an ambitious $750 million development could better connect uptown and South End
Charlotte leaders are already getting excited about the prospect of what a $750 million, mixed-use project could do for uptown and South End.
Last week, Chicago-based developer Riverside Investment and Development announced it was leading the development of three high-rise buildings with a mix of commercial and residential uses. The project would go up around East Morehead Street, Morehead Square Drive, South Tryon Street and East Carson Boulevard.
Riverside also aims to provide large outdoor spaces in addition to the towers.
The project could be “precedent-setting” for the northern edge of South End, said Charlotte Center City Partners CEO Michael Smith. He added that it can help better connect South End and the core of uptown.
The project would include at least 800,000 square feet of office space, Riverside Chief Operating Officer Anthony Scacco told the Observer in a recent interview. It also would include between 350 and 650 residential units and possibly a hotel, he said.
Before construction starts, Riverside said it plans to open its first southeast regional office in Charlotte by the middle of next year. Scacco didn’t say how many employees will work there, as it depends on developing projects beyond this one.
“We had identified Charlotte as a key strategic area that we wanted to be for the long term,” Scacco said. “It’s our goal that this is the start of something, not the entirety of our efforts in Charlotte.”
Why Charlotte?
Riverside was founded in 2010 by John O’Donnell, a veteran Chicago developer, and “together with third-party partners” in the industry, has developed 4.5 million square feet of rentable space, according to Riverside’s website.
A peek at Riverside’s portfolio shows the firm developed a 54-story riverfront tower in Chicago’s West Loop with 1.2 million square feet of leasable office space. The building, which opened in 2017, was described by the Chicago Tribune as the city’s most “eye-grabbing” skyscraper since the Aqua Tower opened in 2009.
The developer’s portfolio shows nothing yet in Charlotte.
Scacco said he and his colleagues were looking around at high-growth cities like Nashville, Denver and Atlanta — the same that national developers are active in.
They were seeking a city that offered public transit, proximity to an airport and a university system that plugged many graduates into the job market.
“Charlotte checks a lot of the boxes,” Scacco said. He added that Charlotte was affordable and had a higher quality of life relative to other cities.
The popular Midnight Diner, located on the project site, will be moving nearby, Riverside had said. When they began looking at the site, they saw a chance to develop on real estate between the center of the city and South End.
“It has the proximity and access to tenants of uptown but the amenities of the live, work, play feel of South End,” Scacco said. “It really is a gateway between those two different sub-markets.”
Road improvements coming
Riverside has been working with Charlotte’s transportation and planning departments for the past nine to 12 months to study reimagining the surrounding traffic network.
That includes widening Morehead Square Drive, South Tryon and East Morehead streets and East Carson Boulevard. Riverside also looked into replacing the College Street connector.
Additionally, Morehead Square Drive would be realigned to keep northbound moving traffic headed to College Street, north of Morehead Street. And there would be new bike lanes and pedestrian crossings in the area, along with a pedestrian connection to the Carson Boulevard light rail stop, according to Riverside.
Fostering more growth
The project will help bring together uptown and South End by building on what Scacco described as an area ripe for new development.
It also ties into a City Council-adopted vision plan for South End to create more density and mixed-uses, especially along light rail stations, which fosters additional growth. The project will be complemented by a planned rail trail bridge over Interstate 277, said Smith, with Charlotte Center City Partners.
The trail will provide what the city calls a “critical” connection between uptown and South End. Construction is expected to start in mid-2022 and be completed by 2024, according to the city’s website.
By improving infrastructure and focusing on bike and pedestrian safety, the Riverside project would also have a direct impact on adjacent properties, Smith said.
“It is creating one of the best development opportunities in Charlotte,” Smith said.
