Construction starts on NoDa apartment building that may house a grocery store
Construction started this week on a six-floor, 383-unit apartment building at East 36th and North Tryon streets, a visible corner about a half mile from the heart of NoDa.
The project will include 27,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and the developer, Brooklyn, New York-based Avery Hall, hopes to bring what would be a rare addition to NoDa: a full-service grocery store.
The site is just up the street from the new flagship location of Amelie’s, the popular French bakery and cafe, which should be open by spring. It’s also within walking distance of the 36th Street light rail station of the LYNX Blue Line.
Aston Properties, a local real estate firm, sold a little over 3 acres to Avery Hall in 2020, said Tarlton Long, a principal with Avery Hall’s Charlotte office. The company paid $10.1 million, according to county property records.
On Tuesday, Avery Hall pulled grading permits for the project. Construction started the same day and will including tearing down an old auto shop, Long said. Construction is expected to take two years.
Long declined to provide the total cost of the project but said they received a $58 million construction loan from United Bank in November 2021.
Grocery store need
Avery Hall had a conversation with the NoDa Neighborhood and Business Association shortly after buying the land, Long said. They heard residents really wanted a grocery store.
The site would also be close to the future Cross Charlotte Trail, a planned 30 plus-mile trail and greenway that will stretch from Pineville to uptown and over to UNC Charlotte.
The surrounding area is also vastly under-served by grocery stores, Avery Hall wrote in documents associated with the development. (There is a nearby Food Lion at The Plaza and E. 34th Street).
Several grocers have spoken with the Avery Hall team about opening a store at the E. 36th and Tryon streets location, Long said. But no deal is in place so far.
New bakery location, streetscape
The apartment building will be steps from Amelie’s new bakery, at 136 E. 36th Street.
The bakery will be inside a building that used to house an artist studio; Amelie’s is currently underway converting the space into a bakery, said Frank Reed, an owner and CEO of Amelie’s.
Reed wanted to keep the bakery in NoDa but also find an area that had plenty of parking — many customers either come for long periods of time or quickly stop in for a coffee and pastry.
The proximity of the light rail is an added bonus.
“We think that the location with all it has to offer will be terrific for us,” Reed said, adding he’s excited to have the neighbors up the road at the new apartment.
The city is also planning on several improvements to the surrounding streetscape, which Reed is also encouraged by. The $8.25 million project will provide better access to the 36th Street light rail station from both Tryon and North Davidson streets, according to the city’s website.
