Changes to $750 million South End towers project will produce an even taller building
A Chicago developer said Tuesday it has dropped plans for a third tower at its $750 million project on the edge of South End. But the project still will be one of the largest underway in Charlotte, with two towers soaring above 40 stories each.
Riverside Investment and Development first announced the project in November. The 3-acre site sits at 1111 S. Tryon St. on the northern edge of South End leading into uptown, and is displacing the popular Midnight Diner.
The diner said last month it was closing in early September in anticipation of relocating about 1 mile away in uptown.
The Riverside site a short walk to the Carson LYNX Blue Line station as well as the businesses and apartments of South End. The South End area continues to see a boom of construction, especially ones that are high-rise in nature.
The Riverside project was going to include three towers: a 42-story, 750,000 square foot office building, a 38-story apartment building with 350 units and a 300-unit apartment tower standing at 30 stories. Dubbed Queensbridge Collective, Riverside held an unveiling for the project in March.
But an investigation of the conditions underground led Riverside to scrap one of the residential towers.
The company discovered that the water table was higher than expected, meaning it didn’t make as much sense from a spacing, cost and risk perspective to put some of the parking underground, Tony Scacco, Riverside’s Chief Operating Officer told The Charlotte Observer.
Riverside will now put all of the parking — between 1,600 and 1,700 spaces — above ground, in a podium that goes up to nine levels between the office and apartment tower.
Construction is expected to start before the end of the year. Work will not be done in two phases as initially planned. The towers will now start and finish together, with an expected completion date of mid-2025.
This is Riverside’s first project in Charlotte. It plans to open an office here by the end of the month, although Scacco declined to say how many employees will be here yet.
The Charlotte Business Journal first reported the changes to the project on Tuesday.
Plans for restaurant space, sports court
The residential tower now will be 45 stories and include more than 400 apartments, Scacco said. Riverside increased the average size of the apartments to 1,000 square feet, up from around 850.
Having two towers instead of three means the office tower will have clearer views of the Charlotte skyline and better lighting.
“Eliminating one of the towers de-clutters the sight and enhances the conditions for the remaining buildings,” Scacco said.
The office tower will still be 42 stories, although it will be taller than the apartment tower due to larger floor sizes.
There will be a 10th floor amenity deck that will include 12,000 square feet of restaurant space. The back side of the deck will include a sports court, as seen in renderings released on Tuesday.
Riverside is in discussion with multiple tenants on the office and retail side, Scacco said. The developers remains optimistic about future leases.
Many companies in Charlotte and elsewhere have been choosing to locate in newer construction office buildings, Scacco said.
More South End towers going up nearby
Developers have been eyeing South End for more high-rise projects.
Construction is underway on 110 East, a 23-story office tower just off the East/West LYNX Blue Link station.
Two developers are expecting to begin construction on a 30-story apartment tower by the end of the year. That tower is located at the former iconic fried chicken joint, Price’s.
And last week, Atlanta-based Portman Residential said it planned to start construction in October on a 24-story apartment tower where Sycamore Brewery currently sits. The brewery has plans to move into Portman’s office building next door.
This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
