South End's booming skyline (free version)
A closer look at all the big towers heading to South End — what’s coming, and what’s next.
Good morning! Today is Wednesday, February 9, 2022. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
Editor’s note: Today’s Ledger is a special report on South End’s booming skyline — a look at 17 projects in the works, with renderings of more than half of them, and a helpful photo illustration of where they are.
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In this issue, we’re also unlocking a few of our more popular members-only articles from last month for you to read: one on Charlotte’s role in building Amazon’s Alexa, and another on a real estate agent who camped out for four days to buy a new house in Gaston County.
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2022 looks like a big year for big developments in South End. Here’s the status of 17 projects in the works and 8 other possible sites.
Charlotte’s South End neighborhood has changed rapidly in the last few years, and more change is ahead — as described below. (Photo illustration by Clayton Sealey; photo by Myles Gelbach) To see a larger version of this map, check out the version on our website.
By Clayton Sealey
South End has seen a breathtaking amount of change over the past 24 months, seemingly undisturbed by the pandemic that has raged on, unnoticed by the neighborhood’s busy visitors.
The streets never emptied of people. The bars and restaurants seemingly never slowed down. This noticeable momentum, and new and favorable zoning regulations, have led to an unprecedented wave of investment in the neighborhood.
I remember thinking, back in April of 2019 when the TOD (Transit Oriented Development) Zoning Districts were adopted by city council, “I wonder if Dilworth and Wilmore understand what is coming.” The policy’s adoption opened the gates for structures as tall as 20-30 floors to be built within ½ a mile of a light rail stop. This casts a wide net that falls a few blocks into largely single-family Dilworth and Wilmore.
This new dynamic, along with the national attention on the South End submarket, has developers nationwide zeroing in.
“Relocation trends that had been playing out for two decades have only accelerated as it pertains to Charlotte’s growth story, and the local economy continues to benefit from corporate migrations seeking to access talent in response to that dynamic population growth,” said Anthony Scacco of Chicago-based Riverside Investment & Development, which is planning a series of towers at West Morehead and South Tryon streets, on the site of the Uptown Cabaret and Midnight Diner. “Our location (C) is tailor-made for a best-in-class live-work-play environment and our plan is to deliver a product that establishes new qualitative standards for the market."
This dynamic growth he speaks of has translated into four distinct development trends for high density in South End:
Local legends become high-rise towers
A. Price’s Chicken Coop
Developer: Catalyst Capital and Stiles Corp.
Location: Camden Road and West Park Avenue
Height: 30 floors
What’s Planned: Just a few months ago lines wrapped nearly two blocks of South End with nostalgic diners waiting to take one last crunchy bite into a piece of fried chicken at Price’s Chicken Coop. Today the building sits empty, ready to make way for a 300-unit multifamily building by Stiles Corp. and local developer Catalyst Capital Partners, who is a tenant in one of the buildings on site.
B. Tyber Creek
Developer: Southern Land Co.
Location: West Tremont and South Boulevard
Height: around 30 floors
What’s Planned: Many readers have memories of Tyber Creek, an establishment that has served folks from all over Charlotte for 23 years. In November, Nashville-based Southern Land Co. announced plans for a 300-unit multifamily building where the pub stands today. The site is at one of the busier intersections in the neighborhood and sits at the edge of Dilworth. The developers have promised a new home for the beloved pub, but questions surround the historic Leeper-Wyatt Building on site. The 1903 structure could be in peril, and recently there was a Certificate of Appropriateness for Demolition filed with the Landmarks Commission.
C. 1111 South Tryon Street
Developer: Riverside Investment & Development
Height: 30-40 floors
Where: West Morehead and South Tryon
What’s Planned:
Previous members-only articles we are unlocking 🗝 for you today:
◼️ How Charlotte helped build Amazon’s Alexa — published Jan. 7
◼️ The competition for new houses is in-tents — published Jan. 14
Programming note: Ledger editor Tony Mecia appears as a guest on 90.7 WFAE at 6:40 a.m. and 8:40 a.m. on Thursdays for a discussion of the week’s local business news in the station’s “BizWorthy” segment. Audio and transcripts are also available online.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project