The tallest building between Philadelphia and Atlanta, the Bank …
The tallest building between Philadelphia and Atlanta, the Bank of America Corporate Center (third from right) was designed by Cesar Pelli and HKS Architects.
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Carolina Photo Group
PARKING DECKS, CHARLOTTE-DOUGLAS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Architec…
PARKING DECKS, CHARLOTTE-DOUGLAS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Architects: The Wilson Group (Charlotte) and LS3P Associates (Charlotte office)
Developer: City of Charlotte
Completed: May 2005 (West Deck), April 2007 (East Deck)
Cost: $63.8 million
The airport's West Deck (shown) won a 2006 AIA North Carolina institutional design award and a 2006 International Association of Lighting Designers merit award.
Tim Buchman
VIRTUAL VILLAGE COMMUNICATION CENTER
Architect: Mistri Associat…
VIRTUAL VILLAGE COMMUNICATION CENTER
Architect: Mistri Associates Architects (now Mistri Hardaway Architects)
Developer: Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County
Completed: 2001
Cost: $500,000
Housed in the city's main library, the 11,000-square-foot digital media room received an honorable mention in the 2002 AIA/ Charlotte Business Journal's Bottom Line Awards, a 2002 National Association of Counties Achievement Award, and a 2003 Disabilities Services Award from the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies.
Tom Kessler
IMAGINON: THE JOE & JOAN MARTIN CENTER
Architects: Gantt Huberm…
IMAGINON: THE JOE & JOAN MARTIN CENTER
Architects: Gantt Huberman Architects (Charlotte) in association with Holzman Moss Architecture (New York)
Developer: Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County
Completed: 2005
Cost: $28 million (construction only)
This full-city-block facility houses a youth library and performance spaces and was the county's first LEED Silver structure.
Cameron Triggs
THE WATERMARK
Architects: Perkins+Will (Charlotte office)
Deve…
THE WATERMARK
Architects: Perkins+Will (Charlotte office)
Developer: Tuscan Development
Completed: August 2006
Cost: $7 million
The unabashedly modernist look of the 34,000-square-foot office building was inspired by Werner Sobek's R128 house (2002) in Stuttgart, Germany.
Clay Andrews
ZEITGEIST BUILDING
Architect: Laughing Dog Studio Architecture …
ZEITGEIST BUILDING
Architect: Laughing Dog Studio Architecture (Charlotte)
Developers: Bruce Clodfelter and Clay Andrews
Completed: 2005
Cost: $850,000
Developed specifically for creative businesses, the 4,000-squarefoot structure won AIA Charlotte's 2005 Carole Hoefener Carriker Sustainable Design Award.
Jimmy Dudley
CENTRAL 27
Architect: Tobin+Dudley (Charlotte)
Developer: Tusc…
CENTRAL 27
Architect: Tobin+Dudley (Charlotte)
Developer: Tuscan Development
Completed: April 2007
Cost: $4.5 million
Located in Charlotte's Plaza Midwood area, the 27-unit condo building was voted the most unique development among in-town neighborhoods by the readers of Uptown Magazine.
Many people probably know Charlotte, N.C., as the home of the National Football League’s Carolina Panthers or as the headquarters for Bank of America. Fewer know that Queen City—founded in 1768 and named for King George III’s wife—was the nation’s major source of gold prior to the California gold rush. The Carolina Mint opened in 1837, and Charlotte has been a banking and finance hub ever since.
Today, the 280-square-mile city is in the middle of a land rush. “Charlotte continues to grow and evolve at an amazing pace,” says architect David Tobin, principal at Tobin+Dudley. “The renewed interest in downtown redevelopment, both commercial and residential, is countered with the development of many ‘edge cities.’ ” This split development strategy, says Tobin, is providing both urban and suburban business opportunities.
“Like much of the nation, Charlotte saw a slowing of the economy during the early part of the decade,” says Tony Crumbley, vice president of research for the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. “Since 2005, employment growth has picked up, and 2007 is looking like [a record year], with as many as 25,000 new jobs.”
POPULATION GROWTH
Charlotte’s population of 664,342, which makes it the largest city in the Carolinas, is expected to grow by 110,000 over the next five years.
JOB GROWTH
Job growth since 1997 has been 24.1 percent, twice the national average.
RESIDENTIAL MARKET
In May, Forbes magazine named Charlotte—where the 2006 median home price was $190,600—the least-overpriced real estate market in the nation.
OFFICE MARKET
Office vacancy in the central business district is 3 percent, with average asking rates of $23.09 triple net.
MARKET STRENGTHS
Sunbelt location
Comparatively low cost of living for high quality of life
Solid job growth
MARKET CONCERNS
Managing growth
Public education
Roads and transportation infrastructure
DEVELOPABLE LAND
About 10 percent of the city’s land is still available for development.
FORECAST
“Ideally, Charlotte will begin to develop a reputation for innovation. Forward-thinking corporations will be required for future economic growth,” says local developer Clay Andrews. “It will take major willingness by the public and private sector to do smart planning. Innovation is not always politically popular—it takes risk and a willingness to not … go for immediate profit.”
