The last piece of the Uptown residential puzzle began with The Ratcliffe on the Green, an upscale condominium high-rise in Second Ward, an area in the southeast quadrant of Uptown that had been occupied mostly by government buildings. The luxurious Ratcliffe offers an interactive park with fish fountains and landscaped walkways and is surrounded by 60,000 square feet of retail and office space. The Green, a 1.5-acre park built over an underground parking deck, is a popular gathering spot during the week and is converted into an ice skating rink during the winter months.
At 13 stories, the brand-new 230 South Tryon offers 110 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units as well as several penthouses ranging from $300,000 and $1.5 million.
At the site of the old Charlotte Convention Center in Second Ward, EpiCentre is a retail/residential complex that stands 50 stories with 428 luxury rental units. Retail shops on the street level are completed and the residential section – 210 Trade – is expected to be ready in 2008.
Another high-rise, The Vue, will open in 2009 with 50 stories and 403 units ranging between $300,000 and $2 million. The Vue is located at Fifth and Pine in Fourth Ward.
About 400 condominiums and 140 hotel suites will compose TWELVE, a 33-story high-rise on College Street between Seventh and Eighth streets. TWELVE will open in early 2009.
New residents will want closer shopping centers, and retail is coming Uptown to meet that need. Metropolitan, a mixed-use development set to open in 2008, will include a stacked Home Depot and Target as well as urban lofts and terraces overlooking the Little Sugar Creek Greenway.
In First Ward, Quarterside will be a mixed-use development of retail and loft-style condos off McDowell between Sixth and Seventh streets.
The excitement that attracts people to live in Uptown is evident also in commercial life. The Westin Hotel on Stonewall and College streets opened in 2003, offering a unique new building for the Charlotte skyline. With 700 rooms, the hotel is right across from the Charlotte Convention Center and features a bar, restaurant and about 40,000 square feet of meeting space.
The Hearst Tower on North Tryon Street soars 46 stories, making it the city’s second-tallest building after the Bank of America tower, which rises above all others at 60 stories. Across Tryon, the 30-story IJL Financial Center, which was built in 1996, shares similar window designs and exterior colors as the Hearst Tower. Three Wachovia Center ascends 32 stories on South Tryon, and a 28-story tower at 300 S. Tryon includes a front courtyard and outdoor seating and dining.
It’s all happening within a relatively small area – the blocks radiating outward from the intersection of Trade and Tryon streets. For the city at large, that’s the center of action.
And for an increasingly large number of Charlotteans, it’s the place they call home. |
