City, Optimist Hall developer will create plan for ‘major milestone’ in uptown Charlotte
A redeveloped transit center and Hornets practice facility on Monday moved closer to breaking ground in uptown Charlotte.
The Charlotte City Council gave Manager Marcus Jones permission to work with the company that redeveloped Optimist Hall on an agreement for a project local leaders hope will transform parts of uptown’s first and second wards near the Spectrum Center into an entertainment and sports district.
The city has $89 million in public funds to contribute to the development which includes the land, a federal grant and money from the Charlotte Area Transit System.
The decision comes less than a month after CATS’ governing board voted in favor of the plan to move the city’s central bus station underground. The move has sparked controversy over whether spending nearly $90 million to move transit riders and buses underground is the best option.
City officials and staff say the existing 28-year-old Charlotte Transportation Center on Trade Street is beyond its useful life. Redeveloping the CTC with private developer WPTP Brevard Holdings LLC and moving it underground will allow a high-rise tower on the site that would house a Charlotte Hornets practice facility.
The entire project is expected to be completed by 2028.
The council voted unanimously, though council members Dimple Ajmera and James “Smuggie” Mitchell were absent from Monday’s meeting.
Who is the developer?
WPTP Brevard Holdings LLC is affiliated with Charlotte-based development firm White Point Partners.
“Together with the 2.6-acre CTC site, White Point plans to transform the CTC site and surrounding Brevard Street area into a community focal point and major milestone in the growth of Charlotte’s Uptown,” White Point’s website says about the project.
WPTP Brevard Holdings already received $2.9 million for preliminary design, according to city documents. As part of the new agreement, the city of Charlotte and the White Point group will “define key elements of the project and provide a roadmap” for a final development plan.
In addition to Optimist Hall, a popular food hall between uptown and NoDa, White Point developed Bowers, a reuse project in lower South End, Dilworth Artisan Station, Chadbourn, a Charlotte mill redeveloped to house office and retail space, and an office and retail complex off of West Morehead Street that contains Legion Brewing.
Planning an entertainment district
Monday’s agenda included designs showing how the planned tower next to the Spectrum Center would look with retail, office and residential space.
Initial renderings show six levels of parking above the underground transit center and retail on the street level. The Hornets would have space with two full-sized practice courts above the parking levels. Residential and commercial space would build on top of that.
Expanded locker rooms and health care space are also expected to be included in the Hornets facility within the tower.
The city plans to use Brevard Street to establish the sports and entertainment district, closing it to traffic to make room for vendors, music and art.
The district is expected to grow in four phases, city documents show, starting with the CTC redevelopment at the intersection of Brevard and Trade streets and expand up and down Brevard Street.
The Epicentre, rebranded last year as Queen City Quarter, is next to the CTC and Spectrum Center. It’s also seeing renovations through this year.
Naming rights
The city expects to sell naming rights for the district and practice facility at $2 million and $1.25 million, respectively, per year. City staff expect naming rights revenue to foot the bill for the practice facility and pay down debt.
Between 2028 and 2045, when the Hornets lease expires in the city-owned Spectrum Center, the city estimates it could generate $127 million in commercial partnership revenue for the district including corporate naming rights and founding partners.
The public will have a chance to provide input before an official development agreement with Brevard Holdings is expected to be signed next year. No dates are set, but the city expects to hold a rezoning hearing for the land in the third quarter of 2023.
