Uptown Charlotte


Uptown Charlotte, also called Center City, is the central business district of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The area is split into four wards by the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets, and bordered by Interstate 277 and Interstate 77. The area is managed and overseen by the Charlotte Central City Partners, which is one of the three Municipal Service Districts in Charlotte. Uptown Charlotte is the largest business district in Charlotte and the Carolinas.
Several Fortune 500 companies have their headquarters in the district, including Bank of America, Duke Energy, Honeywell, and the east coast operations of Wells Fargo. Uptown contains over 33 million square feet of office space. Athletic and event facilities located in Center City include Bank of America Stadium, Spectrum Center, Truist Field, and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Museums, theaters, hotels, high-density residential developments, restaurants, and bars are heavily concentrated in the Center City, with over 245 restaurants and 50 nightspots.

Name origins

Charlotte's central business district is referred to as "Uptown" by locals, although the term "Downtown" is understood and used by native Charlotteans since it references the same area of the city. There is some confusion brought about by the use of the terms "Uptown" and "Downtown" for Charlotte's center city area. The term "Up-Town", referring to the geographic location of Tryon and Trade Street—"uptown" actually does sit at a higher elevation than the rest of the city—was recorded as early as 1895 in the Charlotte Observer but fell out of use around 1929 for reasons unknown. The term "Downtown" was commonly used up until the mid-1970s by residents, media, and city leaders for the Center City. In 1973, a massive campaign was launched by local businessman Jack Wood to revamp the image of the downtown area and embrace the historic and arguably uniquely Charlotte term "Uptown" by reintroducing it to the general public. In September 1974 Charlotte City Council passed an official proclamation that said "The heart of Charlotte should be now and forever more known as Uptown Charlotte." On February 14, 1987, the Charlotte Observer began using the term "Uptown" as a way to promote a more positive upbeat image of the Center City area. School teachers were provided with "historical" documents justifying use of the term to teach to students.

Major streets

Tryon Street

Tryon Street was named after William Tryon, governor of the Province of North Carolina from 1765 to 1771. A major southwest-northeast thoroughfare across Charlotte, it follows NC 49 southeast of the Uptown neighborhood, and US 29 northwest of Uptown. Within the Uptown Charlotte street grid, Tryon forms the boundary between streets labeled "East" and "West". Many of the tallest buildings in Charlotte have a Tryon Street address including:
Independence Square is the intersection of Tryon and Trade streets, both of which were major Native American trading paths. The city grew around this intersection, and each corner has a bronze statue representing one of four major industries, Commerce, Industry, Transportation and The Future. The 5000-pound 25-foot statues, each on a granite pedestal, were created by Raymond Kaskey and given to the city by the philanthropic group the Queen's Table in the mid-1990s.

Trade Street

Trade Street begins as a continuation of Elizabeth Street near the southeastern boundary of Uptown, and continues as a major thoroughfare northwest through the rest of the city. It serves as the division between "North" and "South" labeled streets within the Uptown street grid. The following major buildings have a Trade Street address:
Buildings which have a College Street address include:
Uptown Charlotte is divided into four neighborhoods, or "wards", by the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets.

First Ward

The first ward lies directly to the east of the intersection of Trade and Tryon. It is that quadrant bounded by North Tryon on the northwest and East Trade on the southwest.
Once considered one of the most dangerous areas in Charlotte, the first ward has become one of the more desirable because of gentrification under a HUD HOPE VI grants with many new developments under construction. The award-winning Center City Building which houses the uptown campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte is in the first ward. The Center City Building is 11 stories and was completed in 2011. it includes 25 state of the art classrooms, design studios, meeting space, and performance spaces. The urban village includes a park, which was completed in December 2015, of office space, 1,182 residential units, 250 hotel rooms, and of retail space. Current attractions include the Main Library, the Spirit Square portion of the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, ImaginOn Children's Learning Center, Levine Museum of the New South, and Spectrum Center.
Image:Skyline of Charlotte, North Carolina.jpg|thumb|right|250px|2008 view from the Central Avenue bridge

Second Ward

The second ward lies directly to the south of the intersection of Trade and Tryon. It is the quadrant bounded by South Tryon on the northwest and East Trade on the northeast. Second Ward is the hospitality center of Uptown with about half of the hotel rooms in Uptown and it is an important employment center as well. It includes of office space, 840 residential units, 3,682 hotel rooms with 1,136 additional rooms under construction, and of retail space.
It is the location of Charlotte's "Government District" and is the site of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The second ward was formerly the location of the predominantly black neighborhood, Brooklyn, before an urban renewal project took place. Today, second ward is home to Queen City Quarter, a mixed-use entertainment and retail complex; the Charlotte Convention Center; the Victorian Gothic style St. Peter's Catholic Church; The Green, a downtown mini-park; and the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Art+Culture. Duke Energy also has its corporate headquarters in the second ward.

Third Ward

The third ward lies directly to the west of the intersection of Trade and Tryon. It is the quadrant bounded by South Tryon on the southeast and West Trade on the northeast. It is the Ward that house a lot of the entertainment and culture attractions in Uptown which include Knight Theatre, the Mint Museum, and the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, the Carolina Panthers' and Charlotte FC's Bank of America Stadium, Truist Field, home of the Charlotte Knights, opened in 2014, Romare Bearden Park, which opened in September 2013, and Gateway Village. Gateway Village, one of the state's largest mixed-use developments, is in size, and home to offices, shops, restaurants, entertainment venues and over 500 housing units. Johnson & Wales University's Charlotte campus is located directly across from Gateway Village, with Johnson C. Smith University's campus located adjacent. Third ward is also the site of the upcoming Gateway Station transportation hub, which began construction in July 2018. The Gateway Station will house a Greyhound bus stop, an Amtrak station, LYNX Silver Line, and a Charlotte Area Transit System bus hub. Overall the Ward includes of office space, 4,397 residential units, 367 hotel rooms, and of retail space.

Fourth Ward

The fourth ward lies directly to the north of the intersection of Trade and Tryon. It is that quadrant bounded by North Tryon on the southeast and West Trade on the southwest.
It is mostly residential and has many stately Victorian homes. It is an official historic district, and is the location of Old Settlers' Cemetery and the three-acre Fourth Ward Park. It is a blend of historic residential neighborhoods, modern restaurants, and an employment center. The Ward includes of office space, 4,844 residential units, 731 hotel rooms, and of retail space.

Economy

As of 2021 Uptown Charlotte employs 120,000 people across 33 million square feet of office space, hosts more than 18 million visitors a year, and is home to 35,000 residents.
Charlotte is the second largest banking center in the country behind New York City. This determination is made by the dollar amount of assets held by banks headquartered in the city. The current banks with headquarters in the city are Bank of America with $2.8 trillion in assets as of 2020 and Truist Financial with $509 billion in assets as of 2020. Both banks have their headquarters in Uptown, with Bank of America's headquarters at 100 North Tryon Bank of America Corporate Center and Truist's headquarters at 214 North Tryon Truist Center. Uptown has also become a hub of large bank employment bases. Wells Fargo, whose Charlotte presence was Wachovia prior to being acquired by Wells Fargo, occupies numerous buildings in Uptown including 550 South Tryon, 301 South College, Two Wells Fargo Center, Three Wells Fargo Center, and 300 South Brevard. Other banks that have a large employment base in Uptown are Ally Financial with 2,100 employees located in Ally Charlotte Center and U.S. Bank with 860 employees located in Truist Center.

Companies with headquarters in Uptown