EXCLUSIVE: The Gold District

First, let’s talk history.

Charlotte has two historical eras that I am most aware of: The American Revolution and gold mining. We have destroyed most of our Revolutionary history (sigh) but buried near South End lies a history that thankfully the city hasn’t destroyed yet.

A brief history

In 1799 a gold nugget was discovered in Charlotte, and thus began our history as a financial center. Three major mines scattered from Uptown to South End fed what was known as the North Carolina Gold Rush. Not only did we beat that other gold rush, we had the first gold mint outside of Philadelphia (currently The Mint Apartments are being built on the old site).

The history is really fascinating and has been extensively covered, but let’s get to the meat here, let’s talk about the future and the vision of the Gold District.

What does the zoning overlay do?

The Gold District overlay zoning will be coded by AU (the periodic table symbol for gold, harr harr) and establish a set of zoning standards that will allow for ease of development for the future.

The zoning allows for almost any use imaginable with the exception of some things I am happy that won’t be allowed (funeral homes, hazardous materials storage, cemeteries, body shops, etc).

The minimum building setback will be 14’ behind the existing or future curb. This helps the area’s walkability by giving plenty of space to sidewalks and landscaping.

The zoning is heavily focused on providing urban open space (1 sqft for every 500 sqft of gross floor area). In addition, areas will shaded by a tree canopy and “the first floor of all new buildings must be designed to encourage and complement pedestrian-scale interest and activity.” This all sounds like it will (over time) create an inviting district that exists to encourage people walking around. New developments will have 8’ planting strip and a 6’ sidewalk.

What is the vision?

The Gold District is a vision for a full revitalization of the area bordered by Morehead to the north, Summit to the south, Church to the east and Graham to the west — 79 acres in total. Appropriately named the Gold District to honor the three gold mines the area sits on top (St. Catherine, Rudisill and Brush Hill Mines).

There are too many names to list all the people helping this come together, some folks I have talked to and heard mentioned are Stephen Overcash, Caren Wingate, Paul Kardous, Brooks Whiteside, Mike Sullivan, Walter Fields and more.

The vision is to create a cohesive district (think Short North in Columbus for those familiar) that will provide people with a little bit of everything. Most of what will be discussed here is pure vision and will be a 10+ year project bringing it all together. But what’s great about it, is that growth will be organic and bits and pieces will come together year after year. The “whole area will be a big party,” Stephen stated.

Another piece of the vision is to include a museum in the Rudisill Mine that will give a deep and clear history of what gold means to Charlotte and the history of the mines.

The vision also calls for the development of a high-rise, mixed-use tower at the intersection of Mint and Morehead (yes, all those run down buildings will be taken down, thankfully). The plan is to have a tower that can easily cater to a variety of uses; retail, hotel, office, residences — whatever the need is, the building can provide. This building will rise high above the skyline giving views of all of Charlotte, but will also be the anchor and the landmark of the Gold District that can be seen all throughout town.

Mint Street will become something of a main street filled with bars, restaurants, public space, art galleries and many more. This area will be designed for pedestrians and cater to those just walking around the neighborhood. In speaking with Caren, she stated that when it comes to the types of businesses “no matter what your gold is, come mine it here.”

What can you use now?

Whiteside Industrial & Paul Kardous were the first to get things going in The Gold District. Unknown Brewery, Magnolia Emporium, Craft Growler Shop and Tasting Room and The Gallery South End are the first to set up shop and showcase what the area has to offer. Brooks Whiteside and others leased all these businesses in the stretch of buildings at Mint, Lincoln and Church out at Whiteside Industrial. Craft and Unknown are open now with The Gallery South End set to open early July.

What is coming soon?

1400 S Church Street is going to be remodeled into game changing retail space including a Korean restaurant.

Spectrum Residential has filed rezoning for the parking lot at Winnifred, Tryon and Catherine. I would speculate this will become townhomes or apartments. This is technically outside the borders of the district, but exciting none the less.

The lot bordered by Winnifred, Bland, Tryon and Winona is under contract and surveyors were recently spotted on the site. I have heard an office tower is planned with a hotel component but that is strictly speculation at this point. Like the Spectrum lot, this is outside the Gold District borders but it is still something to keep an eye out for.

Magnolia Emporium is an interior design studio and they have the coolest ideas and items. They design beyond just a necessity and look to create “real” spaces with beauty from all kinds of styles. The showroom will be a quiet space with plenty of catalogues to choose the right item for you. The owner, Randolph James, stated you can order anything from furniture, bedding from Indonesia, tile and even appliances. One thing they will be selling which will really resonate with the people in the area is patio furniture specifically designed for apartment patios. Randolph told me that they will “curate the space to match the personality of the client” and that it “doesn’t matter who you are, you get the same level of service.”

Lastly, Randolph told me the plan for the alleyway behind their buildings. “Imagine a French alleyway” he said and you will have something close to what is happening here. The walls of the buildings will be painted with murals by local artists, overhead lights will be put up and chairs, tables and other decorative items will be supplied by Magnolia to line the alleyway. The plan is to give a place to the community to hang out. Grab a beer at Craft or a glass of wine at The Gallery or just walk by, anyone is welcome to hang out in this alley. Look for that this fall.

The project is a monumental undertaking and something that is brand new to Charlotte. We don’t have any true districts and nothing has been organically grown like this will be. I will cover this vision whenever new pieces of the puzzle popup. But for now, keep going to Craft and Unknown, check out The Gallery and Magnolia when they open and stay tuned for a few more things coming this year, early next year.

Special thanks to Stephen Overcash, Brooks Whiteside, Caren Wingate and Randolph James for their insight into this project. Photos courtesy of Stephen Overcash, Magnolia Emporium and @southendclt. Have development scoops or feedback? [email protected] or @jasonthomasclt