How Crescent is making Stonewall Street the new center of Uptown

It’s time to move on from Trade & Tryon, and I can certainly get on board.

To catch you up: One project, Crescent Stonewall Station, will bring a Whole Foods, apartments and retail in a high-rise with a rooftop deck. The other — Tryon Place — is the hotel, office and retail complex where the Goodyear building is now.

While Crescent Stonewall Station is revolutionary with its Whole Foods and amazing patio space, it’s Tryon Place that will truly transform this area of uptown. It’s set to add to the skyline from above and add to the Charlotte experience below. It’s an example of development done right, and will be a destination as soon as it opens.

Photo via Crescent Communities

I had the pleasure of meeting with Brian Leary, president of Crescent’s commercial and mixed-use business group, to hear his philosophy on space. I came away convinced that the company is serious about creating something the community as a whole can use.

What I am most excited about with Tryon Place is obviously the ground floor. Tons of retail space, plaza space and unique architecture. Crescent seems to understand that while the architecture of the building is important, the project is a failure if you the human scale is a failure.

Photo via Crescent Communities

What is going to set Tryon Place apart is that Crescent is listening to the community to understand the needs of both potential tenants and the community they are involved in. They are focused on creating public space for the future, taking inspiration from things that work elsewhere in the world and incorporating it, and focusing on community.

Art will be integrated in, rather than thrown in. Art done right, threaded in, rather than just art for the sake of it. One major thing I hate about office buildings (new and old) is the oversized, underused lobby. While Tryon Place will have a lobby, it will be smaller and fit in the project with seating and furniture rather than just a big open space.

Another aspect under consideration that I could not be more excited about is the prospect of a beer garden at Tryon Place. There is a retail space in the garage that is being considered for a beer garden and it’s also possible the garage could be built over top of it to give it an open, yet enclosed feel (think the Biergarten at the Standard in NYC). No pressure Crescent, but this needs to happen. It would absolutely kill it uptown.

Photo via Crescent Communities

What’s interesting to see as I have been covering this project is Crescent’s attention to detail and the continued evolution of this project. It has changed significantly since I started covering it and all the changes being made are the continued development of improving the public space. Crescent is continuously learning, changing and enhancing the human scale and public experience.

Tryon Place should break ground early next year with a 2018 completion. When this opens up, it will bring a true experience to Charlotte and all of us who live in it. The mass of restaurants, public space and event areas will certainly provide a unique experience not seen anywhere else in uptown.

Cover image via Crescent Communities