Robinhood’s Charlotte office targets fall opening in Uptown

What’s happening: The fintech company’s space at 650 S. Tryon St. is scheduled to be ready for move-in by Oct. 1, city council member and Carolina Fintech Hub executive director Tariq Bokhari said Thursday. That’s a quick turnaround from the company’s March announcement that it would invest $11.7 million and bring nearly 400 jobs to Charlotte.

• Bokhari said Robinhood will initially occupy two floors of the building at 650 S. Tryon, the second of several towers underway from Charlotte developer Lincoln Harris.
• Work to upfit the space in the tower started 13 days ago, Bokhari said.

The tower is part of Lincoln Harris’ redevelopment of a 10-acre stretch of Uptown. Honeywell’s new headquarters is also underway there, and Bank of America moved into a new tower on the site.

Why it matters: Charlotte has become a hub for financial technology firms.

• Digital mortgage lender Better.com announced plans in 2019 to bring 1,000 jobs to the city.

• Fintech company Credit Karma announced in May that it will bring around 600 jobs and make Charlotte its East Coast hub.

Context: Robinhood, which pioneered commission-free stock trading, plans to go public.

• Despite its growth, the firm is under fire for restrictions it placed on purchasing shares of GameStop earlier this year.

A spokeswoman for Robinhood did not respond to questions about the space from Axios Charlotte.

Go deeper: Robinhood to expand into Charlotte with nearly 400-employee office Uptown