See inside The Pearl, home to Charlotte's first medical school
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Charlotte was the largest U.S. city without a four-year medical school. Photo: Ashley Mahoney/Axios
The Pearl, a massive new development in midtown housing Charlotte's first four-year medical school, opened its doors Monday.
Why it matters: The Pearl promises to be a transformational development for Charlotte, drawing in medical students, creating new jobs in science and research, and fostering cutting-edge innovation and entrepreneurialism.
By the numbers: Phase 1 A cost more than $1 billion. Wexford Science + Technology is the developer for the project.
- The city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County approved incentives worth $75 million total for the project that will unfold over the next decade.
What to expect: The Pearl will serve as:
- Wake Forest University School of Medicine's Charlotte campus. Forty-eight students will start medical school there this fall. Class size is expected to increase to 100 students per class over the next five years.
- IRCAD's North American headquarters, which will open in September. The France-based surgical training institute's local surgical training curriculum will focus on cardiovascular, neuro and orthopedic surgeries.
- A hub housing STEM activities for students as young as fifth grade, starting this fall.
- A space for community events, from outdoor movies and live music to yoga in nearby Peal Street Park.
Between the lines: The Pearl sits in what was formerly Brooklyn — once Charlotte's largest Black neighborhood. The neighborhood was razed in the name of urban renewal in the 1960s and '70s.
- There are nods to Brooklyn throughout The Pearl, from the name itself to "The Purposeful Walk," a self-guided walk through Brooklyn's history, outside the main building.
- The section in front of The Pearl's is known as Jacob's Ladder, a reference to the fire escape at Myers Street School, which educated Black children and was known as the Jacob's Ladder school.
- During the opening celebration Monday, attendees participated in paint by numbers, filling in a section of the Savoy Theatre mural, which was once a theater in Brooklyn.
What's next: The existing portion of The Pearl is Phase 1 A. Phase 1 B will include the construction of a hotel, which will break ground this fall. There will also be a multi-family residential and an additional road. This will be privately funded.
- A restaurant that will be open to the public is expected to debut in the next 12-14 months with an announcement on the restaurant tenant coming this summer.
- The innovation district currently has roughly 700,000 square feet built and space for up to 4 million square feet.
The bottom line: "If you build it they will come," Advocate Health CEO Gene Woods said, quoting the film "Field of Dreams." "Well we built it, and they're coming."
Take a look around.
