Jan 12, 2026 - News

5 of Charlotte's buzziest developments to watch in 2026

Alexandria Sands

Construction site in a city with a tall crane and workers, two large signs display modern skyscraper renderings labeled "Queens Bridge Collective" against a clear blue sky. — Photo: Alexandria Sands/Axios

Uptown and South End will quickly begin to feel like one cohesive neighborhood in the coming years, as some long-planned, massive developments get off the ground and blur the lines.

Why it matters: New skyscrapers will expand the skyline, and blossoming mixed-use districts will replace the few remaining undeveloped pieces of land. Both are signs of the city's growth and the region's economic viability.

Here are five of the biggest developments to watch:

Queensbridge Collective's second skyscraper

Aerial view of two modern high-rise buildings at sunset in an urban area, with glass facades, green rooftop, busy streets, and cityscape extending into the horizon. — Provided by Goettsch Partners

Chicago-based Riverside Investment & Development has successfully entered the Charlotte market. It has started construction on the second tower at its Queensbridge Collective development and is on track to open in 2028.

Companies are quickly snagging the roughly 400,000 square feet of office space being built: Moore & Van Allen (206,000 square feet), Pacific Life (70,000 square feet) and EY (45,000 square feet).
Also in the 43-story tower, there will be 304 luxury apartments, complementing the Vivian residential tower on the neighboring lot, which recently finished construction.

The big picture: Queensbridge has come to symbolize Charlotte's rebounding demand for new office space, as companies seek the sleekest and most amenitized options on the market to excite workers back to desks.

📍 Morehead and Tryon streets, where Midnight Diner and the Uptown Cabaret strip club used to be.

Centre South's first homes

Night aerial view of a modern urban complex with lit multi-story buildings, rooftop pools, tree-lined streets, parking lots, and a central green space with pathways and trees. — Provided by The Fallon Company

The Fallon Company, a Boston-based developer, is homing in on Charlotte to capitalize on the Southeast's growth. Following its Cotswold apartments, Fallon's next project in the area is this six-story apartment building, called Twelve03, which will comprise 329 units and should be move-in ready in 2028.

Of those, 66 will be set aside as affordable for residents making 65-80% of the area median income (roughly $50,000 to $62,850 for one person). The public-private partnership should help generate revenue for Inlivian, Charlotte's housing authority.

The big picture: This initial phase may just be another apartment building — nothing out of the ordinary for Charlotte ¸— but it kick-starts a much larger, nearly 17-acre vision for that prominent property, which sits in between three of Charlotte's hottest neighborhoods: South End, Uptown and Dilworth.

The Fallon Company has long planned hundreds of residences, office, retail and potentially a hotel on the site, although the timeline of the full build-out is unknown.

📍 Down the street from the Dowd YMCA, where Strawn Cottages used to be.

Carson & Tryon

Modern glass buildings surrounding a green courtyard with people walking and socializing under a sunset sky with soft clouds and warm lighting. — Provided by Crescent Communities

Charlotte developer Crescent Communities, along with Nuveen Real Estate, has long planned to replace the Enterprise Rent-A-Car in South End with another tower.

But office leasing slowed after the pandemic, delaying the construction. However, demand is recently picking up and looks promising (just look at Riverside's aforementioned nearby project).
Across 31 stories, the Carson & Tryon tower is slated to have 565,000 square feet of office, about 20,000 square feet of retail, around 200 multifamily units and a 180-room hotel.

The big picture: Crescent's Sagar Rathie tells Axios the firm wants to lock in an anchor tenant that will prelease at least half the office space before it begins construction. It has the permits and will be ready to go when that happens.

(It was rumored Moore & Van Allen looked to move their office here first, before opting for Queensbridge Collective.)

📍 Across from Vantage South End, Carson & Tryon would be the third big tower at this intersection, joining Riverside.

Iron District's first phase

Iron District rendering of street with buildings in background — Rendering: S9Architecture

Once a place to melt scrap metal, the Iron District will bring a host of lively uses that are more fitting to the surrounding South End and Uptown.

Landowner Charlotte Pipe and Foundry, which previously operated on the site, is working with Dallas firm Trammell Crow Company to begin developing 12 of the 55-plus acres into a mixed-use destination.
The first phase will include a hotel (about 150 rooms), 500 residential units, 100,000 square feet of retail space, 150,000 square feet of office and more than 1,200 parking spaces.

The big picture: This much unused acreage in such a prime location — the edge of South End near Bank of America Stadium — is hard to come by.

📍 West Morehead, around Blume Studios.

South Boulevard's next tower

Empty urban lot with concrete foundation remnants, bare trees, graffiti on a low wall, a pale green building, and a clear blue sky in the background. — Photo: Alexandria Sands/Axios

We didn't lose the OG Tyber Creek for nothing. A proposed tower on the site is still happening — even if it's taking a few years for construction to get underway.

Southern Land Company, a Nashville developer, confirms it expects to break ground on its 300-unit luxury high-rise in 2026.

The big picture: It's taken a lot of effort to clear this corner, one of South End's rare real estate opportunities, from demolishing one of Charlotte's favorite bars to carefully hauling a historic building off the lot.

📍 South Boulevard and Tremont Avenue

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