W Hotels coming to Charlotte with Uptown's highest rooftop bar
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This is Spandrel's second Charlotte project. The New York firm developed the Radius apartment tower in Dilworth, which opened in 2024. Rendering: Rockwell Group
400 South Tryon, a foreclosed-on 1970s Uptown office tower, will turn into a luxury hotel with Charlotte's "highest rooftop bar," plus 399 apartments, Spandrel Development Partners announced Wednesday.
Why it matters: The redevelopment will take something Uptown really doesn't need — another dead office building — and give the area something it does — a hotel. And one with a posh reputation at that.
- It should open by the end of 2029.
What to expect: Spandrel's plans call for 173 guest rooms, 27 suites and a signature penthouse from floors one through nine. The hotel, to be called W Charlotte, is a well-known Marriott Bonvoy brand. Also inside:
- An 18,000-square-foot rooftop bar on the 34th floor, which the developer says will take the record for Charlotte's highest
- 12,000 square feet of meeting space
- A ground-floor restaurant and coffee bar
On the remaining floors, the development integrates 399 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units and amenities, including:
- An indoor pool
- A spa and fitness center
- A theater room
- A golf simulator
Zoom out: At 34 stories, the tower's complete reskinning should visibly alter the city's skyline.
- Architecture firm Rockwell Group is replacing the original curtain wall with a glass facade and has designed an arched porte-cochère off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Catch up quick: 400 S. Tryon fell into foreclosure in 2024. Spandrel bought the building, previously known as the Wachovia Center, for $36 million in April 2025.
- Axios reported on its planned conversion in the spring.
The big picture: Since coming out of the pandemic, Charlotte Center City Partners has talked about transitioning Uptown to a more multifaceted place where people live, shop and visit, not just go to work.
- Emanuel Neuman, co-founder of Spandrel, says 400 S. Tryon lends itself to conversion. Its floor plates and centralized utilities are laid out well for residences and a hotel.
- "In today's rising cost environment, the ability to convert and reuse the superstructure and other elements of a building creates a very compelling cost basis," Neuman says.
- 400 S. Tryon is among 3 million square feet of Uptown office space that is being converted, along with 301 S. Tryon and 200 N. College, as CBRE tallied in its midyear report.
The intrigue: Charlotte is often considered to have too few hotel rooms to draw major events. However, it now has multiple hospitality projects underway, including the Johnston Building conversion and a brand-new hotel building under construction in South End.
- On a recent visit to Charlotte, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell indicated too few quality hotels can be a roadblock for contending Super Bowl or draft host cities.
- But he also said he expects Charlotte to hold the event, eventually, given the city's fast growth.
What's next: Spandrel didn't share a groundbreaking date but expects the work to take 30 to 32 months.
- Some retail tenants are still in the building. The developer anticipates they will remain through the end of their leases.
