Crescent Communities Breaks Ground on Master-Planned Charlotte Project
The River District will include mixed-income residences, as well as a hotel and commercial options.
Crescent Communities has begun construction on an over 500-acre master-planned development in Charlotte, N.C. The company held a groundbreaking ceremony for The River District on March 29, celebrating key construction milestones, included the completion of major utility and roadway infrastructure for Westrow, the project’s first mixed-use development.
Westrow will offer 514 market-rate apartments and 124 mixed-income units. Crescent Communities plans for its NOVEL brand of multifamily communities to anchor the Westrow development, which will include apartments, townhouses and single-family residences.
The Foundation for the Carolinas is constructing the 124-unit mixed-income community alongside Charlotte-based affordable housing developer Laurel Street Residential. Westrow will feature small retail spaces and restaurants, as well as event and office space.
Overall, The River District will offer more than 5,000 homes and apartments on several hundred acres of preserved land. Besides the residential uses, The River District will include hotels, retirement units and eight million square feet of commercial space.
Crescent Communities plans to implement an action plan at the district that will align with more sustainable development practices. The developer plans to adhere to the One Planet Living sustainability framework, making it the first community in the southeastern U.S. to use this standard, according to a statement.
Bullish on build-to-rent communities
Other than The River District, Crescent Communities has $7.2 billion of residential and commercial projects either under management, being developed or undergoing construction, including 15,300 units of multifamily or single-family, build-to-rent projects.
Elsewhere in Charlotte, Crescent Communities partnered with Pretium to develop two build-to-rent communities as part of their plans to invest $1 billion into single-family build-to-rent communities across the Sun Belt region. The companies broke ground on these two projects, which total 136 units, in October, with plans to complete them in 2023. More recently, Crescent Communities broke ground on NOVEL 14th Street, a 197-unit rental community in Washington, D.C. in January 2023, with plans to deliver the property in 2025.