DC developer enters Charlotte market with $300 million plan for South End apartments

Audrey Elsberry
·3 min read

A Washington D.C. developer will spend $300 million to put up two apartment buildings in Charlotte’s South End.

Construction of the residential and mixed-use buildings begins in 2024. The project consists of a combined 800,000 square feet. The Mid-Atlantic real estate developer announced this week the project is part of its expansion into Charlotte and Richmond, Virginia.

Both buildings are on Distribution Street in the Brookhill area of South End.

One building is set to break ground at 2500 Distribution St., with about 330 new apartments and 10,000 square feet of communal space and amenities. Based on the rendering from Hoffman and Associates, this location will be about six stories high.

The other building is at 2401 Distribution St., with about 410 apartments and 5,000 square feet of retail space.

The first building will break ground in spring 2024 and be finished in just over two years. The second building will begin construction in spring 2025. The project should be ready in the summer of 2027.

More growth in South End

There is a record number of new apartment buildings under construction in Charlotte, with most in South End, said Chuck McShane, director of market analytics at CoStar Group.

“It’s one of the most active urban areas in the United States right now, certainly in Charlotte,” McShane said. “So you do have a lot of demand for, not only for living space there, but also for office and retail.”

The Distribution Street plans will join several other large South End construction projects, including:

  • An office, retail and restaurant development at 110 East Boulevard.

  • A 35-story office tower and 42-story apartment building at 1111 S. Tryon St.

  • A 30-story apartment tower at the southwest corner of Camden Road and West Park Avenue

  • Two 19-story buildings, one for office space and one residential, are planned for West Tremont Avenue.

Once all these projects finish construction, there may be a slowdown in development, said McShane. Lending is not being approved at the same level it once was, he said, and with all the competition in residential communities, rent prices could drop.

But for the immediate future, the familiar sight of cranes in the Charlotte skyline isn’t going anywhere.

About Hoffman & Associates

Hoffman & Associates has properties across Washington D.C. and surrounding areas in Virginia and Maryland. It is expanding down the Southeast with three properties in the works in Raleigh and most recently, plans for Richmond, Virginia, and Charlotte.

The company has developed about $6 billion worth of property. About half of this money went into a recently completed waterfront development in Washington D.C. called, The Wharf.

Hoffman & Associates focuses on mixed-use and residential communities.

These mixed-use areas are hot in the real estate world right now, where retail, office, entertainment, or residential spaces are located in the same building.

Mixed-use developments have proved successful because they provide walkability for customers in close proximity to retailers and convenient amenities for residents, McShane said.