Proposed UNC Charlotte hotel and conference center

The proposed UNC Charlotte conference center and hotel have drawn plenty of interest, especially from people following the surge of development taking place near the new LYNX light-rail stations on North Tryon Street.

Thanks to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department, vivid renderings and many building details are now available for public view.

You can find the latest site plan and other materials on the department website, among its list of 2018 rezoning petitions, under Petition 2018-047.

Site for facility will require zoning change

The UNC Charlotte Foundation, which owns the site for the proposed development, is asking the Charlotte City Council to rezone 4.42 acres near the JW Clay Boulevard Transit Station for a hotel with up to 230 rooms and a 15,000-square-foot conference center.

All of the project’s required planning documents and city-staff reviews (as they are completed) are available online.

As of June 15, the rezoning public hearing for this project is scheduled for the Charlotte City Council’s monthly zoning meeting on June 18. However, several petitions including possibly this one will be deferred to a later date. See below for more meeting details. Download the meeting agenda here.

What we know so far

View from North Tryon Street (click to enlarge)

Tentatively called the UNC Charlotte Marriott, the hotel and conference center are proposed for about 4.4 acres bordered by North Tryon Street, JW Clay Boulevard, Robert D. Snyder Road and the PORTAL Building parking lot. The land is owned by the UNC Charlotte Foundation.

The current site plan shows a six-story hotel fronting North Tryon Street and the conference center fronting Robert D. Snyder Drive.

View from Robert D. Snyder Drive (click to enlarge)

A second building for parking would be built between the hotel / conference center and the PORTAL Building property. The cost of the project is estimated at $90 million.

Links to LYNX and parking

Aerial view of walkway to transit station

An overhead walkway already links the property to the JW Clay Transit Station located in the North Tryon Street median, as well as to the JW Clay Station parking deck on the other side of North Tryon Street.

The proposed conference center would also be directly across Robert D. Snyder Drive from the an existing parking deck and surface parking lot.

Why rezone?

The foundation is requesting that the site be rezoned to allow transit-oriented development such as the hotel and conference center. Much of the site already has a form of TOD zoning. The rest of the site is zoned for institutional uses such as universities.

If the council rezones the property, construction could start by early 2019, with completion in late summer 2020, Niles Sorensen, president of the UNC Charlotte Foundation, has said.

Experienced partners

The foundation’s three partners on the hotel and conference center  have deep experience with hotel projects.

Stormont Hospitality Group has completed more than $2 billion in hotel development projects, including the Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway, the Raleigh Marriott Center and Aloft Charlotte Uptown at the EpiCentre. Website

Cooper Carry, a national design firm, worked with developer Peter Pappas to create Charlotte’s Metropolitan at Midtown. Cooper Carry provided design services for the architecture, interior design and planning for the 14-acre center just south of uptown. Website

Sage Hospitality manages 75 hotels and over 440,000 square feet of meeting space, including the Ritz-Carlton Chicago and Hilton Charlotte Executive Park. Website

Learn more about the project

View rezoning documents including the detailed site plan for this project, Petition 2018-047.

For further information about this petition and the rezoning process, contact Sonja Sanders with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department staff at ssanders@ci.charlotte.nc.us or 704-336-8327.

How to attend, speak at or view the public hearing

The City Council will hold its zoning meeting beginning about 6 pm June 18 in the council chambers at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center at 600 E. 4th St.

• Watch: The public is welcome to watch the hearings from the visitor seating. The meeting is also recorded to watch or hear. Click for details.
• Address the council: The public is welcome to attend the hearings and to address the council. To speak at the hearing, sign up with the city clerk in advance online or at the council chambers before the start of the meeting. Click here to sign up online.
• Download an agenda: Click here to download the meeting agenda.