(The Charlotte Observer December 22, 2015)
By Ely Portillo
Last year, one of the first stories I wrote on the development beat contained this pronouncement from Gov. Pat McCrory: “The cranes are back.”
The pronouncement still holds true, as two new cranes joined the metal forest sprouting between the skyscrapers of uptown Charlotte. They were erected within the last few days to build an office tower and a new hotel, further evidence that the city’s record building boom is still gaining steam.
They join cranes that are already in place building apartment towers such as the Mint Museum project by Childress Klein, Ascent by Greystar and SkyHouse II by Grubb Properties and Novare, as well as the 300 South Tryon office tower by Spectrum Properties.
Here are the newest cranes uptown:
â–ª 615 South College Street: Portman Holdings is building a 19-story office tower atop the parking garage next to the Westin. The project is speculative, meaning no tenants have been signed yet. Atlanta-based Portman broke ground in August on the tower, which is expected to be complete in early 2017.
