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Axios
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
What to expect at Charlotte SHOUT! 2025
Charlotte SHOUT! returns to Uptown April 4-20. Why it matters: The popular spring festival, which celebrates art, music, food and ideas, draws hundreds of thousands of people to Uptown each year. By the numbers: More than 642,000 people attended the 2024 festival. According to Charlotte Center City Partners, the festival organizer, it produced $17.1 million in economic impact for Uptown businesses. What to expect: The family-friendly festival includes more than 200 events and art installations — like massive inflatable characters and mini golf designed by local artists. There will also be CanStruction, a live competition where engineers and designers will create CanArt® sculptures. The cans of food will later be donated to local food bank Second Harvest. Familiar favorites include E/motion (the light-up see-saws), Eggs on Parade (massive Easter eggs designed by local artists), and Pianodrome (an amphitheater constructed from 40 recycled pianos). There will be a pre-festival ticketed event on April 3 at 7pm at the newly restored Carolina Theatre, celebrating art, music, food, ideas, and fashion. Noelle Russell, CEO of the AI Leadership Institute, will deliver a keynote speech examining the impact and future of AI. A full events schedule and list of locations will be released closer to the festival. Charlotte SHOUT! will serve as the umbrella for three additional festivals: The Charlotte Ideas Festival runs April 3-8 and will feature astrophysicist and musician Matt Russo, who will speak about the sounds of the cosmos, plus bestselling authors Ann Patchett and Kevin Wilson. Carolina BBQ Festival is April 4-5, featuring live music, local vendors and top pitmasters. Charlotte StrEATs runs April 12-13, highlighting Charlotte's food scene. StrEATs Uncorked returns on April 4, focusing on North Carolina wine.
Axios
30-01-2025
- Business
- Axios
By the numbers: How Uptown and South End are growing
Charlotte Center City Partners released its annual "State of the Center City" report on Thursday, offering a data-packed snapshot of Uptown, South End and midtown. Why it matters: The report is intended to "woo" executives, developers and investors who may want to move a company here, build a skyscraper or make another kind of economic splash. Beyond its business purpose, the report provides a fascinating glance at how Charlotte's urban core is evolving. Let's take a look at some of the stats: Who's living in Uptown and South End 73,000+: Residents in the center city (up from 67,000+ in 2022) Uptown 33: Median age (unchanged from the 2024 report) $1,950: Average rent 590+: Apartments under construction $87,000: Median household income South End 30: Median age (30 in 2023, 29 in 2023, 28 in 2022) $2,100: Average rent 2,660+: Apartments under construction $100,000: Median household income Uptown's busiest days of 2024 The 10 days with the highest Uptown visits in 2024 were all driven by sporting events or concerts at Bank of America Stadium and Spectrum Center. 266,000 — Oct. 26 (Concert for Carolina and the Charlotte Hornets home opener) 258,000 — Oct. 19 (Morgan Wallen concert at Bank of America Stadium) 245,000 — Oct. 18 (Morgan Wallen concert at Bank of America Stadium) Biggest day ahead? Center City Partners hopes to get close to 300,000 visitors on May 3, when Kendrick Lamar and SZA are performing at Bank of America Stadium, and Lovin' Life Music Fest is happening simultaneously. Development pipeline $3.7 billion: Development under construction and forecasted to break ground in 2026, including: 2.2 million square feet of office 338,800+ square feet of retail 1,630+ hotel rooms 7,110+ apartment units Development over time: 2024 report: $4.2 billion 2023 report: $6.9 billion 2022 report: $4 billion People returning to work 81%: The frequency of people working (at least three days a week in an office) in Uptown and South End at pre-pandemic levels — up from approximately 70% in 2023 New businesses in 2024 34: New businesses opened in Uptown 25: New businesses opened in South End Other stats 70%: UNC Charlotte graduates who stay in Charlotte after graduating $414K: Median home price in the Charlotte metro in 2023 $45: Average office rent per square foot in Charlotte (Compare that to $68 in Austin) 125K+: People estimated to work in center city daily 117: People moving to Charlotte every day Editor's note: This story has been corrected throughout to show the development pipeline's expected office and retail space as well as the number of hotel rooms and apartments.
Axios
30-01-2025
- Business
- Axios
Charlotte is ready to spill its tech "secret"
Charlotte's growing tech workforce has long flown under the radar, but economic development leaders want to broadcast the city's hidden advantage to draw new businesses and investors. Why it matters: Organizations like Charlotte Center City Partners say they believe they can lure more future-focused companies here by revealing the tech talent hidden in our banking, insurance and other industries. What they're saying: Site selectors are catching on that Charlotte has a wealth of tech talent that's more affordable to hire, says James LaBar, senior vice president of economic development at Charlotte Center City Partners. Unlike in larger tech hubs, startups and smaller companies don't have to contend with industry giants when recruiting candidates in Charlotte. In other major cities, such as Austin, they're up against not only "the salary of Google, but the coolness of Google," LaBar explains. LaBar calls the tech talent Charlotte's "secret." By the numbers: The average wage for a tech worker in Charlotte is $97,044 — far below $192,969 in the San Francisco Bay area or $119,983 in Austin, according to commercial real estate firm CBRE. CBRE ranks Charlotte among the top markets for high-tech job growth, with the pool expanding 19.3% to 71,050 workers between 2018 and 2023. Zoom out: The Triangle's well-established tech ecosystem has helped the region attract big employers like Wolfspeed, Fujifilm Diosynth and Meta. The Raleigh-Durham market now boasts 75,150 tech workers, an increase of 17.9% between 2018 and 2023. What's next: Charlotte Center City Partners emphasizes tech in its latest "State of the Center City" report, an annual publication designated to persuade prospective investors and companies of the area's potential. This year's book, titled "Innovation Meets Momentum," highlights Charlotte's intention to transition into an innovation destination. Center City Partners is supporting the establishment of the North Tryon Tech Hub in Uptown, where UNC Charlotte opened CO-LAB, a dedicated space for entrepreneurs. "Charlotte is not renowned for its entrepreneurship, yet it has a really strong community," says Michael Smith, president and CEO of Center City Partners.
