4 days ago
See inside The Pearl, home to Charlotte's first medical school
The Pearl, a massive new development in midtown housing Charlotte's first four-year medical school, opened its doors Monday.
Why it matters: The Pearl promises to be a transformational development for Charlotte, drawing in medical students, creating new jobs in science and research, and fostering cutting-edge innovation and entrepreneurialism.
By the numbers: Phase 1 A cost more than $1 billion. Wexford Science + Technology is the developer for the project.
The city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County approved incentives worth $75 million total for the project that will unfold over the next decade.
What to expect: The Pearl will serve as:
Wake Forest University School of Medicine's Charlotte campus. Forty-eight students will start medical school there this fall. Class size is expected to increase to 100 students per class over the next five years.
IRCAD's North American headquarters, which will open in September. The France-based surgical training institute's local surgical training curriculum will focus on cardiovascular, neuro and orthopedic surgeries.
A hub housing STEM activities for students as young as fifth grade, starting this fall.
A space for community events, from outdoor movies and live music to yoga in nearby Peal Street Park.
Between the lines: The Pearl sits in what was formerly Brooklyn — once Charlotte's largest Black neighborhood. The neighborhood was razed in the name of urban renewal in the 1960s and '70s.
There are nods to Brooklyn throughout The Pearl, from the name itself to "The Purposeful Walk," a self-guided walk through Brooklyn's history, outside the main building.
The section in front of The Pearl's is known as Jacob's Ladder, a reference to the fire escape at Myers Street School, which educated Black children and was known as the Jacob's Ladder school.
During the opening celebration Monday, attendees participated in paint by numbers, filling in a section of the Savoy Theatre mural, which was once a theater in Brooklyn.
What's next: The existing portion of The Pearl is Phase 1 A. Phase 1 B will include the construction of a hotel, which will break ground this fall. There will also be a multi-family residential and an additional road. This will be privately funded.
A restaurant that will be open to the public is expected to debut in the next 12-14 months with an announcement on the restaurant tenant coming this summer.
The innovation district currently has roughly 700,000 square feet built and space for up to 4 million square feet.
The bottom line:"If you build it they will come," Advocate Health CEO Gene Woods said, quoting the film "Field of Dreams." "Well we built it, and they're coming."
Take a look around.
