Heavy Hitters: Spotlight on Charlotte’s best in commercial real estate

Developers Crosland and Nuveen took a surface parking lot and created a walkable, urban destination.

Commonwealth

WINNER: TOP MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT

Crosland Southeast and Nuveen Real Estate built Commonwealth as place that would connect the heart of Plaza Midwood through shops, green space, housing and office development. The $350 million, mixed-use project at 1710 Commonwealth Ave. has more than lived up to those expectations. 

It’s the first major office development in the neighborhood, and its 150,000-square-foot office building is the soon-to-be home and headquarters for 1,200 Scout Motors employees.

Commonwealth, which broke ground in 2021 and delivered in phases through August 2025, has 383 Class A multifamily units at The Rowe and 100,000 square feet of ground-floor retail that includes two 100-year-old, adaptive-reuse buildings. The project has attracted tenants like Uchi, Maman, Lucchese, Pop-Up Bagels, Sweetgreen, Bartaco, Postino, Harriet’s Hamburgers and Warby Parker.

Crosland and Nuveen took an underutilized surface parking lot and created a 12-acre, walkable, urban destination in the center of Plaza Midwood while preserving decades of history. A later phase at Commonwealth will include another 150,000-square-foot office building, giving Scout Motors an even stronger foothold in Charlotte.

— Elise Franco

KEY PLAYERS

Owner/Developer: Crosland Southeast, Nuveen Real Estate

Architect: Axiom Architecture, BB+M Architecture

Design/Build Contractor: Choate Construction

Leasing Brokers: Barry Fabyan and Charley Leavitt, Cushman & Wakefield

Engineer: LandDesign

BY THE NUMBERS

$350M development cost

150,000-square-foot office

1,200 high-paying jobs