The first phase of Charlotte’s mixed-use medical district just outside uptown, The Pearl, opened in July. It includes a campus of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, a surgical training center, and medical technology companies.
But it’s what The Pearl doesn’t include that has some city and county leaders wanting answers. When Atrium Health asked for $75 million in public money for the district in 2021, they promised affordable housing. So far, that housing has not been built.
Michelle Crouch wrote about it for the Charlotte Ledger and N.C Health News. She joined WFAE’s Marshall Terry.
Marshall Terry: Take us back a few years to when Atrium, the city, and the county reached this agreement. Why did Atrium get any public money? And what did Atrium say as far as the affordable housing goes?
Michelle Crouch: As you said, this all goes back to 2021. Atrium was asking for $75 million in taxpayer money for The Pearl, and as part of their request, they made a lot of promises about how this project was going to lift up the whole community. Some of those promises were about affordable housing, which was a top priority for the city and still is. What Atrium said is that they would set aside 5% of the apartments at The Pearl for affordable housing. That's a pretty small number, so Atrium also said that they would donate a 14-acre site on North Tryon Street to the city's housing authority. They said they'd partner with the agency to build more than 400 units there. But so far, none of that housing has happened and it's not clear when or if it will be built.
Terry: Is Atrium legally obligated to build the affordable housing, or do they have a loophole here?
Crouch: So that's an interesting question and one that I looked into as part of my reporting. I got a copy of the contract between Atrium and the city, and it turns out that the language is pretty fuzzy. I had a real estate attorney take a look at it, and it turns out that the contract doesn't legally require Atrium to build any housing or to donate that site on North Tryon Street. It says things like they must make good faith efforts to include affordable units at The Pearl, and they should contemplate donating the land on North Tryon Street to the housing authority. So technically, there's no binding requirement for Atrium to build any housing.
Terry: Now I know you reached out to Atrium as part of your reporting. What was their response when you asked them about this?
Crouch: They stressed their longtime commitment to affordable housing in the city of Charlotte, noting that they've donated millions of dollars to the Housing Trust Fund in the city. And they also stressed that they have honored all of the commitments that they made in that contract with the city, which is true. They also said that they're in talks with the developer about including some affordable housing at The Pearl.
Terry: Your story has gotten the attention of local leaders. What are they saying?
Crouch: After my story was published, city councilwoman Dimple Ajmera brought it up at a public meeting. She asked for an update on Atrium's commitments and said she wanted a concrete timeline and accountability. Other city and county leaders told me that they were disappointed that the language in the agreement was so vague, and so they're asking for more information about how that happened.
Terry: So what happens next then?
Crouch: It's worth noting that Atrium hasn't received any of the $75 million yet. A city spokesman told me it will be contingent on Atrium meeting its commitments, but it's not clear how much leverage the city really has when it comes to the housing that was promised. So I think at this point what happens next is really up to city leaders, hard are they going to push for Atrium to make good on those public promises?
