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For Charlotte's Biggest Development, Crescent Says Its Partnership Is Now A Solo Act

The River District
The 1,400-acre River District is a planned development west of Charlotte Douglas Airport.

The 1,400-acre River District has been a partnership between two massive developers: Crescent Communities and commercial developer Lincoln Harris. 

But now, it's a solo act for Crescent.

The two originally planned to build what would essentially be a new, self-contained community of homes, apartments, offices and stores and hotels between the airport and the Catawba River. There would be 800,000 square feet of office space – twice as much as in the Ballantyne Corporate Park.

Crescent Communities was going to focus on residential development. Lincoln Harris was going to focus on the office and retail.

But Chase Kerley of Crescent Communities said Lincoln Harris is now focusing on what he calls “pad-ready” development in other parts of Charlotte, and that Crescent is now the lead developer on the entire project.

He said Lincoln Harris would be welcome to rejoin the River District.

"We’re not going to stand in the way of that," he said. "But otherwise in the meantime, or for the entirety, we do look to be the lead developer of the entirety of the River District outside of land that we own."

Crescent owns about 1,100 acres of the River District. There are 300 acres that are part of the development with several different owners, and Lincoln Harris guided those property owners through the city’s rezoning process.

Kurley said the River District is still on track. The first phase will be built near I-485 and West Boulevard.

"We anticipate having site work completed and infrastructure substantially in by the end 2021, with hopefully building permits in and around the same time frame," he said.

Lincoln Harris is developing the 10-acre Legacy Union site near Bank of America Stadium, which includes a new office tower for Honeywell and the recently finished Bank of America Tower.

Lincoln Harris said in a statement that it remains involved in the River District, but it didn’t say how. And the company is no longer listed as a partner on the River District website.

Steve Harrison is WFAE's politics and government reporter. Prior to joining WFAE, Steve worked at the Charlotte Observer, where he started on the business desk, then covered politics extensively as the Observer’s lead city government reporter. Steve also spent 10 years with the Miami Herald. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, the Sporting News and Sports Illustrated.