Plans have been filed and approved as Charlotte City Council unanimously approved redevelopment plans for The Colony. The Colony is a 27 acre site located at the intersection of Colony and Sharon Roads, one block over from Southpark Mall. The old apartments at the site were iconic with their mansard style roofs, but they are making way for the future of how people live in the Southpark area.
This property has been owned by the same company since 1976, and this redevelopment is part of their long-term strategic planning. Synco Properties has been in business since the early 1970’s and they own or operate 4,000 multi-family units in 23 properties across the Carolinas. They led the rezoning effort, and Tim Hose, one of the owners who has been with the company since 1983, plans to live on the property when it is finished.
The site has been rezoned to allow a mix of up to 990 new multi-family residences, up to 225 hotel rooms, up to 300,000 square feet of retail, and up to 250,000 square feet of office space. This mix is right in keeping with trends and has all of the services you need as well as workplaces close to where you live so you can be in a more walkable space.
The higher density buildings and commercial portions of the property will be concentrated on Colony and Sharon Roads. The lower-density portions will be on the North side of the property facing Roxborough Road and Southwick Drive. The redevelopment will happen in a few different phases. The first phase will include retail and some of the residential portions of the project. The second phase will include an office building, additional multi-family for-sale or rental units and a small hotel. The remainder of the residential units will roll out later and could take place of the next 5-6 years or as demand dictates.
A revamp of some of the medians on the feeder roads is also part of the project. This will allow for turn lanes so Sharon Road and Colony Road will not be adversely affected by traffic. There will be plantings and landscaping in keeping with the rest of the Southpark area. The first phase is underway right now and is expected to open sometime in 2021. Additional phases will follow once phase one is completed.
Spearheading the redevelopment of the commercial portion of the property is Austin, Texas based Schlosser Development. They have developed many mixed-use projects over the years in Texas and other states. They currently own 3.5 million square feet of retail and office space. They have been nationally recognized for their retail and mixed-use developments and are expected to do great things with this project.
Tenants for the commercial side of the property are likely to include restaurants, and boutique shops. Those tenants have not been confirmed yet, but the new Publix supermarket has signed a lease to be the anchor store in the development, and Lifetime Fitness will be another anchor. The anchors are sure to draw in other tenants to make this a premier destination. This is definitely a project worth watching.
