Spandrel Development Partners has announced plans for W Hotels to come to uptown Charlotte as the hospitality anchor of 400 South Tryon, marking a major addition to the city’s evolving hospitality landscape.
The 200-key hotel, which will feature 173 guestrooms and 27 suites, including a signature penthouse, is being developed in partnership with 7G Group, a boutique real estate investment and development firm, with design by Rockwell Group. The hotel will span floors one through nine of the building, with a signature rooftop food and beverage venue on the 34th floor.
Plans also call for 12,000ft2 of meeting space, a ground floor restaurant and coffee bar, ballroom and pre-function space, and the brand’s signature Living Room experience. The 18,000ft2 rooftop venue is planned as Charlotte’s highest rooftop bar, offering unobstructed skyline views and envisioned as a destination in its own right for hotel guests and locals.
Designed by Rockwell Group, with LS3P serving as architect of record, W Charlotte will draw from the history, culture and creative energy of the city itself. Rockwell’s design concept explores Charlotte through an ‘abstract collage of urban rhythms’, taking cues from the city’s music heritage, architecture, Southern character and evolution into a modern urban center. The concept also draws inspiration from Charlotte native artist Romare Bearden, whose layered collage work reflected the rhythms of jazz and urban life.
The transformation includes a complete replacement of the building’s original curtain wall with a contemporary panelised glass façade, giving the tower an entirely new presence on the Charlotte skyline.
Those influences will carry throughout the guest experience, beginning with a new arched porte-cochère and continuing into a dramatic double-height welcome area and distinguished Living Room.
Warm woods, natural stone, brass, rich textiles, sculptural elements and a palette of earthy and jewel tones will create a warm, residential interpretation of the brand’s signature energy. Guestrooms and suites will carry the design language throughout the hotel, culminating in a signature penthouse suite.
“The opportunity at 400 South Tryon is not simply to renovate an existing building, but to completely reimagine how it contributes to uptown,” says Ian Levine, Co-Founder of Spandrel Development Partners. “Rockwell Group, LS3P and CetraRuddy, serving as conceptual design architect, are creating something that feels connected to Charlotte while delivering the energy and experience people expect from W Hotels. We want that experience to begin the moment guests arrive and carry all the way to the rooftop.”
W Charlotte represents the hospitality component of Spandrel’s larger redevelopment of 400 South Tryon. The mixed-use project will transform the former 1970s office tower into a new destination, combining the 200-key hotel with 399 unbranded studio, one-, two and three-bedroom residences.
“Charlotte’s luxury hotel market is well-established, but it is missing a true luxury lifestyle hotel built around music, culture, and curated social experiences,” comments Emanuel Neuman, Co-Founder of Spandrel Development Partners. “W Hotels is a strong fit for where Charlotte is today and where it is headed, as it experiences remarkable growth while continuing to build a vibrant cultural identity. With new, impactful investments in entertainment and dining, Charlotte is evolving into the kind of dynamic destination that makes it ideal for W Hotels.”
