HEAVY HITTERS, How the region’s top developments of the past year came together

By Jen Wilson  –  Associate Editor, Charlotte Business Journal

As Charlotte continues to expand and evolve, each year brings another wave of development projects that are shaping the region in myriad ways. The Charlotte Business Journal seeks to highlight the best of these in the Heavy Hitters Commercial Real Estate Awards program, now in its ninth year.

More than two dozen finalists were chosen across multiple categories, from adaptive-reuse projects and towering office developments to hospitality venues, civic assets and multifamily communities. Winners in each category were revealed during an awards event held yesterday at Charlotte Marriott City Center.

At the event, attendees heard from Fred Klein, co-founder of local developer Childress Klein, who received the 2022 Pillar Award. That lifetime achievement honor is bestowed on an individual who’s made a big impact in the industry here through their leadership, professional accomplishments and community involvement.

By the time Klein arrived in Charlotte in the late 1970s, he had already parlayed a lifelong interest in real estate — his father was a residential broker — into a burgeoning career with a national CRE giant. He would go on to form Childress Klein along with Don Childress and, since then, has been involved with development projects ranging from 550 South Tryon and One Wells Fargo Center uptown to retail, mixed-use and industrial properties around the region.

Klein recently talked with CBJ about getting the firm off the ground, how its trajectory has been linked to the city’s growth and why he thinks it’s positioned to prosper even as various sectors ebb and flow. Read that interview here, as part of the Heavy Hitters special report.

And check out the project profiles in this report for key details about each of the winners and finalists, including the main players with the development teams that pulled them off.

Here’s how we identified the Heavy Hitters finalists and winners:

CBJ sought nominations for developments completed or substantially completed between June 30, 2021, and July 1, 2022, in the 16-county Charlotte region. Each project nominated was judged based on contributions to the local business community, the design and execution, and the economic impact.

Specifically, judges considered the following criteria:

• How has the building enabled the developer, owner and client or tenants to successfully achieve their business objectives and implement their strategies?
• How was the development process outstanding in terms of quality, value, size, importance to the community, professionalism, service, overcoming obstacles, taking advantage of opportunities, creativity, flexibility and uniqueness?
• The long-term value of the development on the Charlotte region’s landscape, quality of life and economy.

CBJ scored each nomination based on those criteria, and developments were then ranked by their total points.