An $80 million commercial project on Charlotte’s west side is about 80% complete, bringing to market new office and retail space. But there’s even more to come for the developer in the Queen City.

Lower Tuck, which includes buildings on Jay Street, Tuckaseegee Road and Gesco Street in Seversville and Wesley Heights, will include about 260,000 square feet of commercial space when it delivers in July. It’s the debut Charlotte project for Atlanta-based Third & Urban, which is working with investment firm Angelo Gordon.

The firms paid $23.2 million in multiple transactions last year for 929 and 1018 Jay St., 700 Tuckaseegee Road and 800 Gesco St. Construction has included full roof replacements, new storefront window openings and skylights. Up next is landscaping and parking lot installation, followed by completion of common areas, outdoor patios and courtyards.

No tenants have been confirmed yet but the developer says it has about 185,000 square feet of prospects at the property right now, in various stages of interest and negotiation.

“We’re starting to see the office and retail markets really pick up in a big way,” said Pierce Lancaster, managing partner at Third & Urban.

That’s partly because of optimism that some degree of normalcy is coming back after more than a year of the Covid-19 pandemic. But, also, for most adaptive-reuse projects, it typically takes until 70% or 80% completion for tenants to get serious about touring the space and to be able to visualize their restaurant or office in it, Lancaster said.

Much of Third & Urban’s portfolio is in the adaptive-reuse space. Its other projects include Sylvan Supply in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Westside Paper redevelopment in Atlanta.

Last week, Third & Urban purchased another building on the west side, at 926 Tuckaseegee Road, paying nearly $3.3 million, according to Mecklenburg County real estate records. That building, about 40,000 square feet, is separate from the Lower Tuck project underway now, Lancaster said.

“We’re watching the market and will let it tell us what that building wants to be,” he continued.

The exact breakout of office and retail space at Lower Tuck is still to be determined, but it could be about 30,000 square feet of retail, with the rest office space, Lancaster said. He said the firm has seen an even bigger retail opportunity than originally anticipated. A rooftop patio to be shared among food and beverage tenants is part of the plans.

Plus, Lancaster said, area residents have expressed a desire for more neighborhood amenities and services.

“We’ve been working really hard on that, whether it’s restaurants, fitness, daily needs,” he said. “We’re seeing a bigger and bigger opportunity for those types of supporting uses.”

He said an entertainment concept 10,000 square feet or larger could be accommodated as part of the retail mix. Lancaster said Third & Urban is also working closely with nearby business owners, such as Not Just Coffee, on activation and events programming for the area.

On the office side, Lancaster said both smaller and larger users have expressed interest in leasing space. Given pandemic trends, he said Third & Urban believes having one-story, surface-parked and lower-density office space will be appealing.

Read more via Charlotte Business Journal.