Crescent Communities entity buys site for apartments at The River District

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

A recent land transaction at The River District in west Charlotte indicates potential movement on a Crescent Communities multifamily project there.

Earlier this month, an entity affiliated with Crescent named CC River District MF L.P. bought just over 8 acres at The River District. The site was acquired from another Crescent-aligned entity for nearly $5.4 million, Mecklenburg County real estate records show. The site is described on the deed as the "Final Plat of Novel at River District." Crescent has been planning an apartment project under its Novel multifamily brand at The River District, company leaders previously told the Charlotte Business Journal.

Crescent did not respond before deadline to an inquiry seeking more information on its plans for the site that recently changed hands. The land includes parcels off Dixie River Road.

Rainer Ficken was hired by Crescent last year to oversee the massive, 1,400-acre River District development. He told CBJ in December that he was targeting late summer 2024 to start the multifamily element at Westrow, which is the development's first phase. As of December, Crescent was planning a Novel community with around 315 units at Westrow.

It is unclear if that timeline still holds or if the Dixie River Road site is related to that specific piece of the overall project.

The River District's master plan calls for 8 million square feet of total commercial space, 5,000 homes and apartments, and 1,000 hotel rooms. It also includes hundreds of acres of green and park space along the Catawba River. The project is expected to be developed over the course of several decades.

Crescent's Novel brand includes a range of projects throughout the Charlotte market. The developer has moved recently to add new Novel projects in the area. Late last year, it acquired a site in Davidson that had been targeted for a Novel project. Crescent began leasing last year at Novel Ballantyne, a 285-unit apartment community at 14011 Bespoke Road.

Charlotte-based Crescent came in at No. 7 on CBJ's most recent list ranking the market's largest commercial real estate developers based on five-year activity. Multifamily development accounted for 53% of Crescent's delivered square footage over that period, CBJ data shows.