The River District's first apartments break ground

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Why it matters:
This marks the first building construction to rise at Crescent Communities' master-planned community. So far, all work has been flat infrastructure, like water, sewer and road.  The River District in west Charlotte will eventually span 1,400 acres between the Catawba River and Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.

Zoom in:
The first residents are expected to move into the complex, called NOVEL River District, in early 2026. There will be studios and one-, and two-bedrooms.

• Crescent has several NOVEL properties across North Carolina, like NOVEL Ballantyne and NOVEL Cary.

The big picture:
Once fully built, The River District will have a riverfront park, up to 8 million square feet of commercial space, 500,000 square feet of retail space, 2,300 single-family homes and 2,350 multi-family residential units.

• Charlotte developer Laurel Street Residential starts soon on an 87-unit mixed-income building.
• Work on an initial 267 single-family homes will also begin soon.

Here's a rough look at the past and future timeline of The River District:

• 2016:  After years of stalled development discussions, Crescent Communities reveals its proposal for
  The River District, which has long been Charlotte's largest swath of remaining undeveloped land
• September 2024:  An expansion of West Boulevard into The River District opens.
• November 2024:  Crescent Communities announces the development's first vertical construction, as the NOVEL apartments break ground.
• Early 2025:  Construction on model homes is expected to begin.
• End of 2025:  All single-family homes in The River District's first phase,"Westrow," should be completed. The second phase will be called the "Basswood" neighborhood.
• Early 2026:  NOVEL River District is expected to welcome its first residents.

River District apartments break ground