Charlotte’s Optimist Hall Wins NAIOP NC Award

Congratulations to our Charlotte team for their work on Optimist Hall! The project was selected as the Redevelopment/Adaptive Reuse Project of the Year by NAIOP North Carolina.

Optimist Hall is a 147,000 SF redevelopment of a former gingham mill, Highland Park Manufacturing Company Mill No. 1 (“Highland Park Mill No. 1”), that features a food hall complemented by retail, restaurants, and creative office space. Located in the Optimist Park neighborhood between Uptown and NoDa in Charlotte, the development has transformed the turn-of-the-century textile mill into one of the most unique projects in the Charlotte metropolitan area. Optimist Hall retains many of the property’s original, 120+year-old elements including hardwood floors, soaring 14+ foot ceilings, and brick and beam interiors with rue industrial character. The project includes 91,000 SF of creative office space, a 22,000 SF food hall and 34,000 SF of restaurant and retail space.

Barnhill Contracting Company performed general contracting services, working with the developer, a joint venture between Charlotte-based White Point Partners and Atlanta-based Paces Properties, collaborated with Perkins + Will, Barnhill, Fearnbach History Services, NC State Historic Preservation Office, National Park Service and The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission to effectively and efficiently preserve, yet also transform, the historic industrial space.

Project teams will be recognized at the awards ceremony scheduled for March 2021.