By Ashley Fahey – Real Estate Editor, Charlotte Business Journal

A 23-story office tower near the intersection of South End and Dilworth will soon break ground.

The office building, which will rise at the East/West Station on the Lynx Blue Line in South End, will include about 370,000 square feet of office space as well as 7,000 square feet of street-level retail fronting the Charlotte Rail Trail, an 8,000-square-foot amenity center and a “sky lobby” on the 11th floor. Office floorplates will measure about 27,000 square feet and sit atop several levels of parking.

Developers Stiles Corp. and Shorenstein Properties are developing the tower. Stiles and Shorenstein purchased the land, which includes two parcels totaling about 2 acres, in October for $21.5 million, or nearly $11 million per acre.

The acquisition included a surface parking lot, where the office tower will rise, in addition to retail buildings leased to Tupelo Honey and The Manchester. Tupelo Honey said last month it decided to close its South End location ahead of its debut in uptown later this month. The developers last year said long-term decisions for the existing buildings had not been determined and that they were in talks with current tenants.

The tower, for which the developers are pursuing LEED Gold certification, is expected to deliver in the fall of 2022. A more specific timeline for groundbreaking was not confirmed.

The building is the latest in a wave of office development to come to South End, a once-industrial neighborhood that’s become a corporate hotspot. About 5.7 million square feet of office space was either built, is under construction or will soon break ground in South End, according to the 2020 State of the Center City report by Charlotte Center City Partners.

Florida-based Stiles opened another office building on Summit Avenue, near South End, last year. And Shorenstein, headquartered in San Francisco, is entering the Charlotte office market dramatically, with an ownership interest in the Camp North End redevelopment near uptown, the former Flex building in the University area and, now, the South End tower.

Stiles and Shorenstein are in a joint venture in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that includes a 25-story, 360,000-square-foot office tower and a 27-story residential tower with restaurant and retail space. An executive with Stiles previously said there is potential for future development on the East/West site but didn’t provide specifics.

Jessica Brown, David Dorsch and Grant Keyes at Cushman & Wakefield are marketing the East/West office property on behalf of the developers. Hastings Architecture is the architect.

“Stiles and Shorenstein are well-known and respected across the country for creating high-quality developments,” said Brown, executive director at Cushman & Wakefield, in a statement. “Building on their portfolio here in Charlotte and their success, the design of this project will be a differentiator not only in South End, but also reflective of the demand we see from users in and outside of the Charlotte market.”

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