Atrium Health is working towards developing its Atrium Med School district, located near the intersection of McDowell and Baxter streets in North Carolina. This project was recently approved by the Charlotte City Council to receive $35 million worth of incentives. Mecklenburg County will also come to a decision in December, concerning whether to support a companion package within the $40 million range for the same project.
The Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners discussed the deal points for the $75 million local government incentives at length and gave a breakdown of the package. They stated that $38.4 million from the county’s portion of additional tax revenue would be dedicated to the Atrium med school district project throughout a 15-year period, while $36.6 million from the city would be split between the property tax and future capital funding of $15 million.
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The Atrium Med School district will be built as a multi-phase, mixed-use development consisting of several offices; research labs, restaurants, a hotel, retail and public spaces, bike and pedestrian paths, and road networks connecting the area to uptown and adjacent neighborhoods.
Horizontal construction costs for the Atrium Med School district which are covered by local government incentives include an 800-space parking deck, estimated at $28.2 million; road improvements worth about 14 million and a combined $23.8 million for relocating power lines and storm culverts. A medical school is also in the works and is set to open by 2024. This medical school is to be built on a 26-acre site in midtown at Baxter and South McDowell streets and will account for 300,000 square feet of the planned 1.5 million-square-foot development.
Atrium Med School district brings 5500 new jobs
Additionally, Atrium Health also promised to include affordable housing as part of its Atrium Med School district project. The company budgeted $40 million for developing this affordable housing project, which will be built on a site located two miles away, along the light-rail line. The new campus, according to Atrium will create up to 5,500 employment opportunities, with 30% to 40% of these jobs available for those without a college degree, and a payment scheme that is 15% more than similar entry-level jobs in other industries.
