Queensbridge Collective ready to start next phase as anchor tenant inked for second tower.
By Elise Franco – Staff Writer, Charlotte Business Journal
Sep 5, 2025
Updated Sep 5, 2025 6:09pm EDT
Story Highlights
Moore & Van Allen leases 206,000 square feet in Queensbridge Collective.
Riverside secures financing for 43-story mixed-use tower in Charlotte.
Construction begins immediately with expected completion in mid-2028.
Chicago commercial real estate firm Riverside Investment & Development has secured an anchor tenant and financing for the second tower in its Queensbridge Collective project.
Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte's largest law firm, finalized a 15-year lease today for 206,000 square feet across the top nine floors of the 43-story tower, Tom Mitchell, Moore & Van Allen managing partner, told CBJ today.
The law firm entered the Charlotte market 75 years ago and has leased space at Bank of America Corporate Center in uptown since 1993. It currently occupies 165,000 square feet across eight-and-a-half floors there. Mitchell said the firm has grown significantly over the last three decades. The move to Queensbridge signifies a new chapter.
"This space has been fantastic for us for many years. It's served us very well but as the firm has grown, it's become important for us to get more space and also a newly constructed building with all the modern amenities," he said. "We think (Queensbridge) really serves as a nice bridge between uptown and South End, so it’s a great location for our employees."
Mitchell said the location, access and top-tier quality of the building and its amenities will help retain current employees and attract new ones in what is a competitive industry. Moore & Van Allen has nearly 700 employees working in the Charlotte market.
Riverside, alongside partners Woodfield Development and PGIM Real Estate, is developing the $725 million mixed-use project on the edge of uptown and South End.
The project's second building — originally slated to be a 35-story, 600,000-square-foot office tower — will now be 43 stories. It will include 356,000 square feet of office space across the top 17 floors and 346 multifamily units at the bottom half of the tower. The tower will have a mix of studio and one-bedroom units, with two-story, townhouse-style penthouses on the 24th and 25th floors.
Anthony Scacco, president at Riverside, told CBJ that the development team is now in a position to break ground on the second tower thanks to Moore & Van Allen's lease as well as construction debt financing from an affiliate of Apollo (NYSE: APO) and equity from RXR.
Construction will begin immediately with delivery expected in mid-2028.
Scacco said the firm decided to shift the second tower from office to mixed use because it better suited the needs of not only its anchor tenant but the overall city. It also made more financial sense in current market conditions, he said.
"Our first priority was creating a tenant experience that fit precisely with Moore & Van Allen’s needs. A smaller office component, but in a more prominent, taller building both fit that criteria." he said. "Second, vertical mixed use is becoming far more common and fit perfectly at this location. Finally, we listened to prevailing capital markets feedback as to ideal programs, project size and mix of uses."
Moore & Van Allen plans to move into the new office space in summer 2028, Mitchell said. The firm will remain in its current office until the Queensbridge tower is completed, he said.
"We’re really excited about this next journey for the firm," he said. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but we’re looking forward to taking this step because we’ve been working on this for some time."
CBRE's Rob Hinton, Mike Fahey, Todd Lippman, Jim Whalen, Benson Browne and Maura Flanagan represented Moore & Van Allen in the transaction. CBRE's Joe Franco, Kris Westmoreland and Stephanie Spivey represented the landlord.
First Queensbridge building on track to deliver this year
Phase one, a 42-story multifamily tower at 111 E. Carson St., is expected to deliver in the fourth quarter of this year. The tower, called Vivian, has 409 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units as well as penthouses. Construction began in May 2023, and topped off in February of this year.
Scacco said each entity will have its own set of private amenities like event and recreational spaces as well as shared amenities like a commercial fitness center, indoor/outdoor event space and sports courts.
"Each asset is intended to have its own identity, which is why the tower one residential, tower two office and tower two residential have completely separate arrival experiences, infrastructure and amenities," he said. "The goal for tower two is to have two wholly separate best-in-class properties, which just so happen to be occupying the same site."
In March, Chicago-based FARE signed a lease for a 1,500-square-foot restaurant space at the development. Guard and Grace will bring its modern spin on the traditional steakhouse to the project as well. The concept by Denver-based TAG Restaurant Group is set to open in 2026. Charlotte-based Night Swim Coffee is also expected to open soon. Those three concepts will be on the ground floor of the Vivian.
Riverside acquired the nearly 2.75-acre site between East Carson Boulevard and East Morehead Street for $35 million in December 2021. Formerly home to Uptown Cabaret and Midnight Diner, the firm purchased the site from longtime owner Brian Dominick.