The new innovation district in Charlotte, North Carolina has been named “the pearl” by leaders from Atrium Health and Wexford Science & Technology.
The Pearl site will house Atrium Health’s future medical school, Wake Forest University School of Medicine Charlotte, according to the March 3 news release.
It is named after Pearl Street Park, Charlotte’s first African-American park and the only remaining monument to the once-thriving African-American community formerly known as Brooklyn, which was relocated and largely destroyed in the 1950s and 1960s.
“We are here now to begin a new chapter in that story and honor this special place as we empower the neighborhoods around it, which are shaped by diverse people and perspectives, rooted in inclusivity and belonging, and filled with infinite potential,” Eugene Woods, president and CEO of Atrium Health, said in the statement. “I am pleased to share that Charlotte’s new innovation district, ‘The Pearl’, will be a place where Charlotte’s historic vitality meets its innovative future.”
The district is expected to create over 5,500 on-site jobs and over 11,500 total jobs in the Charlotte community over the next 15 years. The development will include an education, retail, apartments, hotel and open community spaces, as well as an entrepreneurial hub with research and development activities.