Charlotte’s $1.5B ‘The Pearl’ Opened in June, Expected to Generate 5,500 Jobs
The Pearl opened in June 2025. This $1.5 billion health care and education project in Charlotte, North Carolina, will create more than 11,500 jobs across the region within 15 years….
The Pearl opened in June 2025. This $1.5 billion health care and education project in Charlotte, North Carolina, will create more than 11,500 jobs across the region within 15 years. The first phase completed 700,000 square feet. Future phases could push the project to 3.5 million square feet total.
Ventas, Inc., an S&P 500 REIT, supplied capital and co-owns the project with Advocate Health and Wexford Science & Technology, LLC. Construction started in December 2022, marking Charlotte's largest public-private partnership in history.
"Our investment focus is on the longevity economy," said Debra A. Cafaro, chairman and CEO of Ventas, per Reit.com. "Ventas is a leader at the intersection of medicine, research, and universities, and we partner with first-class companies. The Pearl fits squarely in that intersection."
The project sits next to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, one of the largest hospitals in the Southeastern U.S. This hospital serves as the region's only Level 1 trauma center. It provides cancer treatment, transplants, a children's hospital, and one of the largest neuroscience centers.
"This hospital brings together a high density of super-sub specialists in Charlotte, which is part of why organizations like Siemens and IRCAD are drawn here," said Collin Lane, senior vice president of facilities for Advocate Health.
About 40% of the jobs created will suit people without college degrees, Cafaro said. City officials say the project will create 5,500 jobs on site.
"The community has been very supportive of The Pearl, in part because the development team engaged local residents throughout the planning stages," said Ted Russell, president, CEO, and CFO of Wexford. In partnership with Advocate Health, developers created the 'Purposeful Walk' which explains the history of the neighborhood with interactive signs.
At The Pearl, you'll find:
- Wake Forest University School of Medicine's Charlotte campus welcomed its first class in July 2025. For more than 20 years, Charlotte had been one of the only major metro areas without a medical school, despite ranking among the fastest growing cities in the United States. The medical school sits in the Howard R. Levine Center for Education, which was 100% preleased. An additional research tower at 905 Pearl Park Way joins it. The entire project is now more than 80% leased.
- IRCAD North America, a worldwide surgical training center, will host about 8,000 surgeons each year for programs lasting two to five days.
- Siemens is opening a 60,000-square-foot Siemens Healthineers Experience Center USA at the site. This center displays technologies in imaging, diagnostics, cancer care, and therapies for health care professionals from around the world.
- Connect Labs by Wexford is scheduled to open in November 2025. The 35,000-square-foot space will offer small suites and labs for medical, tech, and life science entrepreneurs.
