Charlotte Pipe & Foundry is building a new training center in Charlotte’s Myers Park neighborhood, replacing an existing site near the central business district.
The 28,000-square-foot building is on the site that formerly housed Mecklenburg Furniture in one of the city’s priciest neighborhoods. BB+M Architects and Barringer Construction are working on the new structure, which is expected to open next summer.
Charlotte Pipe employs 1,700 people at seven plants, including 1,385 in Union County and Stanly County factories and the Charlotte administrative office. It has another 1,000 workers at three foundries operated by its Neenah Enterprises subsidiary.
The company shifted its local foundry from Charlotte to Stanly County last year. While mulling long-term plans for its 55-acre downtown Charlotte campus, it is partnering with Blumenthal Arts to create an immersive experience event venue. The first project, running from September to January, will feature “Space Explorers: The Infinite,” a program inspired by NASA missions aboard the International Space Station.
“This is the first step in what we see as dynamic potential for the Iron District,” Charlotte Pipe spokesman Bradford Muller said, referring to the name for the historic company campus.
As previously reported, talks between Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper and Charlotte Pipe about a potential new stadium at the company’s site didn’t lead to action. The NFL team is now focused on major remodeling of the existing stadium, backed by expansive public funding support.
The nonprofit Blumenthal Arts manages four local theaters and in 2022 offered the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit, which had more 300,000 tickets sold at its North End location.
Charlotte Pipe considered remodeling the Mecklenburg Furniture building, but concluded a new building would be more effective, Muller says. “We have worked hard to ensure the new building will reflect the character and history of the Myers Park neighborhood,” says Muller.
He noted that training center is walking distance from Charlotte Pipe’s headquarters office near Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center.
