A new office development in Uptown without a retail component is a little like a car without wheels. Now that the residential population in Uptown is sizable, that is even more the case.

"Retail has always been an important component to office towers, it's just different now that there's a significant residential population Uptown," MPV Properties' Keely Hines said. "Historically, restaurants, sundries stores and dry cleaners were all that was needed for the daily office worker."

Now, she said, the retail component is a matter of serving Uptown residents. "They want the same amenities that you find in a suburban neighborhood shopping center — groceries, restaurants, salons, boutique fitness, medical services and entertainment. Residential drives retail, and that's what we are finally witnessing in Uptown Charlotte."

Hines, along with colleague Robbie Branstrom, is leasing the new 20k SF retail component at 300 South Brevard, a 360k SF building that owner Stream Realty Partners is renovating. The $15M project will be finished by April.

In addition to the newly added ground-level and lobby retail spaces, the property will also feature 40k SF floor plates, raised floors throughout, a double height lobby, an outdoor terrace and patios, and a parking garage.