Charlotte University Converting Hotel to Student Housing

Johnson & Wales University plans to fully renovate a major residence hall on its Charlotte, N.C. campus to accommodate a mixed-use of housing and student services. The 97,000 square-foot building, currently called “The Maple” and previously managed as the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, will be completely overhauled with new mechanical and building systems and infrastructure, 150 rooms for upper-class students (with a potential occupancy of 276), an admissions welcome center, and a central location for student services.

The project is expected to take approximately two years to complete, and the expected investment by the university will be around $42 million, funded through a combination of investment reserves and philanthropy from individuals, corporations and foundations. The university will work with 3Ten Construction, a commercial contractor based in Charlotte, N.C., and Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, also based in Charlotte, N.C. Both firms have completed early-phase work on the project.

The Doubletree purchase aligns with its curriculum. The Charlotte campus offers a 90-credit, three-year Hospitality Management degree program under the University’s current accreditation, making it the first in the Southeast to offer such a degree.