Last Friday, November 14th, I had the extreme pleasure of attending a tour of WFU’s new Charlotte Campus at The Pearl. Y’all, it’s AWESOME! Here is the link to the Flickr collection of pics from the tour! And here are some highlights from the tour! (I took copious notes, but please fact-check me before using any of my facts and numbers!) First, like Wake Downtown, this is s Wexford Science + Technology are the developers. Currently, the Education building and Research Building 1 are complete, and Research Building 2 and a hotel are next on the master plan. The Pearl is a 20+ acre site, with plans for 10+ buildings! Mixed-use residential construction is also part of the plan! Advocate Health, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Charlotte, and Carolinas College of Health Sciences are currently in the Education building, with more space for other WFU programs (SPS, Charlotte MBA, and more) currently under construction, and IRCAD North America, a global leader in surgical training, is located in Research Building 1, along with a variety of medical device companies. There is a first-floor cafe/cafeteria coming soon, and on the second floor, there is a 300-seat coffee shop called “The Assembly,” which is huge but still feels cozy! We saw classrooms and one on the fourth floor that seats 132 folks! The medical school has classroom and lounge space on the 6th floor, and the 7th floor has simulation rooms used by the medical school. Levels 8 and 9 are offices, and 1/2 of the 10th floor is under construction for more WFU space.

And finally, here are some links to learn more about The Pearl, WFU’s new Charlotte Campus!