Susan Moynihan

Charlotte is growing quickly. New investment, new businesses, and new residents continue to reshape the city. That momentum creates real opportunity, but it also gives everyone involved in the built environment a responsibility: Growth should strengthen Charlotte’s identity, not replace it.

That is why Interstruct Design + Build is proud to partner with and be a founding supporter of PlaceCLT Foundation, an organization dedicated to preserving and creating the places that define Charlotte’s identity, character, and charm. PlaceCLT supports cultural heritage, historic preservation, storytelling, placemaking, and urban design. Its work connects residents to the spaces and stories that matter most, helping Charlotte grow with intention, memory, and a stronger sense of belonging.

The places people care about are not created by square footage alone. They are shaped by history, relationships, and the way a community sees itself.
— Branson Bowen, Principal, Interstruct Design + Build, Charlotte

Why This Matters to Interstruct

Interstruct works at the intersection of design, construction, real estate, and community. Every project changes more than a building— it influences a street, a neighborhood, and the experience people have when they move through a place.

For our Charlotte team, good design-build work starts before construction. It begins by understanding the purpose of a project, the people it will serve, and the context around it. That owner-centric approach aligns naturally with PlaceCLT’s belief that the future of a city should remain connected to its stories, cultural heritage, legacy businesses, and neighborhood character.

We also see a direct connection to the work we care deeply about, including adaptive reuse and urban infill. Reinvestment does not have to begin with a blank slate. Some of Charlotte’s most meaningful opportunities come from seeing new potential in existing places while respecting what made them valuable in the first place. When preservation, thoughtful design, and disciplined execution work together, growth can create value without stripping away identity.

A Mission Built for This Moment

Charlotte has systems that guide development and protect formally designated historic properties. PlaceCLT addresses a different and important need: the culture, stories, businesses, and neighborhood identity that may fall outside traditional preservation tools. The organization describes the risk of growth without intentional investment in place as “placetaking”: losing not only buildings, but also people, character, expression, legacy businesses, and human-scale places.

Its planned work is tangible: documenting underrepresented histories, exploring commercial historic districts and Main Street programs, supporting legacy businesses, funding placemaking and local art, improving public spaces, and developing restoration apprenticeships and historic-trades pathways. That range matters because a city’s identity does not live in one building or one district. It lives across the people, places, and everyday experiences that form a community over time.

For the design, construction, and real estate industries, this is not separate from our work. It is part of doing the work well. We help shape the physical future of Charlotte, and that means we should also help protect the meaning behind the places being shaped.

A Continued Commitment to Community

We are proud to support PlaceCLT and the people working to answer that question with care, creativity, and action. This partnership is one more step in Interstruct’s continued commitment to investing in the communities we serve and helping build places that will matter for generations.
— Branson Bowen, Principal, Interstruct Design + Build, Charlotte

Interstruct has always believed that being part of a market means being part of its community. Our responsibility extends beyond delivering projects. It includes listening, building relationships, contributing our expertise, and supporting organizations that make the places where we work stronger.

That commitment is especially important in Charlotte. As our office grows, we want our impact to be measured not only by the projects we complete, but also by the trust we build and the value we help create across the community.

Our partnership with PlaceCLT reflects that long-term view. We are supporting a mission that asks an important question: as Charlotte continues to grow, how do we carry forward the character, stories, and sense of belonging that make this city distinct?

We are proud to support PlaceCLT and the people working to answer that question with care, creativity, and action. This partnership is one more step in Interstruct’s continued commitment to investing in the communities we serve and helping build places that will matter for generations.

Learn More About Place CLT

To learn more about PlaceCLT Foundation, its mission, and ways to get involved, visit placeclt.org.

Interstruct Adaptive Reuse In Practice

Interstruct Design + Build is a longtime champion of adaptive reuse as a key tool in thoughtful development. Adaptive reuse requires new ways of thinking about the value of existing building stock and how it can be repurposed with smart design to continue to serve the community. It is at the forefront of sustainability—reusing rather than razing—be it with design-led tenant improvement to modernize dated exteriors and interiors or reimagining unused structures to deliver new opportunities for healthcare, hospitality, retail and corporate industries. Here are some examples of Interstruct Design + Build putting adaptive reuse to use throughout Central Florida.

A 1930s warehouse is transformed into a modern HQ for a financial services firm.

An historic citrus packing plant becomes a food hall and bar, and the anchor for a new entertainment district.

An empty retail superstore finds new purpose as a satellite higher-education campus.

Vacant shopping mall space serves new clients as a state-of-the-art medical office.

An unused alley offers a pocket park retreat in the heart of downtown

Interstruct and PlaceCLT’s Shared Mission: FAQs

How does adaptive reuse support historic preservation in Charlotte?

Adaptive reuse supports historic preservation in Charlotte by giving existing buildings a new purpose while retaining the architecture, materials and history that connect them to their neighborhoods. By reinvesting in what is already there, adaptive reuse can preserve Charlotte’s architectural fabric, extend the useful life of existing buildings and contribute to distinctive places where people and businesses want to invest and stay.

What is the PlaceCLT Foundation mission?

PlaceCLT Foundation’s mission is to preserve and create the places that define Charlotte’s identity, character and charm. The nonprofit supports historic preservation, cultural heritage, storytelling, placemaking and urban design initiatives that connect people to Charlotte’s places and stories as the city grows.

Why did Interstruct partner with PlaceCLT Foundation?

Interstruct Design + Build partnered with PlaceCLT Foundation because its mission aligns with Interstruct’s commitment to adaptive reuse and regenerative development. As an architecture, construction and real estate firm with a Charlotte office, Interstruct sees an opportunity to bring its design + build expertise to efforts that preserve existing buildings, strengthen neighborhood character and help Charlotte grow in ways that invite continued investment and long-term commitment to place.

How is Interstruct supporting historic preservation in Charlotte?

Interstruct Design + Build supports historic preservation in Charlotte through adaptive reuse, design + build expertise and its partnership with PlaceCLT Foundation. Interstruct looks for opportunities to give existing buildings new purpose while preserving the architectural details, materials and connections to place that make them worth keeping. Through PlaceCLT, Interstruct is also supporting broader efforts to preserve Charlotte’s historic places, cultural heritage and community identity.

What is PlaceCLT’s role in Charlotte’s growth and development?

PlaceCLT Foundation helps Charlotte grow while preserving the places, stories and cultural identity that give the city its character. Through historic preservation, cultural heritage, storytelling, placemaking and urban design, PlaceCLT helps ensure that growth builds on what is already valuable about Charlotte and creates places that encourage investment, stewardship and long-term commitment to the community.