Two development heavyweights are getting serious about a long-rumored hotel in Dilworth, formally asking the city to clear the way for a 130-room boutique property at the corner of Cleveland Avenue and East Worthington Avenue. The rezoning petition covers roughly 1.14 acres and casts the hotel as the first piece of a broader block-wide concept that would connect holdings in Dilworth, South End and Elizabeth. On paper, the plan would layer in ground-floor retail, structured parking and a roof-level amenity deck at an intersection already drawing plenty of investor attention.
According to the Charlotte Business Journal, the filing details a 130-room boutique hotel paired with retail at street level, parking behind and above, and a top-floor lounge and pool deck. The Journal reported on March 5, 2026, that the rezoning petition was submitted to the city this week, marking the first time the Centrum Realty & Development and Sorelle Capital partnership has publicly moved on the Dilworth parcel.
The project did not come out of nowhere. Local buzz started in 2025 when What Now Charlotte first called out the proposal and noted that the team was seeking to rezone about 1.14 acres at Cleveland and East Worthington. That earlier report also said Centrum managing partner Larry Powers declined to share more details about what the group was planning at the time.
Developers Quietly Build A Charlotte Footprint
The Centrum-Sorelle venture has been methodically piecing together sites around Charlotte and is already moving forward nearby. One of its higher-profile efforts is an approximately $85 million, 161-unit apartment project in Elizabeth that advanced toward construction last year. WSOC-TV has reported that the partners are active across Elizabeth, South End and Dilworth as they position multiple properties for future redevelopment. In that context, the proposed Dilworth hotel would serve as the group’s main hospitality play in a portfolio that otherwise leans heavily on multifamily housing.
Why Dilworth Is A Tough Crowd For New Projects
Dilworth ranks among Charlotte’s oldest streetcar suburbs, and much of the neighborhood carries local historic district status that shapes what can and cannot be built. The City of Charlotte notes that Dilworth is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is guided by local design rules, which tend to draw in preservation advocates and city planners whenever a larger project is on the table. That regulatory backdrop will frame the conversation around any requested rezoning for a mid-rise hotel.
What Happens Next
The rezoning petition triggers the city’s formal review and, as outlined by the Charlotte Business Journal, will involve staff analysis followed by public hearings before any decision is made. If city officials approve the zoning change and the site plan clears review, Centrum and Sorelle would then move on to securing permits and refining design and construction logistics. The filing does not specify when building might start or when the hotel could open.
For now, Centrum and Sorelle have not unveiled a full master plan or schedule for their wider holdings, and Centrum’s managing partner has previously chosen not to elaborate beyond what is in the public record. Even so, the rezoning petition stands as the clearest signal so far that a sizable boutique hotel is being lined up to reshape the Cleveland and East Worthington corner in the years ahead.
