A growing chorus of Charlotte architects is trying to slam the brakes on a plan to strip away the Court Arcade’s century‑old facade in uptown, all to make room for more server space.
AIA Charlotte is urging city leaders and residents to oppose a proposal from Texas‑based Digital Realty, which has filed a permit to tear down the 1920s building as part of a data‑center expansion. County officials have not yet signed off on the demolition, and preservation advocates warn that losing the arched entry and skylit arcade would wipe out one of uptown’s last remaining early 20th century streetscape features.
Digital Realty’s regional push
The fight over Court Arcade comes as Digital Realty moves aggressively in the Charlotte market. The company is pursuing a massive West Charlotte data‑center campus that could total roughly 3 million square feet and support up to 400 megawatts of IT capacity, as reported by Bisnow.
Digital Realty has also purchased a roughly 155‑acre parcel along Moores Chapel Road and has been filing development plans with the city, according to DatacenterDynamics. The Court Arcade property sits in uptown and is part of that broader regional footprint.
Architects urge city to intervene
AIA Charlotte is publicly asking Digital Realty and local officials to take a harder look at preservation options, arguing that the Court Arcade facade is far more than a decorative leftover.
“We’re going to continue losing our history,” AIA Charlotte executive director Kate Shelton told The Charlotte Observer, warning that removing the front of the building would send a clear signal that historic character is negotiable when development pressure shows up. The group says what happens here could set a precedent for future projects in some of Charlotte’s most visible neighborhoods.
Why the Court Arcade matters
The Court Arcade went up in the mid‑1920s, designed by architect William H. Peeps, and is part of a small local tradition of skylit “arcade” storefront buildings identified in local historical surveys. Preservation advocates often point to Latta Arcade, another Peeps project that was later landmarked and renovated, as evidence that older commercial buildings can be updated and reused without erasing their character.
Industry listings show that Digital Realty acquired the Court Arcade site and now includes 725 E. Trade Street in its uptown holdings. History South and Datacentermap document the building’s age, design history and recent transactions involving the property.
Permit status and next steps
Digital Realty filed a new demolition permit on July 7 that would clear the entire Court Arcade building, and county representatives say that permit has not been approved, as reported by The Charlotte Observer.
Mecklenburg County’s permitting office notes that commercial demolition permits go through a formal plan review and public‑record process, and that any property with local landmark status would be routed through a separate historic‑review track. Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement outlines how that review works and how residents can request public records or submit questions about active permits.
AIA Charlotte says it plans to keep pressing Digital Realty and city officials for a solution that protects the facade while the data‑center project moves through permitting. County staff have not set a demolition date, and the next steps will follow Mecklenburg County’s standard plan‑review and public‑records procedures.
