Wachovia plans skyscraper on South Tryon

Wachovia Corp.'s new tower at South Tryon and First streets in uptown will reach 46 stories, matching the city's second-tallest building, a bank spokeswoman confirmed Monday.

The Charlotte-based bank had said the new office building would be about 40 to 45 stories, possibly more. At 46 stories, the tower would tie the number of stories of the Hearst Tower, a Bank of America Corp. project, and eclipse Wachovia's nearby 42-story headquarters building.
The 60-story Bank of America Corporate Center is the tallest peak on the city's skyline, and it isn't expected to have competition any time soon. Two condominium towers are in the works with 50 or more stories, although residential floors are typically shorter in feet than office floors.
Wachovia's tower is part of a proposed arts complex that is expected to add new life to the south side of uptown. Earlier this year, construction workers began digging the hole for the parking garage.

The bank said it plans to unveil official renderings of the office tower this summer, but some uptown watchers are buzzing about a sketch posted on a Web site devoted to urban development, urbanplanet.org. It shows an angular, blue-tinted glass building soaring above a companion condo tower.

Wachovia spokeswoman Elizabeth Pollet said the drawing is preliminary. "It's the building in progress," she said.

The tower, expected to be completed in early 2009, is slated to house a Wachovia trading floor and offices for the Wake Forest University business school. The 4-acre development also has space for 200 condos, two museums, a performing arts theater and a new Afro-American Cultural Center. The project still needs state legislature approval of a car-rental tax to help pay for the cultural facilities.