Charlotte's 1924 Johnston Building Becomes a 240-Key Hotel This Fall

Charlotte’s tallest building for two years running, back in 1924, is about to open as a hotel.

The Johnston Building at 212 South Tryon was listed on the National Register in 2025, and the conversion scope was written to qualify for federal historic tax credits. KHP Capital Partners is developer, Gensler is architect, Workstead is doing interiors, and Cleveland Construction of Mentor, Ohio is construction manager.

Project Scope

The 17-story, roughly 200,000-square-foot building becomes 240 keys under the name The Beckworth Hotel. The program adds a ground-floor restaurant and coffee shop, 10,000 square feet of meeting space, a 3,500-square-foot ballroom and two rooftop bars. The terracotta and brick veneer facade and the historic interiors are preserved. The project is pursuing LEED Silver.

Demolition started in Q4 2024 and the CM mobilized in February 2025. Opening is targeted for fall 2026, which puts it weeks away.

Why It Matters

Historic tax credits and LEED certification pull in opposite directions on a building like this, and reconciling them is most of the design effort. Preservation review constrains window replacement and envelope work, which are the two easiest levers for energy performance. Getting to Silver while keeping the 1924 fabric intact means the savings had to come from mechanical systems and controls.

Uptown Charlotte is also carrying roughly 24.5% office vacancy. Pulling 200,000 square feet of century-old office out of that market and putting hotel keys in it is a straightforward supply response, and it is happening faster here than the residential conversions filed on the same street.

Project Team & Details