Apex SouthPark, the mixed-use development on Sharon Road, has picked up a city design award. The City of Charlotte's Urban Design Center named it the winner for Great Suburban Design in the sixth annual Urban Design Awards, better known as the Urbies, The Charlotte Weekly reported. A 10-member jury of urban design professionals chose the winners from public nominations, and the city's People Make Cities blog had set the awards ceremony for Oct. 29.

What Apex SouthPark is

According to developer Childress Klein, the project at 4425 Sharon Road, developed with Ascentris, includes:

  • 345 apartments
  • A 175-room Hyatt Centric hotel with a rooftop bar and restaurant
  • A 35,000-square-foot worship center for SouthPark Church
  • About 90,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and entertainment space
  • A four-level garage with about 1,100 parking spaces

The developer says the project was completed in 2021 and is LEED Silver certified. Apex is also where King Arthur Baking's pop-up opens Nov. 7 (see our King Arthur Baking story).

Last year's Great Suburban Design award went to Montford Park, behind Park Road Shopping Center, according to the Urban Design Center's 2025 recap.

The full 2026 winners list

  • Great Development Near Transit: The Station at LoSo
  • Great Walkable Neighborhood: Elizabeth
  • Great New Life for an Old Place: Common Market Oakwold
  • Great Public Space: Pearl Street Park
  • Great Placemaking: Thrift Pony
  • Great Mobility Project: The Braille Trail by Lions Services
  • Great Urban Architecture: Linea
  • Great Urban Design Champion: Chris Thomas
  • Great Neighborhood Champion: Mattie Marshall
  • Great Student Project: Transformative Structures
  • Great Suburban Design: Apex SouthPark
  • People's Choice Award: Rosie's Coffee & Wine Garden/McGill Rose Garden

For more on the area, visit our SouthPark neighborhood hub and our guide to living in SouthPark.

Sources: The Charlotte Weekly, People Make Cities (Charlotte Urban Design Center), Childress Klein