Commercial General Contractor in Matthews, NC

Older retail space along Independence Boulevard

Independence Boulevard (US 74) holds the town's big shopping centers, such as Windsor Square and Sycamore Commons. The town's report says they were built to serve a trade area much larger than Matthews. It also calls the retail market mature. The last large store to build new space in town did so in 2018.

Big blocks of existing space on Independence Boulevard keep filling with new tenants, the report adds. Each one moves into a layout someone else planned. Turning that space into a finished store or restaurant is the work our retail build-outs cover.

The state's US 74 project will also change how drivers reach this corridor. NCDOT's plan replaces the signals with interchanges and bridges and moves local trips to parallel roads. In Matthews, right-of-way work for a grade-separated crossing at Matthews-Mint Hill Road is set for 2027. Extensions of Northeast Parkway and Independence Pointe Parkway are in the plan, and NCDOT says dates can change. If you plan work on a US 74 parcel, check the state's project maps first.

Medical offices along the NC 51 corridor

Novant Health Matthews Medical Center opened on Matthews Township Parkway (NC 51) in 1994. The town credits the hospital with drawing over 400,000 square feet of medical office space. Most of the town's medical space sits within a mile of the hospital, along the Highway 51 corridor. Two new medical office buildings will add nearly 100,000 square feet more, the report says.

A practice moving into a new shell or an older suite needs exam rooms and a layout built around patients. Our medical office build-outs cover doctor's and dentist's offices in leased or owned space. The practice's own equipment vendors install their equipment.

Anesthesia can change the review path. Mecklenburg County's Small Commercial review excludes medical offices that use anesthesia to put patients under, such as some dental suites. Those projects go through the county's full commercial plan review instead.

Who issues commercial permits in Matthews?

Two offices share the work. Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement, part of the county's land use agency (LUESA), issues building permits and inspects the work. The Town of Matthews Planning and Development Department reviews site plans and issues zoning verification letters. Signs follow the same split: the town reviews them for zoning, and the county issues the permit.

Zoning in Matthews often comes with conditions. Many properties carry conditional zoning, marked CD in the district name, with rules unique to the site. Under the town's ordinance, only the uses on the approved plan may be built and run there. Adding square footage can take a change in conditions, a decision for the town board.

For upfits, the county's Small Commercial review takes interior work in office and retail space up to 10,000 square feet. Its goal is a finished review within five days of plan acceptance. Larger jobs and changes of use go through scheduled commercial plan review. Under state law, new or altered space may not be occupied until the inspections office issues a certificate.

On our jobs, plan review and inspections sit on the schedule from the first meeting.

Flex space and site work near I-485

Matthews is close to built out. The town reports that 90 percent of its land is developed. The land along John Street east of I-485 is the last substantial stretch of raw land. On Campus Ridge Road nearby, a site is already zoned for a 150,000 square foot industrial building. In September 2026, the town board heard a request to make it 180,000 square feet, built without a tenant signed.

The town's ordinance has a Distributive Business district (B-D) for warehouse and office uses, plus light and general industrial districts. Those districts suit flex buildings, which pair warehouse space with offices. Flex space construction is mainly what we specialize in. Our in-house crews do the site work with company-owned equipment.

For site work, the federal soil survey maps Cecil soils across about half the ground around Town Hall. Cecil is deep and well drained, with a red clay subsoil. Creek-bottom soils mapped as frequently flooded line the creeks, so check a parcel on the state's flood maps.

Small commercial projects skip the town's post-construction stormwater rules. The cutoff is under one acre disturbed and under 20,000 square feet of built-upon area. Gravel counts as built-upon area. Larger projects need stormwater controls and a recorded maintenance agreement. Before any digging, state law requires notice to NC 811 at least three full working days ahead.