Wake Forest University Opens Charlotte’s First Four-Year Medical School in $1.5B Development

In mid-July, Wake Forest University will start teaching medical students in Charlotte. This marks the city's first medical training program since 1914.

The school sits within The Pearl, a $1.5 billion district mixing medical training with shops, living spaces, and research firms. Starting with 49 students, the program will double its class size within five years.

Thanks to a $25 million gift, the Howard R. Levine Center will house the medical classes. The building brings together several Wake Forest programs and the Carolinas College of Health Sciences under one roof.

The Pearl takes its name from Pearl Street Park, a small but vital piece of Brooklyn, once Charlotte's main Black district. Since opening in June, the site shows off art and exhibits about the people who once lived there.

Charlotte's medical teaching roots stretch back to 1887. The Davidson School of Medicine first opened in Mecklenburg County, then moved to Charlotte twenty years later. Money troubles and harsh reviews from the Carnegie Foundation forced it to close in 1914.

The new school took shape in 2019. Three groups, Atrium Health, Wake Forest Baptist Health, and Wake Forest University, joined forces on the plan. Two years of hard work led to the school getting its first approval steps.

Big names in medical tech, like Siemens Healthineers and IRCAD, will work next door. Their presence adds real-world experience to student training.

On a cold January morning in 2023, leaders from Atrium Health, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and Wexford Science & Technology broke ground on the project.