In Spring 2025, Ascent Strategic Communications was engaged by luxury apartment complex Ascent Uptown to identify opportunities to enhance the area’s reputation, foster community engagement, and increase brand awareness through meaningful activations at the neighboring Romare Bearden Park. In line with the owners’ long-standing tradition of combining property investment with community programming, Ascent Uptown sought to transform the park which, while strategically located, was underutilized and occasionally associated with safety concerns.
The goal was to transform Romare Bearden Park into a vibrant, well-programmed public space that not only engaged residents, but improved the quality of life for tenants. The initiative also aimed to elevate the property’s visibility and reinforce Ascent Uptown’s commitment to meaningful community impact.
With a unified goal in mind, Ascent Strategic Communications conducted three months of research to explore how park-based programming could support Ascent Uptown’s long-term objectives. We began with both qualitative and quantitative research, including interviews with leaders of the community and surveys of Ascent Uptown and Charlotte residents. This allowed us to develop a comprehensive understanding of the reputation and impact of Uptown Charlotte and Romare Bearden Park.
The findings revealed a strong desire for safe, family friendly, and well-programmed events. It also highlighted opportunities to strengthen engagement between residents and the broader community. Through our conversations, it became clear that Ascent Uptown could make a strategic investment by partnering with long-standing community organizations, creating programming that not only enhanced the park, but reinforced the property’s role as a hub for lifestyle, culture, and community.
We guided Ascent Uptown in securing a strategic headlining sponsorship with Charlotte Center City Partners (CCCP) a non-profit organization dedicated to making Charlotte a vibrant, welcoming, and economically strong city through strategic partnerships and event programming. The organization’s debut would be “Weekend Warmup”, a month-long weekly programming series in Romare Bearden Park. The programming’s goal was to create an energetic “pre-weekend” atmosphere for residents, young professionals, and the broader Uptown and Charlotte community by featuring rotating live music, local artisans, and market-style vendors.
Ascent led the strategy and activation planning to ensure the series delivered both community impact and brand value. Our work included:
These coordinated tactics ensured each event in the series was seamlessly executed and consistently reinforced Ascent Uptown’s role as an engaged, community-forward presence in uptown.
Through a strategic blend of family programming, community engagement, and clear brand integration, the Weekend Warmup event series delivered a scalable activation model that highlighted the vibrancy of the area and the culture of Charlotte, drove foot traffic, and positioned Ascent Uptown as a hub for lifestyle, culture, and community:
The Weekend Warmup series delivered directly on Ascent Uptown’s goals for engaging Ascent Strategic Communications: enhancing neighborhood perception, increasing brand visibility, and fostering meaningful community engagement. By activating Romare Bearden Park as a vibrant, well-programmed gathering space, the series reinforced Ascent Uptown’s role as a long-term community partner and demonstrated how strategic placemaking can elevate both public spaces and the property’s reputation, laying a scalable foundation for future programming.
