Wachovia sale could cut interest in space.

• Position: Charlotte

Light rain falls on a lunchtime crowd as men in hard hats and reflective vests prowl a cluster of construction sites on the south side of downtown Charlotte. Metal clanks against metal. Cranes lift and lower objects next to a towering concrete skeleton half covered by glass skin. Another skyscraper rises in Banktown--even as the fortunes of its owner have fallen.

Once upon a time, business was so good for Wachovia Corp. that erecting a 48-story headquarters building didn't raise many eyebrows. When a company nets billions of dollars a year, it usually gets the benefit of the doubt. So no serious opposition surfaced three years ago when the bank announced its $1 billion "cultural campus," which will include two museums, an African-American cultural center and a theater paid for with public and private money.

But when loan losses and a nationwide credit crunch pushed Wachovia to the brink of bankruptcy in September, the campus that would showcase its success and deep involvement in Charlotte civic life began to look ill-timed at best and extravagant at worst. Work continued, though, and there are no plans to stop--yet. But what happens when San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. closes its acquisition of Wachovia--it's expected to later this year--is anybody's guess. A Wells spokeswoman declined to comment.

Wachovia employs about 20,000 people in the Charlotte metro area and controls about 20% of the multitenant office space downtown, according to the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. Wells...