Council Quickies: Historic Church Site Redevelopment Includes Adaptive Reuse
She Built This City to have new home in southwest Charlotte
Charlotte City Council held a business meeting on Monday night, making a few decisions regarding upcoming construction projects including express toll lanes on the southern stretch of I-77 and the adaptive reuse of an historic church property in southwest Charlotte.
On the Agenda:
- I-77 South Express Lanes Vote
- Other Business Items
I-77 South Express Lanes
In last week’s Council Quickies, we reported on NC Department of Transportation’s proposed I-77 South Express Lanes Project, which would add toll lanes to 11 miles of I-77 between Brookshire Boulevard and Carowinds Boulevard at the South Carolina border. The lanes would work similarly to the existing toll lanes north of Uptown.
The estimated project cost for the I-77 South Express Lanes would be about $3.7 billion. The NC Turnpike Authority estimates that $600 million in State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) funding would “likely” cover any needed public contribution.
On Monday night, Ed Driggs, who represents Charlotte on the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) board, said it’s estimated that the cost of the project will increase by $100,000 for every year the city doesn’t act on it.
Following three speakers who addressed council about the project’s benefits, Tariq Bokhari said he’s against the idea of toll lanes in general but would vote Yes in this preliminary stage to move the plan forward rather than risk missing out on available funding. He maintained that the project must differ from the northern lanes in how it’s carried out.
Council voted unanimously to direct Driggs to support the plan as Charlotte’s rep on the CRTPO board at that board’s meeting this Wednesday. We’re still around 9 months out from seeing a final plan for these lanes, as community engagement and other planning will need to take place if the CRTPO moves forward with it.
Other Business Items
Council approved a new policy that governs how the city chooses what organizations to partner with on contracts. Updates include five-year term limits, a mandate that partnering orgs have their official nonprofit designation, and new performance monitoring and accountability standards.
Council also voted unanimously to approve another NCDOT project that will include “a reduced conflict intersection design to enhance traffic flow, reduce congestion, and improve safety” at the intersection of Brookshire Boulevard and Rozzelles Ferry Road.
Council accepts a $100,000 grant from Living Cities to support the Breaking Barriers to Business initiative, which aims to close the racial wealth gap by creating wealth-building opportunities for business owners of color in Charlotte’s Corridors of Opportunity.
Council members discussed a proposal to de-designate property surrounding the Steele Creek Presbyterian Church’s 1889 sanctuary and circa-1763 cemetery as part of an historic landmark so as to allow for redevelopment of part of the property but continued preservation of those two sites.
The de-designated portion of the property is city-owned and will be home to new airport warehouses. The cemetery and sanctuary will be preserved, with the latter becoming the new home of She Built This City, an organization we wrote about last October.
Read more: She Built This City Launches Job-Training Home-Repair Program (2023)
Council approved the plan unanimously.
Council will meet again on Monday, Oct. 21 for a zoning meeting.
