Developers unveiled a plan this week to revamp the park by SouthPark Mall and turn it into a real community focal point. The 7.5-acre Symphony Park has a bandshell and small lake and is primarily used by the Charlotte Symphony for its summer concert series. The Charlotte Ledger Business Newsletter’s Tony Mecia joins me now to talk about the proposed changes, and other stories, for our segment BizWorthy.
Marshall Terry: Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is the only park that’s technically in SouthPark, and the only time I have ever been there is when the symphony is playing. So is the plan for it to be a gathering place all the time, not just when there’s music?
Tony Mecia: Yes, Marshall, that's exactly it. I mean, it's not a park in the traditional sense of being run by the county or anything like that. This is land that's on SouthPark Mall's land, and it's sort of underused.
I mean, the symphony plays there. There's occasional events there, but it's sort of hard to access from the street. So the plan here is that the city would work with the mall owner — Simon Property Group — and SouthPark Community Partners, which is a nonprofit that advocates for the area. That they would all work together. And they would re-landscape it, they would add some buildings for restaurants and retail, and to really make it a place that would attract people. Not just for events, but to come and read a book, or come have a lunch. They'd just like to see it more heavily used.
It's a $21 million plan. Some of the money from the city is coming from already approved bond money. The mall would build the buildings and then private fundraising would help pay for some of the rest of it. If all goes well, construction could start in 2026, and it could be wrapped up by summer of 2027.
Terry: These plans are coming at a time when many malls are struggling. Is part of this an attempt to adapt to the times and make malls more than just a place to shop?
Mecia: Yes, I think that's the idea. I mean, you do see a lot of shopping malls that are out there struggling. SouthPark Mall is thought to be in a pretty good position, just because of its location, it has a bunch of luxury brands. But, yes. The idea is that malls now are not just a place to shop, but they're a place you can go hang out. And you see a little bit of this in Ballantyne with the Ballantyne Reimagined project, where developers took a golf course and are putting in all kinds of shops and restaurants and apartments, and things like that. And, frankly, you see a little bit of it at SouthPark Mall as well, where they recently added Suffolk Punch (Brewing) in the area by the Dick's Sporting Goods. You'll see parents out there with young children — the parents drinking the beers, the children playing on the play structure. So it's sort of this idea that malls are not just places to shop, but they're places you can come hang out. You can do other things besides just buy a bunch of stuff.
Terry: Let's stick with development news for a moment. The Ledger reported this week a recent deal reached between a developer and Mecklenburg County commissioners included an unusual requirement: native plants. Which development? And why that provision?
Mecia: The Providence Square redevelopment. This is along Providence Road in South Charlotte, where developers last year had a bunch of land rezoned — more than 100 acres in their plans for about 2,000 housing units. The developers sought some tax incentives from the county. At a recent meeting, Commissioner Elaine Powell pressed developer Daniel Levine on whether he would commit to using native plants in the development.
Levine told us that he had not really thought about that before, didn't know the benefits of native plants — which Commissioner Powell said include environmental reasons for doing it. They take less water, they're better for wildlife, that kind of thing. So Levine said he would go ahead and do it, and the commissioners voted for the tax incentives.
Terry: Finally, the director of the Charlotte Douglas International Airport says strong passenger growth of the past few years is leveling off. So, that means I'm going to breeze through security this summer, right?
Mecia: I would think that the ability to get through Charlotte Douglas might be a little bit easier this year. They're finishing up some of the construction. There's been some really strong growth in the last few years — more than 58 million passengers last year. But yes, the airport is projecting slower growth. American (Airlines) is not adding as many flights this summer, and so hopefully it'll be a little bit smoother sailing at the airport.
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