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Bond Referendum, UNC Charlotte Hotel Project On City Council Agenda

Erik (HASH) Hersman
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Flickr/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Charlotte City Council members are expected to take the next steps Monday night in putting a $223 million bond referendum on the ballot in November.   

As part of this year’s budget process, council members in June approved a Community Investment Plan that includes the anticipated bond referendum this fall. Charlotte voters will be asked to approve $118 million in street bonds, $55 million for neighborhood improvements, and, bonds to boost the city’s Housing Trust Fund by $50 million. The housing bonds are part of an ongoing push by Charlotte leaders to increase the availability of affordable housing.  

City Council members Monday evening will hold a public hearing on the planned bond referendum, followed by a vote to officially advance the measure for placement on the November 6 ballot. 

Also on the council’s agenda is a request for zoning changes that would allow development of a hotel and conference center on the UNC Charlotte campus, near the JW Clay light rail station. Plans call for a 230-room Marriott hotel, as part of an $84 million development that university leaders say would help attract large conferences and boost UNC Charlotte’s academic reputation.   

The university is asking the city for $8 million in funding to support the hotel and conference center development. That money would come from local tourism taxes, such as the additional 8 percent in room taxes added to hotel bills. Council members are expected to make decisions on the project by late August. 

Mark Rumsey grew up in Kansas and got his first radio job at age 17 in the town of Abilene, where he announced easy-listening music played from vinyl record albums.