© 2025 WFAE

Mailing Address:
WFAE 90.7
P.O. Box 896890
Charlotte, NC 28289-6890
Tax ID: 56-1803808
90.7 Charlotte 93.7 Southern Pines 90.3 Hickory 106.1 Laurinburg
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
The transition to President Donald Trump's second administration will have far-reaching implications at the national, state and local levels. "Changing of the Guard" highlights news from WFAE, NPR and partner news sites to help you understand the changes in the new Trump administration — and how it will affect your community.

Gastonia neighborhood equity, connection study in limbo amid federal cuts and uncertainty

Gastonia’s Project CHANGE study, aimed at reconnecting the historically Black Highland community to Downtown Gastonia, is in limbo.
City of Gastonia
Gastonia’s Project CHANGE map.

Gastonia’s Project CHANGE study — aimed at reconnecting the historically Black Highland community to downtown Gastonia — is in limbo.

The city of Gastonia announced in January that it had been awarded a $2 million federal grant through the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Grant Program for Project CHANGE (Connecting Highland: Access, Neighborhood Growth, Equity). The project aims to study ways to connect communities north of downtown Gastonia to the central business district.

Currently, communities in the Highland area are cut off from easy access to downtown by a railroad and a ditch.

That funding is now on pause, the city says, at a time when federal grants and programs are facing uncertainty and cuts.

In a statement to WFAE, a representative for the city of Gastonia said they remain optimistic about the project despite the funding pause and are awaiting guidance from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

As part of the project, the city of Gastonia plans to commit $500,000 in local funds to study ways to transform the ditch.

Sign up for EQUALibrium

Elvis Menayese is a Report for America corps member covering issues involving race and equity for WFAE. He previously was a member of the Queens University News Service. Major support for WFAE's Race & Equity Team comes from Novant Health.