Wednesday, August 28, 2019
The process begins for Charlotte’s 2040 Plan for uptown. With our explosive growth, planning is vital. Guest host Erik Spanberg examines what’s next.
How should Uptown Charlotte grow? City and county officials are asking the public that question as they plot long term growth and development in a new vision plan for Center City. Charlotte is a city keen on plans and studies, and roughly every 10 years the city develops a new one for uptown.
A lot has changed in a decade as the city continues to experience explosive growth. We’ve seen the addition of the Charlotte Knights ballpark, Romare Bearden Park, and $1 billion worth of private development, including high-rise apartments and new businesses.
The area known as Center City has long outgrown the bounds of I-277 and now stretches into SouthEnd, out to JCSU in the Historic West End, the growing Camp North End, and neighborhoods in between.
As leaders kick off the planning process yet again, we look at what’s next for Charlotte’s downtown and discuss how to develop a unifying vision plan.
Guests
Michael Smith, President and CEO of Charlotte Center City Partners
Larken Egleston, Charlotte City Council member, District 1 representative, which runs through part of uptown.
Ely Portillo, Assistant Director of Outreach & Strategic Partnerships, UNC Charlotte Urban Institute
Lorna Allen, senior Urban Designer for the City of Charlotte Planning, Design, & Development Department
