A big vision for north of NoDa (free version)
Plus: Mystery odor detected in south Charlotte; Changes forthcoming to Charlotte 2040 plan?; West Charlotte alums leave their mark; Dip into Ledger's 1-year Covid time capsule
Good morning! Today is Friday, March 12, 2021. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C. If you like what we do, tell a friend.
Editor’s note: This is a shorter, free version of The Charlotte Ledger sent to people on our free sign-up list. The complete version for paying subscribers went out 15 minutes ago. It included:
An in-depth report on big things happening in a part of town some call the “Trailhead District” just north of NoDa that’s ripe for redevelopment, with team coverage from our friends at The Biscuit.
News on the source of a putrid stench that’s been wafting through the air in south Charlotte, Indian Land and Waxhaw — and what South Carolina lawmakers are doing about it.
The inside scoop on what changes may be coming to the city’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan, that might address an aspect of the plan that’s been causing some major debate.
At The Ledger, we are building a locally owned, reader-focused news organization that delivers smart and essential news to Charlotte residents. You’ll find no pop-up ads, auto-play videos, clickbait or pay-to-play mentality here — because we treat our readers as customers instead of enlisting as many advertisers as possible.
If that approach appeals to you, we invite you to join us as a paying subscriber. Subscriptions are $9/month or $99/year (which comes with a second email address, collected after sign-up), and you receive full access to every edition by email and on our website, including the complete Wednesday and Friday issues. Details here.
Industrial corridor off Sugar Creek, a mile from heart of NoDa, is ‘about to explode’; arts hub as the next domino
Industrial buildings along Raleigh Street, off Sugar Creek Road about a mile north of the center of NoDa, appear poised for redevelopment because of the nearby light rail station and the planned Cross Charlotte Trail. The building in the foreground — 4327 Raleigh St. — is slated to become an arts hub, with construction expected to start in the next few weeks. (Photo by Kevin Young/The 5 and 2 Project)
Editor’s note: Something a little different this morning — we’re teaming up with The Biscuit, the media channel of Charlotte Is Creative, to examine how the arts and development are coalescing in a distinctive project off East Sugar Creek Road north of NoDa. The Biscuit covers the arts. The Ledger covers business. We joined forces today. Enjoy.
by Tony Mecia
If you spend a few minutes driving around Sugar Creek Road near the light rail stop, you’ll see it doesn’t look like much: Rusted-out barbed wire fences. Old industrial buildings. A faded mall with weeds growing in the parking lot.
But like a lot of places in Charlotte, looks can be deceiving: There’s plenty going on behind the scenes. And this otherwise unremarkable area just a few blocks north of NoDa could be one of the city’s next big areas that’s ripe for development.
“Momentum is starting to build a little bit faster there,” says Jacob Horr, who heads land use for the NoDa Neighborhood and Business Association. “It’s on the edge of about to explode.”
—
Looking for a new home, a photographer gets creative
Tim Miner of The Biscuit goes deeper on the origins of the idea for an artistic community in the area:
Jim Dukes is used to things blowing up.
Today, Dukes is the executive director of the Charlotte Art League (CAL), but his background is in explosives. As a former defense contractor for the United Nations, he specialized in disarming mines and bombs. In fact, it’s the five traumatic brain injuries he sustained doing that work that led him to the art world in the first place. But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Explosions are nothing new for Dukes. That’s why he didn’t panic when Tony Kuhn of Flywheel Group, CAL’s landlord hit him with a bombshell in mid-2020: We need you to move.
Luckily, Kuhn had a backup plan in place — moving CAL to a newly refurbished building a block away from the League’s current location just off East Sugar Creek Road on Raleigh Street.
Dukes saw this as an opportunity to work with Kuhn to create something new. While original plans for the building leaned into co-working, Dukes pulled from his experience in construction to propose making the building a destination for creative businesses and nonprofits. He says Kuhn and his team were open and saw the potential of establishing a new arts hub along with retail, commercial and residential space. …
The Charlotte Art League knows a few things about moving on short notice.
The League was formed in 1965 as an informal group of local artists who met at each others’ homes and public places to paint together and exchange work and ideas. According to their website, CAL is “Charlotte’s oldest nonprofit art gallery and organization.” …
After five traumatic brain injuries related to his work as a defense contractor left him blind in one eye, Dukes had to retrain himself to walk, read and work. He discovered an interest in photography and followed that thread.
Photography led Dukes to using arts to heal veterans with PTSD and then to arts and cultural management. …
Dukes wanted to court younger artists, too. With CAL minutes away from Garinger High, he was shocked that the organization had no relationship with the school.
"Why? Why aren't they here? One of my first emails was to the art department [at Garinger]. ‘What can we do to get you here?’,” he said. Soon after, students participated in an exhibition.
Over the summer, CAL kept innovating, inviting the public to drive-thru art shows and drive-in poetry events. And, then … Flywheel called.
You can read the complete article at on the collaboration between the Charlotte Art League and Flywheel at Charlotte Is Creative’s website.
—
Podcast 🎧: Developer and arts leader talk about building communities
In this special edition of the Biscuit CLT Podcast, Tim Miner (The Biscuit) and Tony Mecia (The Charlotte Ledger) chat with Jim Dukes of Charlotte Art League and Tony Kuhn of Flywheel Group about their partnership, community placemaking, the challenges medium-sized art institutions and individual creatives have faced recently in affordable, long-term space, and how developers can step up to meet those needs:
Ugh, that smell! Mysterious stench lingers over south Charlotte along Union and S.C. borders
It’s hard to describe just how bad the stench has been the last few days over a miles-wide swath that encompasses Ballantyne, Indian Land and Waxhaw, but rotten eggs, raw sewage and manure come to mind.
Alums stream to West Charlotte High to sign ‘the beam’
LION PRIDE: West Charlotte High School grads from around the city have been heading to their old school in droves this week to sign a construction beam that will be placed in the new replacement high school that is being built on the campus. Lynda Gresham, Class of ’68, told The Ledger on Thursday that she signed because of the close bonds she has to the school: “You can see the outpouring of support. It’s like a family.” Alumni have written names and messages such as “The future succeeds in creating an appropriate past. Know who we are, the mighty lions!” West Charlotte was primarily all-Black until the early 1970s, when bussing brought students in from throughout Charlotte. Rodgers Builders and Holt Brothers Construction are building the new school, which is expected to open in 2022. The school has posted about the beam on its Facebook page.
Are changes in the future for Charlotte’s proposed 2040 plan?
After the city’s proposed 2040 Comprehensive Plan hit opposition at last week’s City Council meeting, changes might be afoot.
We hear from multiple City Hall sources that some serious deal-making is going on behind the scenes to try to address one of the most prominent concerns
—
For further reading on this topic, you might check out:
An op-ed in Q City Metro by Shannon Binns of Sustain Charlotte, which advocates for smart growth.
A piece by Ely Portillo of the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute that breaks down the different strains of opposition to the 2040 plan.
In addition, the city of Charlotte is holding a “virtual planning community conversation” on Tuesday about the 2040 plan, in which a panel will take questions from residents. It’s at 12:00 Tuesday and will be streamed on the city’s Facebook and YouTube channels. More info here.
➡️ The Ledger will continue to follow this topic because it’s important for Charlotte and its future … even if a 320-page document written by city planners is less riveting than whatever you’ve been watching lately on Netflix. If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to drop us a line.
Covid coverage: a year ago in The Ledger
From “Charlotte’s economy and the coronavirus, explained,” March 11, 2020:
It has been a crazy last few days.
Our phones are blowing up with reports of new cases of the coronavirus and state-of-emergency proclamations. The stock market is in turmoil. Businesses are restricting travel. Airlines are canceling flights. Schools are considering virtual classrooms. People are stocking up on hand sanitizer and toilet paper. Running out of toilet paper — now that’s truly a crisis.
In Charlotte, especially in the last decade or so, we like to believe that we’re shielded from the economic woes that might be afflicting other places. We have shiny new office towers, luxury apartment complexes with rooftop pools, thousands of new tech jobs, lots of people moving here every day and great new restaurants.
But those don’t immunize us against larger economic forces at work springing from worry about the coronavirus. We’re going to feel this one. …
[UNC Charlotte economist John] Connaughton [says] there is no evidence there will be any widespread health consequences to Charlotte. He says a lot of people are “probably overreacting.” …
[Economist] Mark Vitner [of] Wells Fargo … says that as of now, there are few visible signs that Charlotte’s economic growth is slowing. “You go out and about in Charlotte — you go to restaurants, you go to breweries — it’s hard to tell that there is some impending crisis about to hit us. … Right now, it doesn’t look like we will see the dramatic effects that the stock market seems to be foretelling,” he says. …
Run on hand sanitizer and wipes: Stores all over Charlotte seem to be out of hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes, according to several Ledger readers all over the city.
In brief
New MBA program: UNC Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School is making plans to start a two-year executive MBA program in Charlotte this October. Kenan-Flagler Dean Doug Shackelford said no location has been selected yet, but he wants the program to be accessible to the business community, which means somewhere in or near near uptown. Tuition is expected to range between $90,000 and $125,000. (Biz Journal)
No proms, again: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is cancelling proms for the second straight year. An email to staff this week cited “continued limitations to social gatherings.” (WCNC)
School reopening bill: Democrats and Republicans in Raleigh reached a compromise on a school reopening bill that allows districts to open for full in-person instruction in middle and high schools. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools seems unlikely to alter its plan, adopted this week, to return students in grades 6-12 to the classroom 2 days a week starting Monday. Grades K-5 will go 4 days a week starting March 22. (WFAE)
Hair discrimination: A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools high school student is asking the school board to pass a policy against race-based discrimination on the basis of hairstyle. Last week, North Carolina lawmakers introduced a CROWN Act bill that would provide statewide protections, prohibiting businesses, governments and schools from discriminating on the basis of hair texture or styles. Versions of the CROWN Act, which stands for “create a respectful and open world for natural hair,” have passed in several states as well as cities in North Carolina. (WCNC)
Morgan named S.C. chamber chief: Former Charlotte Chamber CEO Bob Morgan will take over as CEO of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce beginning next month. Morgan led the Charlotte Chamber for 13 years before serving as public affairs director at Charlotte law firm Robinson Bradshaw. (Biz Journal)
CPCC cyberattack recovery: The Feb. 10 cyberattack at Central Piedmont Community College caused some lost course plans, grades and assignments, as some systems weren’t backed up or backups were compromised. Some systems have been restored and most classes resumed by March 1, school officials said. (WFAE)
1 million s.f. for Amazon in Pineville: Amazon has signed a lease for Beacon Partner’s Carolina Logistics Park in Pineville. According to the lease memorandum filed with the register of deeds and reviewed by The Ledger, Amazon will occupy 1,006,462 s.f. The lease, signed on Feb. 27, runs for 12 years with up to four 5-year extensions. The amount of rent is not listed in the public records. The Business Journal reported this week that Amazon is also eyeing another facility, on Beam Road near the airport.
Vaccine eligibility changes:Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday said he’s accelerating the eligibility of groups that have not yet been vaccinated. People with health conditions including asthma, diabetes and obesity — plus people who live in group living facilities — will be eligible Tuesday. Others in “Group 4” will be eligible April 7. (WCNC)
Brewery construction is hoppin’: Charlotte is expected to add at least 7 new breweries this year, on top of the more than 30 that are already here. (Axios Charlotte)
Loves me some internet
Need to sign up for this e-newsletter? We offer free and paid subscription plans:
The Charlotte Ledger is an e-newsletter and website publishing timely, informative, and interesting local business-y news and analysis Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, except holidays and as noted. We strive for fairness and accuracy and will correct all known errors. The content reflects the independent editorial judgment of The Charlotte Ledger. Any advertising, paid marketing, or sponsored content will be clearly labeled.
Got a news tip? Think we missed something? Drop us a line at editor@cltledger.com and let us know.
Like what we are doing? Feel free to forward this along and to tell a friend.
Social media: On Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Nab an “Essential Charlotte Ledger” T-shirt or hoodie.
Sponsorship information: email editor@cltledger.com.
Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Reporting intern: David Griffith