Here come the triplexes
One builder has submitted plans for 8 triplex projects across south Charlotte, stirring concern among neighbors
The following article appeared in the Feb. 7, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Eight months after new development rules take effect, triplexes are popping up in south Charlotte single-family neighborhoods; ‘Neighbors are concerned’
by Tony Mecia
Topping Place, off Barclay Downs Drive near SouthPark Mall, looks like a lot of streets in south Charlotte. It has brick ranch-style houses built around 1960. It has a few big new houses constructed in the last few years, with one valued at nearly $2M.
But now there’s something new coming to Topping Place: a triplex on a 0.33-acre lot, made possible by a new Charlotte ordinance intended to spur developers to build more housing.
That triplex under construction in the Barclay Downs neighborhood is one of several in south Charlotte that are believed to be among the first to be built under the city’s Unified Development Ordinance, which took effect last June.
The new triplexes on the way represent some of the first steps toward bringing to life the city’s vision of creating a mix of housing options as more people continue to flock to Charlotte. But they’re also dusting off concerns from when the UDO was adopted that denser housing could harm the character of established neighborhoods and do little, at least initially, to improve housing affordability. Real estate-watchers expect the units on Topping to sell for at least $1M.
Several residents who live near the future triplexes said they didn’t want to talk publicly, as they are still learning about the plans. But they cited worries about how the triplexes might look, as well as the effects on parking and trees.
Hilary Larsen of the SouthPark Association of Neighborhoods says she has been fielding emails and phone calls from residents concerned about triplexes since around Christmas. Many of the planned triplexes are in the SouthPark area.