Making SouthPark more connected and alluring

A new 'vision plan' proposes 64 ideas

The following article appeared in the April 17, 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.

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5 intriguing ideas from SouthPark’s new vision plan; performing arts center, ‘festival street,’ self-driving shuttle

Leaders in SouthPark released an ambitious plan to reshape the area on Tuesday, with a comprehensive list of 64 ideas designed to make SouthPark more alluring and easier to get around.

The 104-page “SouthPark Forward 2035 Vision Plan” was developed by SouthPark Community Partners, the nonprofit that administers a new special taxing district encompassing the area’s commercial core that has SouthPark Mall as its center.

CEO Adam Rhew told The Ledger that it’s less of a step-by-step guide than it is a “playbook” — a collection of achievable big ideas: “It’s a menu, not a cookbook,” he said.

The plan would require money from public and private sources. It calls for better connections for walking and biking and for enlivening underused plots of land.

One of the ideas in SouthPark’s new vision plan is converting Carnegie Boulevard into a lively “festival street.” (Photo and rendering courtesy of SouthPark Community Partners)

Among the ideas: