BREAKING: SouthPark’s Symphony Park is getting an upgrade

The project aims to revamp and enliven the underused 7.5-acre park at SouthPark Mall

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The mall’s owner, the city and private businesses are teaming up on a $21M plan that would add restaurants and retail — and revamp it for more events

New plans announced Monday for Symphony Park call for four new buildings by SouthPark Mall’s parking lot and the DoubleTree hotel — part of a project designed to pump new life into the little-used 7.5-acre park. (Rendering courtesy of SouthPark Community Partners)

by Tony Mecia

There’s a new plan to put more of a park in SouthPark.

The City Council is receiving a briefing today on a $21M proposal that would expand SouthPark Mall by adding two restaurant buildings and retail space on the edge of Symphony Park and renovate the park to make it connect better to the surrounding area and become more welcoming.

The 7.5-acre park — known for its covered pavilion and small lake and home to a summer Charlotte Symphony series — is little-used. The idea is to turn it into a more lively spot, with farmers markets, family movie nights, morning yoga and other fitness classes — or just a place to spread a blanket and read a book or eat lunch on a nice day, said Adam Rhew, CEO of SouthPark Community Partners, an economic and community development nonprofit.

“It is so important to our community,” Rhew told The Ledger. “The potential for the project is so great.”

Despite the name “SouthPark,” the area doesn’t really have a park. The closest county park is Park Road Park, which isn’t exactly in SouthPark. Symphony Park is part of SouthPark Mall and is owned by Simon Property Group.

The proposal before the City Council calls for a public-private partnership in which Simon, the city and private businesses would kick in money, specifically:

• $8M from the city of Charlotte, in the form of previously allocated bond money

• Construction of two standalone restaurant buildings and other communal improvements by Simon, valued at $8M

• A $5M private fundraising campaign, led by SouthPark Community Partners. SouthPark is home to large companies including steelmaker Nucor Corp., soda bottler Coca-Cola Consolidated and lithium producer Albemarle Corp.

Simon and SouthPark Community Partners would sign an agreement allowing Symphony Park to be operated “like any other public park,” Rhew said. SouthPark Community Partners would take the lead in organizing events for the park, which would continue to be owned by Simon.

A long time in the making: The plan to revamp Symphony Park has been in the works for years. Covid added uncertainty to the future of shopping malls, and Simon, like other mall owners, was in no rush to push forward with big new projects.

Now, though, while other malls struggle, SouthPark is widely viewed as Charlotte’s most financially healthy mall, with luxury retailers continuing to open there.

Symphony Park was virtually empty on Sunday afternoon. It fills up for the Charlotte Symphony’s “Summer Pops” series and for “SouthPark After 5,” which starts its spring season April 17.

Hilary Larsen, chair of the SouthPark Association of Neighborhoods, says that upgrading the park has been a top priority for years.

“It’s going to be a big deal for SouthPark,” she said. “People are craving a place to interact.”

There will be many more upgrades to the SouthPark area in the years ahead, said council member Tariq Bokhari, who has worked on the Symphony Park project since he was first elected in 2017. Another one will be The Loop, a three-mile walking trail being constructed piecemeal that will connect the area.

“This isn’t the end game and the ‘mission accomplished’ banner comes down and we’re done,” he said. “This is the beginning of what SouthPark ultimately can be.”

He said the park could serve as SouthPark’s “town square” and would be like a “Swiss Army knife” — so versatile that “anytime you go down there, there is always something going on.”

The Symphony Park plans call for:

• A restaurant of approximately 8,000 s.f., possibly split between two levels with a rooftop patio and bar

• A restaurant of about 1,600-2,000 s.f.

• A spot for “micro-retail,” or several small retail shops

• A standalone public restroom building

• A regrading of the park to make parts of it flatter and more suitable for events

• Improving ways to access the park from Carnegie Boulevard and Barclay Downs Drive, including adding walkways over the lake.

Ideally, construction would start by late summer 2026 and be completed by mid-summer 2027, Rhew said. He said he’s working with city staff to determine if the project would require a rezoning.

There are also a series of renderings that show what the revamped Symphony Park would look like: