CHARLOTTE, N.C. — During Monday's Charlotte City Council committee meetings, new details were shared about city leaders' plans to turn the area around the Charlotte Transportation Center (CTC) and Spectrum Center into an entertainment district.
Plans to put the CTC underground and build the Charlotte Hornets practice facility are going to massively change the area around South Brevard and East Trade Streets. City planners are pitching the project as an opportunity to create the "Brevard District."
“If we’re intentional about it, we can create something unique and special for our citizens,” said Tracy Dodson, Charlotte assistant city manager, to city councilmembers.
The new bus hub being underground leaves room for restaurants, retail, offices, and hotels above.
Dodson said the future the Hornets practice facility could also go on top of the transit center and planned parking deck in a high-rise building. The backup option is to put the practice facility on a nearby lot if needed.
Resident Naglaa Elbanhawi told WCNC Charlotte she is looking forward to the revitalization of the area. "I’m excited, I feel like there's a lot of good changes," Elbanhawi said.
City leaders said the project is centered around public transit -- integrating the rail trail, light rail, and bus hub in one spot.
Rustam Ahmedoff, who works in Uptown, hopes bolstering the transit hub will improve his commute.
“Driving in a car is definitely a pain," said Ahmedoff. "Independence Boulevard is always packed, like I said, it’s a big complaint of mine and I’m pretty sure there's a lot of people that feel the same way.”
Up the street from the CTC, the former EpiCentre, now called the Queen City Quarter, is undergoing its own changes. The city hopes to unify all the projects to create the Brevard District and generate revenue.
“There's a lot there to talk about how that can start to grow and create something really exciting, and really start to bring what's happening in the community to a core location,” Dodson added.
Construction is a couple of years away and planners say the layout designs for the practice facility could change as they continue their research. The project requires a rezoning petition and there will be an opportunity for the public to speak on it in later 2023.
White Point Partners and Dart Interests, the developers partnering with the city to build the future CTC and practice facility, are calling the project “massive.”
A spokesperson for the firms wrote to WCNC Charlotte:
"The Brevard District opportunity – focused around a brand new Transit Center hub, a fully updated Spectrum Center, and a new pedestrian-focused festival street in Brevard – is massive and our vision would be to lean into the melding of those three components into one highly-walkable, transit-focused design. Taking care to cater to the needs of transit users, providing event day activities for Spectrum Center guests, and activating Brevard Street will drive tenancy demand. Still not formalized, we envision the district to include incredible street-level experiential retail and entertainment, among other uses serving each constituency... There is an opportunity for this central part of Uptown to go from the hole in the donut, to the centerpiece of the City. Given the existing civic investment (Convention Center and NASCAR HOF), the number events at the Spectrum and the confluence of transit at the intersection of this District, one can imagine the constant bustle of activity on a daily/nightly basis, and spur more demand on each component."