Neighborhood News

New commercial development coming to West Boulevard corridor

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The city of Charlotte is selling a crumbling commercial property on West Boulevard to a developer who plans to flip it.

In 2022, the city bought the deteriorating strip mall in the West Boulevard corridor to mitigate crime and drug activity. As part of the Corridors of Opportunity Program, the city asked developers to submit proposals on how to flip the strip mall into a refreshed commercial space that offers needed services in the community.

The city has chosen Lambert Commercial Real Estate to do the job, which plans to buy the property for $500,000. The Charlotte City Council unanimously approved the sale Monday night.

Executive Director of the West Boulevard Neighborhood Coalition, Sharika Comfort, told WCNC Charlotte she is excited for the future development.

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Software Solution for West Boulevard Neighborhood Coalition

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The West Boulevard Neighborhood Coalition is a 501(c)3 nonprofit community-driven organization in Charlotte’s West Boulevard corridor. West Boulevard is one of Charlotte’s primary western corridors and serves as the commercial center for established neighborhoods to its north and south. The corridor is a community of over 13,000 residents, united by a powerful desire for an inclusive, sustainable, better way of life; where neighbors are empowered, rather than limited by beginnings.

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$5 Million-Plus from Mecklenburg County, Charlotte City Council and Hud will support a new, Cooperative Grocery Store for West Boulevard

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West Charlotte will soon be home to a for-profit, cooperative grocery store. A capital campaign to fund the $10 million cost of the co-op on West Boulevard and Clanton Road has been given a notable boost with funding commitments from key public funding sources, most significantly Mecklenburg County, the project’s longest-standing supporter and partner.

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West Charlotte land trust nets $6 million with county funds

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The West Side Community Land Trust received $6 million to secure its largest acquisition to date, adding 32 properties to its portfolio of lasting affordable homes, the nonprofit announced Tuesday. Mecklenburg County commissioners earlier this year approved using American Rescue Plan Act money to acquire the homes in the Hoskins Road community in northwest Charlotte. Other donors, including Charlotte’s Fifth Third Bank who gave the largest private donation, round out the public-private partnership.

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West Boulevard grocery store project seeking solutions to food insecurity

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West Boulevard community leaders have been working for years to get a grocery store in their neighborhood. City leaders said Tuesday the pieces are finally in place to move forward with funding the Three Sisters Market on the corner of West Boulevard and Clanton Road.

The goal is to build a full-service store next to the Three Sisters urban farm, which seeks solutions for food insecurity in the historically underserved area.

See the full article here.

Three Sisters Market to open on West Boulevard in Charlotte

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After more than 20 years without a grocery store in the West Boulevard corridor, Charlotte residents have found a potential solution of their own — a co-op market. Three Sisters Market, an initiative by the West Boulevard Neighborhood Coalition, has been in the works for eight years. The co-op grocery store recently received $3 million from county commissioners in addition to other funds from Congressional and city sources. The total cost of the project is expected to be about $10 million, and they have raised just over half that so far. “(Government officials) are really starting to understand how much of a dire need this is for our communities,” said Sharika Comfort, executive director of the coalition. “We are watering a desert.”

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From unsafe arterial to thriving main street

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Currently, West Boulevard in Charlotte is anything but a safe and comfortable walk. A narrow sidewalk directly abuts travel lanes where traffic goes 50 miles per hour. There are no street trees or parked cars to buffer pedestrians. Those on foot sense constant danger.

The alternative vision is a safe and walkable destination—an “urban main street”—according to Murphy Antoine, principal with Torti Gallas + Partners, urban designers in a CNU Legacy Project, cosponsored by the West Boulevard Neighborhood Coalition (WBNC). “The idea of taming West Boulevard is important—it’s not just for cars to zip from Uptown to the airport,” he insists. “West Boulevard could be a place to visit, not just to drive through.”

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Residents in West Boulevard corridor make their voices heard

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Tuesday marked the start of a three-day charrette in Charlotte’s West Boulevard neighborhood. The forum allows residents to voice their concerns and outline a community-led vision for the corridor.

People were welcomed and directed toward multiple rows of chairs inside a room at Greater Mount Sinai Baptist Church in west Charlotte.

The West Boulevard Neighborhood Coalition and Congress for the New Urbanism partnered with design consultants to help develop a walkable, affordable, aesthetically pleasing corridor based on community feedback.

Sharika Comfort is the executive director of the coalition comprised of 19 neighborhoods. She said it’s integral that community voices are part of the discussion when addressing gentrification and urban renewal in a corridor.

 “We wanted to hold a charrette to bring those who are going to be most impacted, our residents, our businesses, our families, our neighbors, into the conversation and actually have a voice in the development and redesign of the revitalization of West Boulevard,” Comfort said.

Listen to the full article here.