Historic Landmark Demolition Sparks Controversy at Charlotte Airport

A nearly 200-year-old historic landmark is set to be demolished by the Charlotte airport to make way for the facility’s growth plans below West Boulevard.

Almost a year ago, the airport tore down another long-standing structure, the century old Steele Creek Presbyterian Manse. And on Friday, a portion of the Steele Creek Presbyterian Church was also torn down.

A demolition permit request was issued June 5 for the William Grier House along Robbie Circle off of Shopton Road in the Steele Creek neighborhood, according to Mecklenburg County records.

Though the county records say a permit was issued, it also notes that the status is not finalized. However, a spokesperson with Charlotte Douglas International Airport said an airport consultant notified staff on June 10 that a permit was issued.

A demolition date has not been set yet but the airport said it has a six-month window to knock down the structure, which was built in 1828, during the final year of John Quincy Adams’ presidency .

The permit filing was first reported by the Charlotte Ledger newsletter.

The news of the imminent demolition has nearby residents feeling a sense of deja-vu.

Charlotte wants an airport ‘fit for a queen’. Nearby residents ask: What about us?

Though the situations are different, with residents knowing that talks of demolishing the Grier House ramped up in 2023, the decision is still sparking anxiety over the airport encroaching on their history and neighborhood.

“The timing is very interesting,” said Stephanie Lanse, a Steele Creek community leader. “Here we are, again, about to lose another piece of history in Steele Creek for manufacturing and logistics. We aren’t against growth…But it just seems the airport is ripping apart history and the neighborhood for the sake of development.”

The Charlotte airport logistics hub

In 2017, the airport published its area growth and development plan that included the creation of a logistics hub south of the facility.

The CLT South Development District will be a combination of manufacturing, office and commercial buildings that officials hope would “strengthen the west Charlotte office and IT sub-market,” according to the document.

That proposed hub sits on top of Steele Creek, where residents have lived for decades. The implementation plan includes purchasing property, through the city of Charlotte, and, ultimately,demolishing them.

The city has purchased over 330 parcels south of the airport, including a home on McAlpine Drive it bought in April. All of the residential purchases are voluntary, airport officials have previously said.

On the mile-long block of Douglas Drive, where Lanse lives, the airport owns eight of the parcels, with the most recent purchase occurring in October, according to county records.

Steele Creek residents have said they understand the airport’s need for growth. Charlotte Douglas is the sixth- busiest airport in the world for takeoffs and landings. The airport also is the second largest hub for the Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines.

And Charlotte Douglas contributed $40 billion to the North and South Carolina economies in 2023.

But the airport’s expansion plan makes no mention of the Steele Creek neighborhood or its residents. And as the city purchases land, leaving holes between single-family homes, neighbors wonder who will be the last one standing.

“It feels like we’re being picked off and we’re being put in an uncomfortable position by the actions of the airport,” Lanse said. “They don’t care about our homes. They don’t care about the conditions of our home. They’re going to buy them, bulldoze them down and maybe cut the grass.”

Airport officials previously said all sales are voluntary and ensure the land around the airport is compatible with operations.

The William Grier House and other historic properties

Part of the city’s roundup of properties in Steele Creek have included historic sites, including the Grier House.

The house was built by Thomas Grier in 1828, who was considered a “highly respectable and most-valuable citizen,” according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission. He also was considered a man with “economic prowess” who owned 29 enslaved people and was able to build the house for his son, William.

The home is considered one of the “few Federal-style plantation houses” remaining in Mecklenburg County, according to the commission. It was designated a landmark in 1978 and later purchased by the city in 2014.

Several years later, the city purchased another historic landmark in the neighborhood, the Steele Creek Presbyterian Church. The manse, where the church’s pastors lived, was purchased at the same time but was never designated as a landmark.

The congregation was hesitant to sell the church to the city, in fear that the structure would be demolished. But city officials told members it would work to save the church. The same couldn’t be said for the manse.

Last August, the airport demolished the Steele Creek Presbyterian Manse. It had the right to do so because it was city-owned property, but community members, as well as the landmark commission, had started a process to designate the manse as a historic site.

That process wasn’t followed through by city staff and the manse was destroyed.

The Grier House demolition

As part of the airport’s growth plans, it entered into an agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration and the North Carolina Historic Preservation Office, to “minimize harm” to historic sites.

Airport officials said that agreement also includes “removing incompatible residential structures.” While the Grier House is included as a historic site within the airport’s growth area, it’s not listed in the document as a site that needs to be demolished.

And for the house to be demolished, there are rules.

State law says historic commissions cannot deny a demolition request but it can delay it for a year. The airport told the landmark commission it planned to demolish the house in December 2023. The demolition delay ended this past December.

The airport said for the past decade it has worked with public and private sector preservation groups to preserve the Grier House.

Most recently, after the demolition of the manse, airport officials said they began working with Preservation North Carolina to save the site. Officials said the organization did not move forward with any preservation options, such as moving the house.

Preservation NC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Brian Clarke, vice chair of the county landmarks commission, said initial talks with the airport to save all of the historic properties in the neighborhood seemed promising.

One idea was to move the Grier House down the road to the manse and create a one-shop historic stop. But those conversations fizzled out.

“The airport isn’t in the business of preservation,” Clarke said.

What’s next for Steele Creek?

The airport is currently in talks to purchase two long-standing properties, the Spratt-Grier Farmhouse and the Byrum-Croft House. Neither are historic landmarks but both have been considered notable community sites.

The airport is purchasing these properties with the intention of demolishing them, Clarke said. And the airport can, by right.

The landmarks commission could petition for these properties to become landmarks, similar to its previous, albeit unsuccessful, efforts with the manse. But the commission won’t be taking any actions, Clarke said.

Some historic properties are being saved in Steele Creek.

The church’s sanctuary will be preserved and reused as the new headquarters for She Built This City, a nonprofit that introduces and trains women in the construction and manufacturing field.

That development deal also saved the John Douglas House. Douglas was the minister of Steele Creek Presbyterian Church and Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church in 1867 until his death in 1879, according to the landmarks commission.

But not all parts of the church remain. On Friday, a mid- to late-century addition to the church was demolished. While that was part of the plan, it still hurt to witness, Lanse said. “It just feels so wrong,” Lanse said. “Sad day for us.”

There’s no timeline for the creation of the logistics hub. The airport’s documentation says it could take between five and 20-plus years to complete.

Meanwhile, memories are being erased through acquisitions and demolitions. The remaining church and Douglas House, will one day be warehouses several feet from residents’ backyard.

And it’s uncertain when others will come.

“The way it was explained to me is that it’s a line on a map right now,” Lanse said. “There are no existing plans. It’s just a thought on paper but every project begins with one line on a piece of paper, right?”