Gaston County residents traveling east across the Catawba River could see a new development at the entrance to Charlotte Douglas International Airport in the next 10 years that would tie in to a proposed light rail line that would run from Belmont into Uptown and eventually Matthews.
The airport unveiled its plans this week for the Destination District, a massive commercial development that would be at the airport's entrances on Wilkinson Boulevard and I-85.
"It's going to be a new heart of the airport city as we continue to see growth at Charlotte Douglas," said Stuart Hair, CLT's economic and community affairs director. "We're building a destination, a central business district or downtown of the airport city, with all of the things you expect in a downtown clustered together."
Planners envision a commercial development with office space, a conference center and hotels, parking facilities, gas stations and restaurants. The 500 acres of land located north of the airport includes both private property and property owned by the airport. It's bordered by I-85, the Billy Graham Parkway, Wilkinson Boulevard and I-485.
The airport is proposing a dedicated road off I-85 that will bring drivers directly to airport parking. There are also plans for a Silver Line light rail station and potential automated people mover connecting the Destination District to the airport terminal.
"We're really creating a vision for this development," Hair said. "We have a couple different projects that are actively in the works, and we expect some exciting news to come out of those projects in 2020."
The timeline for the project is unclear. However, airport officials said businesses that used to sit on some of the property – a concrete plant, an adult night club and a convenience store – are closed, and the Aviation Department is working to clear the land in preparation for redevelopment.
Last year, the North Carolina General Assembly allocated recurring funding for capital improvement projects at the state's commercial airports using money generated from car rental taxes. The Aviation Department used $25 million from that fund to purchase some of the Destination District property in anticipation of spurring more economic activity in the area, said the news release.
The airport plans to break ground on new projects within the Destination District in roughly three to five years, as it recovers from the COVID crisis, said the news release. In 10-plus years, the initiative is expected to come into fruition.
"The Silver Line plans to be active for operational service within 10 years," Hair said, "and so the light rail service from Uptown coming fully online will really catalyze a lot of these growth opportunities and create a great synergy for development."
In February, Gastonia City Council members agreed to devote the equivalent of roughly $70,000 toward a transit development study, which will prepare for an expansion of the Charlotte Area Transit System's LYNX light rail Silver Line. It represents a partnership between Charlotte and five neighboring cities that want to find a way to extend the southeast-to-west line all the way from Stallings to Gastonia.
In October, Charlotte City Council members took the major step of approving a $50 million contract to start preliminary work on planning and designing the Silver Line over 26 miles from Matthews to Belmont. That money merely represents a drop in the bucket, as the cost of building the rail line is unknown now, but is expected to stretch into the billions.
You can reach Michael Banks at 704-869-1842, email [email protected] and follow on Twitter @MichaelBanksNC.
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