Council Approves Plan at Site of Burial Ground for the Enslaved
Local expert brought in to help preserve site
Charlotte City Council held a zoning meeting on Tuesday night, making a decision on a property that had been the site of a controversial rezoning petition nearly a decade ago due to the presence of an apparent burial ground for enslaved people at the site.
Zoning meetings are split into two parts: zoning decisions, in which they vote on whether to approve or deny petitions; and hearings, during which developers are able to present their plans, residents are able to speak in support or opposition, and council members are able to discuss before the decision is scheduled for a later date.
Below we take a quick look at some of the meeting’s notable decisions and discussions.
On the Agenda:
- Development Proposed at Controversial Site
- Hearings Include Affordable Housing Proposals
Development Proposed at Controversial Site
Council on Tuesday voted on a petition to construct up to 880 residential units and 30,000 square feet of commercial/retail uses on currently undeveloped land off West Mallard Creek Church Road at the I-85 interchange.
A previous plan to build a TopGolf on the land years ago was nixed in 2017 due to controversy surrounding a cemetery for enslaved folks that’s located at the site.
Following surveys that included the use of ground-penetrating radar and other tools, the developers have committed to funding the preservation and ongoing memorialization of the burial ground with the help of Dr. Julia Robinson Moore, a UNC Charlotte professor with experience in cemetery preservation.
As the director of the Preserving Sacred Spaces Initiative (PSSI) at UNC Charlotte, Dr. Moore has led a diverse team of architects, students and historians on a mission to restore dignity to forgotten African American burial grounds in Charlotte, as depicted in the documentary Charlotte Seven from the Cowboy Collective.
“They’ve taken that approach to preserve that land that was a community concern,” said district rep Renee Johnson. “[The petition includes] 80 townhomes on Galloway that are going to be for sale. There’s retail that’s going to [include] a restaurant and a proposed hotel and it’s right near 85. This is the type of balanced development and responsive development that we seek, so I will be supporting it.”
Council approved the petition unanimously.
Read more: Cemetery Preservation Project Honors Historic Black Church in Grier Heights (2025)
Hearings Include Affordable Housing Proposals
Moving on to hearings, council got its first look at a proposal to build an affordable housing complex for seniors behind Charlotte Calvary Church on North Sharon Amity at the front of the Wilora Lake neighborhood in east Charlotte.
The development would comprise 125 apartments and 14 townhomes, though neighbors have raised concerns about added traffic, tree preservation and building heights. The highest buildings in the complex would be four stories.
In presenting the project to council, Tim Sittema with development firm Crosland Southeast pointed out how housing costs have increased over the last 20 years. Sittema said the household income needed to afford a median-priced home in Charlotte in 2005 was $55,000. By 2020, it was $79,000. Just five years later, in 2025, it was up to $146,000.
Sittema acknowledged that most of the units at the complex in question would be rentals, but emphasized that the need for such projects is growing due to people getting priced out of the housing market. He said it’s also becoming more difficult for developers to build affordable housing as a result of inflation and other factors.
The first neighbor to speak against the proposal points out that North Sharon Amity Road is already a High Injury Network and would only become more dangerous.
The project was estimated to increase the vehicle trips generated on the property from 89 trips per day to 751 trips per day, though Sittema pointed out that his company planned a senior living development for that site in particular because senior living complexes are known to have a lighter traffic impact.
Next, got a preview of a proposed development of 195 townhomes on 19.5 acres off Mallard Creek Road just south of Prosperity Church Road. The petition has drawn opposition from neighbors, some of whom were on hand to speak against it on Tuesday.
A resident of the Colvard Park neighborhood pointed out that many neighbors already avoid any trip that involves taking a left out of the neighborhood during certain times because of the dangers involved. She suggested placing a stop light at Colvard Park Way and Mallard Creek Road and/or moving the entrance point to the new development.
District rep Renee Johnson claimed that residents are having “the rug pulled out” from under them with developments like the one proposed on Mallard Creek Road. She pointed out that different petitions estimate different impacts for the same schools in District 4 but they aren’t being considered cumulatively.
Johnson asked that council pretend they’re on Back to the Future and consider what the cumulative effects of all the development that’s proposed for the area will look like in 10 years.
Council also got a look at a petition on East Morehead Street that proposes the construction of a mixed-use development comprising up to 390 apartments and 10,000 square feet of commercial space.
The project would be located on the property bordered by Myrtle, Euclid and Lexington — currently home to an office building — at the border of Dilworth and Uptown. At least 20% of the apartments will be committed to households earning 80% or less of the area median income, and 25% of those units will be reserved for folks earning 30% or less.
The project is a partnership between Atrium Health and INLIVIAN, said district rep Dante Anderson, who added that the Dilworth Neighborhood Association has been involved in the discussion to ensure the project is not an invasive one.
“I think it fits in very well with the updated modernness of this corridor along Morehead while still protecting the aesthetic and charm of this single-family neighborhood in the back as you go further into Dilworth,” Anderson said.
