City Council and County Commissioners will provide an update on the River District, a 1,400-acre planned community in Charlotte, at a meeting tomorrow.
Since 2016, Charlotte developer Crescent Communities and the local government have been planning the district just west of Charlotte-Douglas Airport.
It’s slated for 2,300 single-family homes, 2,350 multi-family housing units, 1,000 hotel rooms, 200 retirement units, 8 million square feet of commercial space and more than 500 acres of preserved land.
Why it matters: Developers expect the $6 billion project to have an estimated gross economic impact of $5.6 billion annually for the region and state. The project is on a similar scale to Ballantyne.
Ground broke for the district in March with plans to complete the project over the next decade.
Local government is expected to discuss the economic development opportunity for the district at Wednesday’s meeting at 9 a.m. People can watch via the government channel, the City’s Youtube page or the City’s Facebook page.
Here’s what we know:
- Construction is expected to begin by early 2024.
- The district is planned to be built in phases. The first phase of work is for Westrow, a 70-acre mixed-use area with 514 apartments and around 40,000 square feet of office and retail, restaurants and event space.
- The district will reserve 40% of the acreage for open space, including a riverfront park and 30 miles of trails.
- Affordable housing developer Laurel Street Residential will build 124 units in Westrow. They will house families making 30%-80% of the area’s median income.
- Roads will be widened to ease traffic flow and bordered with multi-use trails for walking and biking.
- Catawba Riverkeeper, Discovery Place and Catawba Lands Conservancy will partner to educate people on the land’s natural resources.
