Mayor Lyles pauses new home after plans not approved by Historic District Commission
The grass lot where Mayor Vi Lyles’ old home in Charlotte’s McCrorey Heights used to stand will remain untouched for the time being after her proposal for her new home was not approved by the Historic District Commission.
“I submitted a proposal for a home to be built, which was not approved,” Lyles said Tuesday in response to the Observer asking about the status of her new home construction. “Due to my campaign and priorities as Mayor of Charlotte, I haven’t had time to evaluate the proposal for resubmission.”
City spokesperson Lawrence Corley confirmed the mayor’s plan to pause working on the new home construction after receiving the commission’s revisions.
Details about the revisions were not immediately available.
The mayor previously said the home would be rebuilt to standards of the historic designation and that she talked to the neighborhood association about her plans.
Charlotte’s McCrorey Heights neighborhood
Charlotte’s McCrorey Heights neighborhood is home to decades of rich Black history and is notable for looking almost the same today as it did 50 years ago.
Lyles chipped away at that legacy, however, when she tore down a house at 1623 Madison Avenue with plans to rebuild on the site. Lyles had the house demolished last February, after securing a permit the previous August, five days before the City Council voted to establish the neighborhood as a historic district.
The Historic District Committee determines which requests for demolition of private property within the district are appropriate based on historical significance, value and character.
The home was constructed in the 1950s by Ike Heard Sr. and his wife Gwendolyn, who lived in the house for decades. Heard was an engineer with Douglas Aircraft and his wife was an active volunteer. Their son, Ike Heard Jr., became a prominent city planner.
Lyles also has ties to the neighborhood, through her father-in-law, whose house was on Patton Avenue, and her aunt who lived on Van Buren Avenue.
Why Lyles demolished the house
Lyles said previously that when she bought the house, she planned to live in it. When she discovered problems, she decided to demolish it.
“I’ve been following every rule that every resident has to follow and this is a place that I intend to call home,” Lyles told reporters last February. “It’s a place that really is important to me. And I’m looking forward to actually living in McCrorey Heights with people that I consider as both my neighbors and my friends.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
