South End growth undone? Residents raise alarm over NCDOT’s proposed train facility

The possibility of a new train maintenance facility has residents and business owners in some South End-area neighborhoods concerned years worth of development could be undone.

But, state transportation officials say, a final decision is still a ways off.

Jim Whiteside, whose decades of real estate experience includes rehabbing historical buildings in the Gold District, said the NC Department of Transportation blindsided its potential neighbors with a 40-acre train maintenance facility proposal in the area. Neighbors discovered the proposal when they spotted workers examining property there.

Gold District residents and businesses as well as neighborhoods such as Wilmore have a number of concerns, he said. They include pollution, a lack of communication about what’s on the table, negative impacts on property values and the potential use of eminent domain to obtain land.

“We are all just flabbergasted at the audacity of the railroad to just arbitrarily do what they want to do,” he said.

At a community meeting Thursday night, locals concerned about even the possibility of the facility pledged to stay vocal in their advocacy against it.

The plan “is early in the development phase,” the North Carolina Department of Transportation said in a statement.

What’s proposed for South End train facility?

There’s already a train facility in the Gold District that opened in 2018, those advocating against its expansion note.

“NCDOT wants to more than double the size of the existing facility,” the group said in a statement announcing Thursday’s event, which would back it up to Wilmore and “create a barrier between” Wilmore, the Gold District, South End and other neighborhoods.

The current facility often sits idle, residents said at their gathering. The expanded facility would be used to clean and maintain trains.

NCDOT says the potential facility is part of “projects that have been conceptualized, designed and incrementally implemented in partnership with the city since the early 2000s” to bring passenger rail service to uptown Charlotte.

It hasn’t made any decisions on what property would be needed to build the new train facility, DOT spokesman Jamie Kritzer said.

“Plans for this facility have been discussed for over a decade and NCDOT is committed to following the state and federally required procedures to evaluate and develop practical measures to avoid and minimize impacts to people, the environment and businesses as we determine the best path forward,” Kritzer said.

Neighbors concerned about pollution, property values

Whiteside said developers and residents spent years and millions of dollars to turn the Gold District and other South End neighborhoods into unique, desirable parts of Charlotte.

If the train facility plans move forward, he’s concerned that work could be undone.

“I just feel like they’re taking a piece of Charlotte that has taken us 25 to 30 years to get to where it is now,” he said.

Residents say they’re concerned about trains causing air pollution as well as noise and light pollution.

They’re also worried it could stymie further development and hurt local businesses, such as Frothy Beard Brewing, 1200 S. Graham St., where some gathered Thursday to share their concerns and rally opposition to the idea.

Rebekah Taff, a real estate agent who lives in Wilmore, said she’s worried about what the facility would mean for what she and her husband intended to be their “forever home.”

“I am acutely aware of the impact this will have on our home values, but even more so I am aware of the quality of life impact,” she said.

Matt Lincoln, who leads the resident board of a townhome community near Frothy Beard, said his group was “very disappointed” to learn the news about this proposal and the lack of outreach by the state.

“This would be an instance of the nuisance coming to us, not the residents moving to the nuisance, and I think that’s a really important distinction here,” he said. “Because the people who have moved here invested significant amounts of money to move here.”

A petition circulated at Thursday’s meeting calling on NCDOT to not expand the South End facility.

Some also expressed concern that eminent domain — when the government takes private land for a public use — could be used to claim property for the facility that’s currently home to businesses. NCDOT did not directly address in its statement a question from an Observer reporter asking whether eminent domain could or would be used.

State legislator gets involved

State Rep. Mary Belk, whose district includes the potentially affected neighborhoods, spoke at Thursday’s community meeting.

Belk told the group she “was totally unaware of what was going on” with the train facility until she heard from residents.

The Democrat said she contacted state transportation officials after hearing about constituents’ concerns and was told NCDOT is limited in what sites can be used for such a facility, because the land has to fit within the bigger picture of transit plans and not interfere with freight train operations.

Belk encouraged the group to stay vocal about their concerns in order to make sure they’re heard and have a chance at a seat at the table as decisions are made.

“It takes a lot of time,” she said. “It takes a lot of effort.”

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