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Axios
21-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Charlotte Mecklenburg parks drop in annual rankings
Mecklenburg County parks rank among the lowest in the country, according to the nonprofit Trust for Public Land. Why it matters: This year, Charlotte dropped from its 87th spot last year to 90th out of 100 U.S. cities. The main reason for the drop is improvements in other cities rather than changes in Mecklenburg County parks, according to the nonprofit. The big picture: There are 386 parks in Mecklenburg County, and 39% of county residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park, according to the report. This continues to drag the area's ParkScore down. Over the last five years, Charlotte/Mecklenburg has fluctuated from 85th in 2023, 83rd in 2022, 91st in 2021 and 95th in 2020. Charlotte/Mecklenburg invests $111 per capita on parks, compared to the national average of $113, per the report. Between the lines:"The biggest place where we're going to improve our score is by acquiring new land or new parks," Bert Lynn, capital planning division director for Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation, told Axios in an interview last year. 7% of land in Mecklenburg County is used for parks and recreation, while the national median is 15%. The county purchased 552 acres for Park and Recreation use in fiscal year 2024, which is up from 499 in 2023 and 295 in 2022. The other side: Charlotte/Mecklenburg's median park size of 22.3 acres is the largest among the nation's 100 most populous cities and four times the national average of 5.4 acres. What we're watching: The Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners will adopt the FY2026 budget in June. The budget includes $996K to fund the operations of new greenways and park amenities, plus an additional $616K for contracted mowing services and three new full-time employees. Factors impacting an area's ParkScore include: Park access measures how close you live to a park. Park equity measures who lives close to a park. Park acreage explores an area's median park size and how much of the area is dedicated to parks. Park investments look at how much is spent on parks per resident. Park amenities include features like dog parks and splashpads.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
North Mecklenburg County neighbors excited for reopening of Historic Latta Plantation after final design revealed
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — It's been a while since neighbors could visit what's now known as Historic Latta Place, and when they do go back, it'll look completely different. It's part of Mecklenburg County plans to create a new chapter in the site's history. And community members Thursday night were eager to hear the new plans for the site that fronts Mountain Island Lake. It had been closed since 2021 after a proposed controversial Juneteenth event forced county leaders to rethink how they wanted to showcase the property it was then leasing to the nonprofit. It even came with a name change. 'It feels like a relief,' said Kendall Kendrick, executive director of the Charlotte Trail of History. 'We've been doing this research for three-and-a-half years now and putting so much effort and energy into what's to come.' 'Every life is important': Change is coming to Latta Place Mecklenburg County's Bert Lynn was the project's capital planning director. The Park and Recreation division director says the team wanted to present the site in a way that represents truth, transparency, compassion, transformation and unity. He says the design concept took about three years to compile using more than 120 responses from residents, historical research, and analyses. The site will also pay tribute to the predominantly Black community that flooded out when Lake Norman was created in the 1960s. 'It's about remembering things that were that aren't anymore and making sure that we tell stories that reflect in a truthful way the way that this land was used, specifically the land kind of around this whole site was used over the years and making sure that we identify and pay tribute to the folks who were affected and impacted not just by the homestead or by settlement in general, but also by the modernization of the damming of the river there,' Lynn said. The indigenous community with ties to the land will also be recognized, and there will be an interpretive trail for more education. Prioritizing history from the perspective of those enslaved at Latta was the most requested aspect of the site. Janelle Travis has lived in the area nearly her entire life. 'I'm looking forward to seeing all of it,' said Travis. 'I mean, it's just the whole package looks exciting.' Huntersville leaders approve boutique hotel, parking deck and more for Birkdale Village Kendrick was a Latta board member prior to the creation of the controversial event. Since she was a descendant of slave owners from the plantation, she says the reimagination of the site is personal to her. 'I have been part of this site actually for almost eight years,' she said. 'And so from the very beginning that I was part of this site, it was my goal to come in and to be honest about that, to admit that and to know that we have a place where we can do some healing together as a community, people who come to see the site and I've and I've witnessed it and I've seen it happen.' Construction is projected to begin in late 2025, hoping to open for visitors in 2026. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
21-03-2025
- General
- Axios
Mecklenburg County leaders unveil new plans for $11.2M historic Latta Place
Mecklenburg County leaders revealed the final design for historic Latta Place at a community meeting Thursday night in Huntersville. Why it matters: This new iteration of Latta Place, previously Latta Plantation, will dive into the site's complicated past, placing more emphasis on the lives of the enslaved people who lived there than it previously did. Catch up quick: Latta Place encompasses 16 acres within Latta Nature Preserve in Huntersville. The entire nature preserve covers around 1,540 acres. The county closed Latta Plantation in 2021 after a racist post from the nonprofit operating the site and ended its contract with Historic Latta Place Inc. The post was about a Juneteenth event that portrayed slave owners as refugees. County leaders have spent the subsequent years studying how leaders at other former plantations have confronted the past. Project leaders have also held community conversations and worked with historians to design the space. By the numbers: The project will cost around $11.2 million, per Bert Lynn, director of Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation's Capital Planning Division. This figure includes everything from permitting to construction. Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation will manage the project. What to expect: There will be a tribute to the enslaved, including the names of the 65 people who were known to be enslaved at Latta. The county describes it as a quiet space for reflection. This will be at the end of a self-guided interpretive trail. The trail will run through Latta Place and the nature preserve. It will explore the relationship inhabitants had with their surroundings, from the forest and the Catawba River to the cotton plantation. The trail, which will be ADA-accessible, will start with a space where visitors can pause to reflect and include interactive displays throughout. There will be a new 6,000-square-foot visitor center with a 1,200- to 1,500-square-foot meeting room for 75 to 80 people. It will also include exhibit space, a porch, lobby, exterior gallery, community space, staff offices and restrooms. Thursday's design presentation emphasized showing all sides of Latta Place, from the land to the history of the indigenous people, enslaved people, past landowners and where it stands today. Much of the visitor experience will be through "cultural memory" rather than objects, said Gina Ford, principal and co-founder of Agency Landscape + Planning, one of the agencies working on the project. There will also be gardens on the farmstead and an outdoor area where people can gather. Zoom in: The goal is to make the site as authentic as possible. Latta House and the meat house, which are original to the farmstead, will remain, with some repairs planned. A few items will be removed: a small replica barn, a replica structure that served as a field office, a chicken coop and freestanding restrooms. What's next: Construction is expected to start in late 2025, with an anticipated reopening in one year's time. What they're saying: "Mecklenburg [County] had a huge number of plantations, so this is just one plantation story, and I'm interested in how it gets interpreted," said H.D. "De" Kirkpatrick, a Plaza Midwood resident whose family settled in Charlotte during the late 1700s. Kirkpatrick and his Myers Park High School classmate, Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick, spoke about their entwined family histories. Jimmie's ancestors had been enslaved by De's ancestors. They're working on a book and have made a documentary together, Kirkpatrick told Axios. "I'm delighted the county is trying to do this in a clear, transparent way and deal honestly with the history of plantation life in Mecklenburg as well as plantation life here, because it's not a pretty story," De Kirkpatrick said.
