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A dispute over $13.75 million owed to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools appears to be over for now, after school board members agreed Tuesday to sell land it owns in First Ward to Mecklenburg County.
The agreement, approved by a unanimous vote without public discussion, clears the way for county commissioners to approve their role in a planned $700 million mixed-use development in First Ward. The commissioners could vote on that project as soon as next Tuesday.
The county needed CMS property along Brevard and North Caldwell streets for a land swap tied to the mixed-use project.
But the school system initially balked at selling the land, with school board members and CMS leaders saying they had questions about money owed to the district from a previous deal. That drew ire from some commissioners, who felt the deals should have been handled separately.
The county agreed to pay the district $13.75 million to buy the Education Center as part of a deal to help bring a minor-league baseball stadium and another mixed-use project to uptown. The county also promised the school district space in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center.
Mecklenburg has already cleared space in the government center for the district, and had borrowed some of the money it owed to the district. But earlier this year, the county and district decided to spend the money on other school construction projects under way.
County leaders said last month they planned to pay the district all the money it's owed, but had said they couldn't do so right away because of the recession and efforts to reduce county debt.
The deal calls for the county to pay the money owed to CMS for its Education Center after another developer buys the property. It also says the county could try to push back a December 2010 deadline for the district to move out of its headquarters if it becomes necessary, according to a copy of the agreement given to county commissioners recently.
