CLT airport eyes 385 acres near Steele Creek residents in new rezoning push
The Charlotte airport may have taken its first step in creating a new industrial park right below West Boulevard.
Last week, the city of Charlotte filed a rezoning request to allow 385 acres south of Charlotte Douglas International Airport for manufacturing and industrial facilities, according to city records. The city owns the airport.
The vacant wooded area is currently zoned for residential development. The rezoning request would change the area to ML-2 Manufacturing and Logistics Zoning district, which allows for heavy industrial uses.
The proposed rezoning is similar to past requests, as the airport expands and changes areas to compatible land uses, much to the dismay of many nearby residents.
It’s unclear why the airport is seeking to rezone the area or what it intends to do with the land if the rezoning is approved. Neither city officials nor airport spokespeople responded to requests for comment from The Charlotte Observer.
However, past growth and development plans for the airport have called for that area to become a logistics and distribution hub centered around the city’s major modes of transportation. Air via the airport, roadways via Interstate 485 and train via the Norfolk Southern Intermodal Facility.
But part of that hub, if renderings become reality, cover the nearby neighborhood of Steeleberry Acres. And even if the renderings don’t come to fruition, the requested rezoning area is across from Steeleberry residents.
The area is bordered by West Boulevard, I-485, Shopton Road and Steele Creek Road. And it covers almost 165 parcels owned by the city and the airport, including the former Steele Creek Presbyterian Manse, the historic William Grier House and the Spratt-Grier Farmhouse, which may have a slave dwelling near it.
All three properties have been the center of what Charlotte residents feel are controversial moves made by the airport.
Last year, the airport demolished the manse, a move that angered residents who wanted to save the historic site. A demolition permit request was issued for the Grier House in June. And in July, the city purchased the farmhouse; it’s fate is unknown.
What is known is that the airport has repeatedly said it’s not in the business of preservation. And right now, it’s in a growing phase.
Charlotte airport growth and logistics hub
Charlotte Douglas is the sixth-busiest airport in the world for takeoffs and landings and is the second-largest hub for the Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines.
And Charlotte Douglas contributed $40 billion to the North and South Carolina economies in 2023. City leaders call it an economic driver, one that needs to grow to keep up with demand.
Part of that growth includes the CLT South Development District, which lies in the proposed rezoning area. It’s a combination of manufacturing, industrial, office and commercial buildings that officials hope will “strengthen the west Charlotte office and IT sub-market,” according to a 2017 airport growth and development plan.
But proposed district renderings cover Steeleberry Acres. The plan doesn’t mention the residents or the neighborhood.
What it does say is that to create the district, it will purchase properties and, ultimately, demolish them.
The city owns more than 330 parcels south of the airport. The city’s most recent acquisition was on Dec. 2 on Douglas Drive in the Steelberry Acres neighborhood for $347,000.
Residents have previously said the airport’s acquisitions are dismantling their neighborhood.
What’s next for Charlotte airport rezoning?
The rezoning process is in the early stages.
Typically, residents are notified of the request and a community meeting is scheduled. Eventually, the rezoning will have a public hearing at city council, go before the rezoning board then be voted on by council.
It’s unclear how the city’s new Community Area Plans will factor into the rezoning decision. The plans take a deeper dive into how areas of the city will grow over the next decades.
The proposed rezoning is in West Outer, which was deferred by council to a later voting date. Steeleberry Acres is in the adjacent Southwest Middle plan, which was approved in November. That plan calls for milder manufacturing options.
But with almost 400 acres of potential industrial use “that may be hazardous or noxious” and “have significant external impacts,” according to the city’s zoning code, the proposed rezoning may not be considered mild.
This story was originally published December 15, 2025 at 5:17 AM.
