$10 million upgrade for south Charlotte park could help make the area more walkable
The redesign could make Symphony Park a key stop along the planned SouthPark Loop that was part of a separate $10 million planned investment by the city to make SouthPark more walkable.
The loop, which would be made up of sidewalks and trails, would circle SouthPark Mall and bypass the surrounding Fairview and Sharon roads as well as Barclay Downs Drive. The planned route would connect Symphony Park with Morrison Regional Library and Phillips Place, which Lincoln Harris said in March it will revitalize and build the first completed section of the SouthPark Loop.
Tariq Bokhari, the city councilman who represents the area, said mall owner Simon Property Group signed a letter of intent with the city last week to match up to the $5 million the city will invest in redesigning Symphony Park.
The project would connect the park to SouthPark mall and would make the area more pedestrian-friendly, Bokhari said. Simon and the city are not yet sure what the redesigned park will look like, but Bokhari said a design should be finalized by next year.
“It’s important to a lot of folks that we move with a lot of urgency because this will be a big part in activating similar-type projects and matches between the public and private sector,” Bokhari said.
The renovated park could include picnic space and a playground as well as an area for food vendors, Bokhari said.
Places to go
This year the park is hosting concerts and festivals from April to October, and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra’s Summer Pops series is always a hit. But apart from these events, Bokhari said the park is sparsely used. He imagines Symphony Park as a space that will be visited even when there are no events happening like Romare Beardan Park in uptown.
Rob Aulebach, vice chair of the SouthPark Association of Neighborhoods, said his organization has been advocating for more walkable space in SouthPark since the association was founded three years ago.
“You can imagine SouthPark because of the major roads, Sharon and Fairview and so forth, is fairly car-centric,” Aulebach said. “The neighborhoods want to connect to that, but they don’t necessarily always want to have to drive their car to be able to go to the mall.”
Although the agreement between Simon and the city is non-binding, Bokhari said the commitment is enough to move the project into the design phase.
Bokhari said the project will help attract both residents and businesses to SouthPark by creating spaces that employees want to live near, which will make businesses want to relocate to the area too.
“When you create these walkable loop-type destinations all throughout the loop, now business and the economic development all around that are booming and you have places to actually go,” he said.