‘Legacy project’: County buying land for Charlotte park with ‘rare’ river view
Mecklenburg County Commissioners on Tuesday approved the purchase of land for a new park along the Catawba River.
During closed session, county commissioners agreed to spend $3.6 million to purchase 35 acres in the city of Charlotte and unincorporated Mecklenburg County for the Park and Recreation department.
The property is below Mountain Island Dam and faces Mountain Island Lake, a Charlotte drinking water source. It’s adjacent to 84 acres the county purchased in 2016, documents show.
“This is just a dream,” County Commissioner Elaine Powell said. “It’s a legacy project. It’s awesome.”
The property is expected to be used for walking trails, hiking trails, nature observation areas, wildlife preservation and potential river access.
The acquisition is also expected to help water quality in the Catawba River by restricting development and removing the possibility of potential storm-water runoff, according to county documents.
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“The fact that you can see the water from the park is so rare,” said Powell, former chair of the Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation Commission. “Greenways and blueways are so important to the public.”
The $3.65 million for the purchase of four parcels of land will come from the fiscal year 2023 county budget’s Environmental Leadership Action Plan account.
On Nov. 19, 110 volunteers are expected to plant 170 trees around the property through Creek ReLeaf, a Mecklenburg County program that plants trees along floodplains and stream buffers.
This story was originally published November 2, 2022 at 3:21 PM.
