Mecklenburg thought about halting new community centers. New plan could save some
Mecklenburg commissioners are weighing options to shake up plans to build more specialized community centers with a variety of social services under one roof.
Mecklenburg currently has two community resource centers in west and northeast Charlotte, offering one-stop access to county agencies and community groups that help address housing, food insecurity, health and other needs. Three additional locations are planned in the east, southwest and northwest portions of the county.
But when county staff in March pitched the idea of pausing some future construction projects while reassessing financial realities, multiple commissioners suggested changing up or scrapping the resource center plans due to their high cost.
The estimated price tag to build three more centers is $772.3 million, according to county staff.
At Tuesday’s county commission meeting, staff presented commissioners with three alternative options:
- Building no new community resource centers while renovating existing county facilities and leasing office space for employees who were slated to move into the new centers. This would save $440.1 million.
- Building only the planned east Charlotte community resource center at Cagle Avenue off N. Sharon Amity Road while renovating some existing county facilities and leasing office space — but less than if no new centers were built. This would save $335.4 million
- Building the planned east Charlotte community resource center and a “micro” version of a facility slated for Nations Ford Road between Tyvola Road and Interstate 77 in southwest Mecklenburg. This option would still require some renovations to existing facilities and leasing of office space but save $276.4 million
The county already spent about $10.1 million on the planned east Charlotte center and about $4.2 million on the southwest Charlotte facility, staff members added. They told commissioners usage of the existing community resource centers is on the rise and expected to increase as the county’s population grows.
Some commissioners were persuaded by Tuesday’s presentation to throw their support behind sticking with the existing plan to build all three facilities or going with the alternative that leaves the most of the plan intact.
“I’m one of the ones who was concerned about the cost of CRCs,” District 5 representative Laura Meier said. “… My eyes are open. I’m always open to listening to better ways of doing things, but as it stands right now, it just makes sense to me to leave it as is and go forward.”
Others, including board Chairman Mark Jerrell, were more skeptical about investing in more community resource centers as currently conceived. Jerrell said he’s concerned the facilities will become obsolete quicker than expected.
“We’re just assuming that this is the delivery model that is forever, and this is a perpetual delivery model for services … I suspect with the way we’re moving with technology and other ways in society, that this is going to be K-Mart,” he said, referring to the once popular but now-largely defunct department store chain.
Jerrell said constituents in his east Charlotte district are more interested in a facility focused on job training, economic development and spaces for kids and teens rather than social services, and that he’s heard from residents in southwest Charlotte who would rather get a new recreation center.
“I don’t want to use — in east Charlotte in my district — want to use social services as an anchor. I want to use it as a support,” he said. “So yes, I would be in favor of a redesign.”
Commissioners didn’t vote on what to do with the plans Tuesday, and staff said they’ll come back with a recommendation at a later date after incorporating officials’ latest feedback.
