CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Monday night, dozens of SouthPark residents attended Charlotte City Council's zoning meeting to rally in support of a plan to makeover the Trianon condominiums in SouthPark into a modern commercial, retail, and residential community.
Several residents in attendance at the meeting wore "Yes to Trianon!" T-shirts to show their support.
The supporters are current owners of Trianon condos. The community voted to sell their 1970s homes altogether to a developer.
"Our aging infrastructure creates both a physical and financial burden, making it difficult to stay long-term," Trianon HOA board member Ambriel Taylor explained. "Our community chose Related, a developer that would build something special and not just a standard apartment project.”
The buyer, Related Group, hopes to replace the condos that sit on just over nine acres with tall apartment buildings, townhomes, retail and restaurants near SouthPark Mall.
There would not be any office space in this proposed community. The apartments and retail would be on the side of the land closest to the mall and hotels. The 24 townhomes would be near existing houses.
However, some nearby homeowners are against the plan because of its size and height.
"It’s simply too big, it's too tall, too dense, and will generate too much traffic,” Barclay Downs resident Mark Roberts said.
City planners are on board with the redevelopment, but City Councilman Tariq Bokhari pointed out it does not align with Charlotte’s 2040 Policy Map and UDO, which will guide how the city grows when they take effect later this year.
“With the hundreds, if not thousands of rezonings, from lower to higher density, that we’re going to have to do over the next two years in UDO alignment, we need precedent," Bokhari said in the meeting. "We need to know what we’re going to do and do it consistent every time."
Now that the city council has held a public hearing, the zoning committee could take up this petition as early as next month. Charlotte City Council will have the final vote.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.