CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Plans to relocate a landmark building that’s been around since 1903 are moving forward, but it’s not without some controversy. Some in the Dilworth neighborhood are concerned that the relocation of the Leeper Wyatt building would impact parking in the area.
In a few months, the Leeper Wyatt building will move from South Boulevard near Tremont to a location just a few blocks away. The owners told WCNC Charlotte’s Jesse Pierre this is a win because they get to preserve a historic building and they found a solution to the parking.
“We just feel like keeping the culture and keeping the stories alive adds so much not to just our restaurants but to the city of Charlotte," Jeff Tonidandel with the Tonidandel-Brown restaurant group said.
The Leeper Wyatt building is the oldest surviving retail brick commercial building in Dilworth and will have a new home.
“We will be doing the excavation with our partners over there with Sutherland,” Tonidandel said. “Then come pick up a building drive it 700-800 feet down the street move some power lines and drop it down over to this parking lot.”
The restaurant group is saving the two-story structure from being demolished. Monday night, Charlotte city leaders approved a rezoning request to make it all happen.
The structure will land on a lot the restaurant group owns off Cleveland Avenue. It will be next to Leluia Hall, a restaurant they plan to open next spring. To make up for the parking spaces required and lost in the process, they are getting creative.
“We have four that we are keeping on-site, eight street parking and leasing 10 spaces off-site,” Tonidandel said. “So we met the UDO 22 parking requirement but just in a kind of unique different way.”
City Council member LaWana Mayfield voted against it and shared her concerns about parking arrangements during the meeting.
“What you're saying is there is a contract for lease spaces for five years,” Mayfield said. “We have seen the impact of growth in the city in a three-year period… much less five years. What is the written plan after five years?”
The group anticipates projects for public parking decks in the works on South Boulevard near Tremont to become available parking during that time and provide them with more options.
Collaboration with the Historic District Commission throughout this project will be continuous as site plans move forward. This includes coming together on design elements, renovations and the excavation process.
It's a plan that City Council member Dante Anderson said she is glad to see move forward in her district.
“To see one of the historic buildings in that neighborhood be preserved and potentially used in a unique manner on a going-forward basis without overwhelmingly burdening the residents of Dilworth,” Anderson said. “I will clearly be supporting this.”
As far as a concept for the new spot, it’s still being drawn up -- but Tonidandel said it will have charm.
“It is such an amazing building and for the neighborhood to have two historic sites sitting here,” Tonidandel said.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.