MATTHEWS, N.C. — The Town of Matthews could see some changes to nearly 200 parking spaces currently free to the public in its downtown area.
As of Friday, a lease agreement the town has with the CSX rail and transportation company comes to an end, and those parking spaces could be turned over to a private company.
Right now, parking in downtown Matthews is free. With the end of a contract with CSX Matthews will no longer have the rights to the parking spaces along the track. Those are spaces the town has leased for over 30 years.
Downtown Matthews is a bustling community filled with shops and restaurants.
“This is the type of downtown I bring my family to, my kids,” said Matt Ferrie, the General Manager for Carolina Beer Temple. “I live two miles from here, this is my community too and this is really frustrating.”
All of the parking staying free to visitors is a priority for town leaders.
“It just helps to create a vibrant business community that is so important to the health and wellbeing of our community,” said Becky Hawke, Matthews’ town manager.
But changes are coming. Since 1991, Hawke said they have leased 196 parking spots from CSX along the tracks.
“They contacted us without prior notice and said they had received an unsolicited offer from a paid parking company,” said Hawke. “And if we didn’t want to lose all of these parking spaces, we would have to beat their offer.”
The offer on the table is $130,000 compared to the $800 the town paid annually. That is 162 times more.
CSX railroad sent this statement to WCNC Charlotte:
We can confirm that CSX received an unsolicited offer from a third party to lease the subject property that included better liability and indemnity protection for CSX. While discussing the new offer with the town of Matthews, CSX was unable to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.
With no resolution, the lease comes to an end effective October 11, 2024.
Hawke said the town has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in development, maintenance, and beautification of the free parking spaces.
“We provide all of the flowers, all of the landscaping, all of the maintenance,” said Hawke. “We continually repave it. We added the lighting and walkway where it’s needed.”
Hawke said the town was blindsided.
“We had originally been told that if we did not agree to their terms that we would have until the end of the calendar year for anything to turn over," said Hawke. "But they backed that date up.”
Town officials called the rail company's demands "indefensible". According to the town website, in addition to the staggering increase in cost, the proposal included a 3% annual increase and a 30-day cancellation clause, allowing CSX to demand more money from the town at any time in the future with very little notice.
Neighbors like Matt Ferrie are not thrilled about the news.
“It throttles the entire downtown,” said Ferrie. “These are prime spots for literally every business, every aspect of downtown and they are taking that away.”
“There are a lot of stores and restaurants that we frequent so are used to the parking that is unpaid,” said Marissa Vincent while out for a walk. “I think a lot of families are going to feel the impact. It’s already hard to find parking as it is.”
Town leaders said they are not going down without a fight and looking at every avenue to continue to keep all parking downtown free.
“Our goal is to keep every space in downtown Matthews free for public use,” said Hawke.
In the meantime, the town is already working to develop more lots in the area. One will open 48 free spaces and another 35 while they weigh all their options.
“In that in between, we are telling people to proceed as they always have and if the space available to continue to use them,” said Hawke.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.