CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte mayor Vi Lyles tore down a home she owns in the historically-Black McCrorey Heights neighborhood, and there are some neighbors who don't like what she's done.
"It’s just sad," neighbor Winston Robinson told WCNC Charlotte. "It’s unfortunate, especially being that Charlotte has the reputation that it has, for not having that reverence for history."
Others, like Samantha Taylor, said she understands the mayor's position.
"It’s not resurrectable," Taylor said. "It’s got a lot of deferred maintenance, and it is what it is."
Permits reviewed by WCNC Charlotte confirm Lyles applied to demolish the home along Madison Avenue on Aug. 10, 2022. The filing came days before the neighborhood's homes were deemed historic on Aug. 15, which was at the time viewed as a tool to push back against gentrification.
The Heard Home, as it has been nicknamed, was built in the 1950s and was where Isaac Heard Sr. and his wife Gwendolyn raised their family according to a HistorySouth entry shared by the petition organizer. Isaac Heard was one of the key figures in Charlotte's history who worked in the city's Community Development Office in the 1970s and 1980s to focus on undoing the systemic harm caused by the Urban Renewal movement. Gwendolyn Heard was heavily involved in local activism and civic life, including the push for integrated schools as well as fair employment and housing in Charlotte.
Mayor Lyles spoke to Charlotte media outlets on Tuesday, confirming her plans to demolish the home. She said she had not lived in the house since purchasing it, but she explained the reasoning behind her actions.
"You have to look at the cost and the issues that are in the house after you get it," she said. "It was a sale that was based on an as-is sale. Then, after doing an assessment of it, decided it was more practical, perhaps, to tear down the house - demolish it - and rebuild a house."
Lyles said she wants to live in the neighborhood and intends to build a new home to match the aesthetic within McCrorey Heights. She also acknowledged the Heard family's contributions and connections, too.
"I want to be honored in a way that I get to build and live in a house I think the neighborhood will be proud of because it will be consistent with the covenants in the neighborhood as well as the historic district," she said.
Lyles also said the covenants' restrictions outline what legally can be built and praised the McCorey Heights neighborhood association.
"I've got to comply with every rule for the covenants, which are really more restrictive than the historic district rule," Lyles said. "And I'll do that because this is a place where I'm building my retirement home, a place that I want to live."
She also said she informed leading officers in the association of what she planned to do.
As for the petition organizers, Lyles said she hopes those who are upset understand she hears them and that she knew the house would either need major renovations or a teardown. She also shared taking on the project has personal significance to her.
"Change is hard," Lyles said. "Think about all of these folks that are there. But I also know that I am committed to this neighborhood. It's a place that means a lot to me. I don't know if people have really considered that."
Contact Jane Monreal at jmonreal@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.