Title
Lowe’s 100 Hometowns Grant Acceptance
Action
Action:
A. Accept a grant in the amount of $260,000 from Lowe’s Home Improvement for the construction of the Urban Arboretum Trail Spring Street Plaza, and
B. Adopt a budget ordinance appropriating $260,000 from Lowe’s Home Improvement to the General Grants Fund.
Body
Staff Resource(s):
Alyson Craig, Planning, Design, and Development
Erin Chantry, Planning, Design, and Development
Laura Bandara, Planning, Design, and Development
Explanation
§ The Spring Street Plaza is located at 1301 Spring Street in the Greenville neighborhood in Council District 1. The plaza consists of one city-owned parcel; parcel identification number: 078-444-19.
§ The site is located between townhomes and connected via a walkway to Fontana Street with single-family houses along the property line. It is adjacent to Greenville Park, Walter G. Byers Elementary School, and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Athletic League.
§ This project is part of the Urban Arboretum Trail managed by the city’s Tree Canopy Preservation Program and Urban Design Center to create community spaces in urban areas that celebrate the City of Charlotte’s nationally recognized tree canopy and leverage publicly owned land to create unique places that educate, preserve, and engage the community.
§ The site falls within the North Tryon/North Graham Corridor of Opportunity Area of Influence. The project is a listed “Priority Project” in the North Tryon/North Graham Playbook under the Integrated Natural and Built Environment theme publicly released in Spring 2023.
§ The city applied for and was awarded the Lowe’s 100 Hometowns grant for $260,000 in addition to $50,000 allocated from the Tree Canopy Protection Program for this project. Grant funding will allow the City of Charlotte to build a permanent open space in the Greenville neighborhood.
§ Initial community engagement efforts occurred in spring 2022 to gather feedback on the types of design elements and programming desired for the Spring Street site.
§ The Spring Street Plaza will feature an orchard or native tree grove, along with a plaza and a variety of seating areas. The fruit-bearing trees will provide access to fresh foods, the increased tree canopy will improve air and water quality, and the plaza and benches will provide high-quality public space for community gatherings.
§ This project intends to address food insecurity and mitigate air pollution in a neighborhood surrounded by highways and large arterials.
§ Approximately 41 percent of Greenville residents receive Food and Nutrition Services, nearly three times higher than the Mecklenburg County resident average of 15 percent. There is minimal tree canopy in the neighborhood. Only 22.5 percent of Greenville is covered by tree canopy compared to the County average of 45.1 percent.
§ The City of Charlotte’s Tree Canopy Preservation Program will perform long-term maintenance, along with the city’s division of landscape maintenance. The city welcome’s community member involvement in orchard harvests but will not rely on it.
§ Grant funding will be used for pervious paving in the plaza, site furnishings, signage, and public art.
§ Additional community engagement is anticipated with the Greenhaven Townhomes adjacent to the site as part of a sidewalk mural project to be installed in 2023. A survey will go out to the neighborhood in early July, and homes neighboring the site will be canvassed to secure additional feedback on the proposed elements of the site.
§ This open space will be constructed by December 2023.
§ There are no matching funds required by the city.
Fiscal Note
Funding: General Grants Fund
Attachments
Attachment(s)
Map
Budget Ordinance