CMS pitches apartments with 2 new schools in south Charlotte. Some worry about added traffic.
Due to south Charlotte’s growth, a new set of plans for some land there could partly relieve — or partly aggravate — the problem, depending on who you ask.
A proposal to build an elementary school along with 349 residential units — 299 apartments and 50 townhomes — is facing opposition in what neighbors and some City Council members describe as an already clogged part of town.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools along with developer Woodfield Development petitioned City Council last week to rezone two parcels of land. One is to build a high school and 420 apartments just north of Interstate 485, close to Ballantyne. The second petition, which drew more opposition, is for a new elementary school on 36 acres across the street from Ardrey Kell High School.
The two sites are about three miles apart. The new schools are a result of a $922 million bond referendum that voters passed in 2017, clearing the way for a surge of school construction.
Both schools will help relieve overcrowding issues of schools in the area and provide housing options close-by, including for teachers and other staff, district consultant Dennis LaCaria and attorney Collin Brown told council members.
LaCaria said Ardrey Kell, South Mecklenburg and Myers Park are the three largest high schools by student population in the state, and these parcels provide some of the last land opportunities around Charlotte to build new schools.
“This is badly needed,” LaCaria said.
The petition for the high school was met with no opposition. But a handful of neighbors spoke out against the elementary school, saying it would add more traffic to the already heavily-congested, two-lane Ardrey Kell Road.
“There’s a major problem now,” said David Aquila, who leads a local homeowners association.
The petitions await further review and discussion by the zoning committee. A final City Council vote could happen at next month’s rezoning meeting.
New high school named, Charlotte-Mecklenburg building boom underway
Ardrey Kell traffic
Councilman Ed Driggs, who represents the district where the school would go, said the large number of apartments proposed on the site by Ardrey Kell High School are “out of character” for the neighborhood.
Ardrey Kell Road is already a hot spot for traffic, he said, and adding thousands of daily car trips wouldn’t help.
“This is a kind of development that has its place, and this is not the place,” Driggs said.
Councilwoman Dimple Ajmera was also questioning the traffic impacts. She supports inclusion of affordable housing units and an attempt to address school overcrowding but said it “should not come at the cost of traffic congestion and quality of life.”
Based on a traffic study, completed by CMS and the developer, plans call for some road improvements like adding a traffic signal at Ardrey Kell and Beau Riley roads as well as adding turn lanes nearby.
But getting the high school built will relieve over 1,000 students from Ardrey Kell High School and therefore improve congestion, LaCaria said, adding that the traffic study doesn’t capture that expected outcome. He also said the elementary school will reduce the number of car trips coming through the area.
“It will improve traffic in both areas,” LaCaria said.
There is a time constraint tied to the petitions. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools wants to have the elementary school open by fall 2023. The high school is slated to open in 2024.
Correction: An earlier version of this story had the incorrect date for when the high school at the center of one of the rezoning petitions would open. It is set to open in 2024. The story has also been updated to clarify Councilman Ed Driggs’ position that he is against the higher number of apartments proposed with the elementary school site.
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