Group pushes for large park to be built on the outskirts of NoDa

CHARLOTTE — Organizers who wanted Charlotte to have its own “Central Park” are proposing a new plan instead.

The group Friends of Queens Park is tabling the idea of building a park in Norfolk Southern’s railyard. Instead, they’re shifting their focus to a different idea.

The newly proposed 37-acre park would be between 36th Street and Matheson Avenue, just south of North Tryon Street. To help put it into perspective: Romare Bearden Park in Uptown Charlotte is 5.4 acres. The proposed park is seven times that size, and it’s right on the outskirts of NoDa.

“I think we need to think about it in steps. I’m still all for the full Central Park vision but you have start something,” said board member Mary Mac Stallings. “Baby steps.”

The group unveiled the scaled back plans Thursday. The size of the park is down from the original 220 acres that would have included the railyard. The group’s vision for the park hasn’t changed, though. They want one that focuses heavily on public art that could become a top Charlotte destination.

“It’s not happening. There are no plans for it to happen,” Stallings said. “And we need everybody in Charlotte to get really excited about this. And that’s the only way this will be possible.”

Building that momentum was the purpose behind Thursday’s meeting in north Charlotte. Eric Spengler with Friends of Queens Park hopes to secure a public-private partnership to make their dream a reality. He hopes to capitalize on the expected growth along North Tryon.

“The county is already moving forward with a park in this area, along 36th,” Spengler said. “The vision our group has is to triple the size of that.”

Melissa Gaston is executive director for the North End Community Coalition, which is made up of eight neighborhoods that surround Camp North End.

“I think it’s a great idea, Charlotte is definitely in need of more parks, they’re not a lot,” Gaston said.

While Gaston is excited about the project, she said neighbors’ reactions are mixed.

“Graham Heights, Lockwood, those are two neighborhoods that would be directly impacted by this, and we want to make sure that we have a say into what goes into this project,” Gaston said.

The park could connect to the Cross Charlotte trail and the NoDa light rail stop -- two key connections that could turn the industrial area into Charlotte’s next boom.

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