CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Major changes are coming to east Charlotte in the next few weeks.
Councilman Matt Newton said the development team behind the Ervin -- also known as Varnadore -- building has closed on financing. Construction and interior demolition are expected to begin in the next few weeks. There is now security at the site after past break-ins.
“There is a lot of nostalgia with the building and I think the community has been disappointed to see it fall into disrepair,” Newton said.
Worries heightened last month after a fire broke out in the 7-story tower but it did not derail the project. Council approved changes to the site in 2018. The proposal calls for retail and office space in addition to a rooftop cafe or restaurant.
“When you are standing on top of that building, there is nothing blocking your view beyond uptown Charlotte,” Carolyn Millen of the Eastway Park and Sheffield Park Neighborhood Association said. “It is beautiful.”
In the next few days, another major change is coming to east Charlotte. The city will remove dedicated bus lanes from Central Avenue near Eastland and once again allow normal traffic in them.
The dedicated bus lanes were widely disliked in the east Charlotte community.
“I have had residents I have run into at the grocery store and I have heard loud and clear that opposition,” Councilmember Dimple Ajmera said.
News of the pilot’s conclusion is well received by most east Charlotte neighbors. They regularly contacted elected officials about their disdain for the lane changes. The city will re-mark the lanes over the new few weeks to reflect their former use.
“It is a great week for east Charlotte,” Mimi Davis of the East Charlotte Coalition of Neighborhoods said. “I think it is wonderful. Spring is coming, the COVID virus is being defeated. The bus lanes are being defeated so now we can actually go where we want to go. Varnadore is coming back. This is super.”
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