Historic Plaza-Midwood church may be demolished for housing

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — UPDATE: The historic church in the Plaza-Midwood neighborhood has been demolished.

https://twitter.com/JoeBrunoWSOC9/status/673559870285717504

A historic abandoned church that has been described as an eyesore in the Plaza-Midwood neighborhood could be torn down to make way for a large apartment complex.

For years, the Plaza-Midwood neighborhood has been trying to save the historic church at the corner of Central Avenue and Hawthorne, but it’s fallen into disrepair.

Crews are working on removing the salvageable fixtures and stained glass before the demolition.

No one wanted to purchase and renovate the  building, so a developer, CampusWorks, bought the land.

Eyewitness News sought comment from the developer, but no one returned the calls.

Phillip Gussman, the Plaza-Midwood Neighborhood Association president, said the new complex could include many as 300 units.

City Councilwoman Patsy Kinsey said she met with the developers and learned that it was a very large project for the area.

Gussman said there are five other apartments of varying sizes being built in the Plaza-Midwood area. He said the area is growing and people want to live there.

"With housing values going up in our neighborhood as fast as they are, there is a tremendous number of people who want to live in Plaza-Midwood," Gussman said.

However, he questioned the speed of the growth and the kinds of development moving in. He said many neighbors want to see more businesses and retail instead of apartments. They feel that their neighborhood is changing too fast, he said.

“The biggest fear is changing culture of our neighborhood. Our neighborhood is a little different for Charlotte. It's a little bit quirky. We like to walk and ride our bikes to work,” Gussman said.

Gussman said that if hundreds of more people move into the area suddenly, there will be traffic and noise issues.

The neighbors also want a say in the projects that come in.

"So (we want to) help (the developers) understand the energy of the neighborhood and what are some of the things in the neighborhood that we want out of a new development," Gussman said.

Kinsey said that because the land does not need to be rezoned, the project will likely move forward.

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