Thousands flocking to western Meck County ahead of massive development

CHARLOTTE — Kathy Garcia moved from Charlotte’s Dilworth neighborhood to the Vineyards on Lake Wylie last year while she was pregnant with her son, Jax. She chose the neighborhood for its lakefront amenities and a quick commute to uptown.

Garcia said she worried, though, about putting down roots in a somewhat industrial area with little development.

“Then I read an article on River District opening up and then eventually plans of the River District being the new Ballantyne, I thought if I buy around that area, it would be a great investment,” she told Channel 9.

Garcia’s new home is within 5 miles of the planned River District, which is situated between Charlotte Douglas International Airport and the Catawba River. Construction starts next month and the first phase, called Westrow, includes new homes, apartments, retail, office space, and restaurant space with a 2-acre working farm.

That all sounds great to Garcia, but what she’s really hoping for are new schools for her son, who just turned one.

“There aren’t many schools in the area that I feel comfortable taking him to,” she said.

Berryhill School is nearby and serves more than 400 students from pre-K to 8th grade. In 2019, North Carolina gave it a “C” grade. While it “exceeded” in academic growth, the school is very old.

“Even if there were no River District, I would tell you that Berryhill is prime time to be replaced,” CMS Board of Education Chair Elyse Dashew told Channel 9.

She said the school district is discussing new schools with River District developer, Crescent Communities. CMS is currently working on its new capital needs assessment.

Channel 9 learned that Crescent has already planned for school growth, however, voters will have to approve the funding, which may not happen until at least 2023. That’s when CMS will present a list of potential projects to voters in a bond package.

In other words, it could be years before the area sees new schools built.

“Projected enrollment, projected population growth, the quality of existing schools -- all of these things have to be balanced out,” Dashew said.

Since the River District was announced in 2016, the population in two western Mecklenburg County ZIP codes -- 28214 and 28278 -- has risen an estimated 24%.

The project will bring 5,000 new homes and apartments to the area and families will be able to move in by spring 2023. Crescent also donated land to Laurel Street Residential, which plans to build 124 affordable apartments that families could move in to sometime in 2023.

Becky Osborne said her family has owned land off West Boulevard for more than 80 years. Her home is in the path of the River District, where West Boulevard connects to Dixie River Road.

She told Channel 9 she accepted an offer to sell because she doesn’t want to be part of the growth.

“I’m not too thrilled about it,” Osborne said. “It’s uprooting us, you know? It is what it is.”

As some families say goodbye to what was, others, like Garcia, are banking on what’s to come.

“Just knowing that is a possibility gives me hope,” she said. “Makes me feel more comfortable living here as well.”

(WATCH BELOW: Plans unveiled for massive west Charlotte ‘River District’)

Plans unveiled for massive west Charlotte 'River District' Plans unveiled for massive west Charlotte 'River District'

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