CHARLOTTE, N.C. – SouthPark Community Partners convened Charlotte’s community leaders Tuesday to launch the SouthPark Forward 2035 Vision Plan, which recommends nearly 65 projects and programs to ensure SouthPark is a walkable, energetic community where people connect and businesses thrive. The plan is a first-of-its-kind initiative to inspire and shape future investment in SouthPark’s commercial core. The recommendations comprise $250 million in public and private projects, including new parks, enhanced pedestrian infrastructure, and free shuttle service to facilitate a park-once environment. “This truly is a plan built in partnership with the community, and our team is proud to champion a vision that ensures SouthPark lives up to its promise as an economic engine for the entire Charlotte region,” said Adam Rhew, president and CEO, SouthPark Community Partners. “The plan offers bold ideas and an action plan to implement them.” Tuesday’s event took place at Legion Brewing, located in the heart of the SouthPark Municipal Service District, which covers one square mile of SouthPark’s commercial core. SouthPark Community Partners manages the municipal service district through a partnership with the City of Charlotte. Rhew also announced on Tuesday that SouthPark Community Partners will make a $1 million investment over the next three years to kickstart the implementation of the ideas outlined in the plan. Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles provided remarks, along with Chris Thomas, a partner with Childress Klein and SCP’s Board Chairman; Peter Pappas, CEO of Pappas Properties; and District 6 City Councilman Tariq Bokhari, who represents the SouthPark area. “SouthPark is an important hub for commerce, quality of life, and our visitor economy in Charlotte,” said Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles. “The SouthPark Forward 2035 Vision Plan offers a bold and achievable playbook to enhance this vibrant submarket, and I am excited to see the ideas come to life.” Catalyst projects The framework of the plan is organized around three themes: Places, Connections, and Mobility. For each thematic area, top priorities as identified by the community are brought forward, representing the greatest opportunities to affect transformational change in SouthPark: Places create space for the community to gather, play, learn and venture Projects include a renovation of Symphony Park, the creation of a festival street on Carnegie Boulevard and a new linear park on Fairview Road Connections improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists This group of projects includes completing the SouthPark Loop and developing new linkages between neighborhoods, businesses and the greenway system Mobility expands transportation options to become a more accessible and inclusive place The plan recommends establishing Charlotte’s first mobility innovation district to test new options for attractive, safe, comfortable and easy transportation to and within the neighborhood that can be scaled citywide and beyond A mixed-use future Currently home to 32,000 workers and four Fortune 1000 corporate headquarters, the SouthPark area continues to attract residents and development. The SouthPark Forward 2035 Vision Plan supports the commercial core’s evolution from single-use sites that serve one purpose to dynamic, mixed-use properties where a variety of functions complement one another. The upcoming decade presents transformative redevelopment opportunities on sites throughout the community, and the plan outlines how future development in SouthPark’s commercial core should prioritize active ground floors, public space, walkability, and high-quality design. The future of retail SouthPark has built a reputation as one of the East Coast’s premier shopping destinations and boasts a retail vacancy rate of less than one percent. In order to remain competitive, the vision plan emphasizes the need to create a sense of place at retail centers throughout SouthPark by offering experiences customers cannot find elsewhere. Future-proofing the SouthPark district requires continual evolution in retail concepts, a focus on placemaking and programming, and a recognition that the cohesive experience within SouthPark will drive continued loyalty to the district as a whole—which is essential to the success of individual stores and centers. “The SouthPark Forward 2035 Vision Plan builds upon the foundation of years of planning, investment, and leadership by SouthPark stakeholders who are steadfast in their commitment to this thriving community,” said Chris Thomas, Chairman of the Board of Directors, SouthPark Community Partners. “To that end, projects in the plan are intentionally not ranked by priority or assigned strict timelines to maximize flexibility and take advantage of development cycles, funding opportunities and partnerships that increase impact.”