Both groups move issue to development committees
by Mike Parks
Charlotte City Council and the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners got their first chance Monday, June 6, and Tuesday, June 7, to learn more and voice concerns about planned expansion and road improvements at the Ballantyne Corporate Park.
The Bissell Companies, the force behind the park, want to rezone part of their property to free up space for an additional 1 million square feet of office space. Company President Ned Curran says the extra space is needed as the park continues to get requests from businesses interested in expanding into Ballantyne, and the current available space won’t last much longer.
To do these expansions, Curran knows road infrastructure work is needed in and around the park – especially a bridge on North Community House Road extending over Interstate 485 and helping funnel traffic off congested parts of Johnston Road. Bissell Companies owner, Smoky Bissell, is ready to foot the roughly $11 million bill to build the roads – and he’s ready to do it now, if allowed.
That goal brought the Bissell Companies before council Monday and commissioners Tuesday, where they presented their plan to pay for the millions in road work. Both groups opted to send the proposal to their economic development committees.
“This is a very positive step and we are encouraged by the reception our proposal has received from our elected officials, city and county senior staff and the public,” Curran said in an email to South Charlotte Weekly.
The company wants to establish a public/private partnership with the city and county that would ensure they get paid back their money through a portion of tax revenues created by the expansion of the park and addition of new businesses and jobs in the area. As part of the STIF proposal, starting in 2015 Bissell Companies would get 45 percent of the revenues from within the park until they are paid back, at which point the city and county would resume getting 100 percent of the revenue.
“We look forward to … (having) further conversations with the public about both our rezoning filing and our STIF proposal,” Curran said.
The first official public hearing on the topic is Saturday, June 11, at a meeting of the Ballantyne Breakfast Club, a local advocacy group. There, locals can learn more and voice their opinions on the plan. A report on the meeting will be submitted by the company to the city, which will be used when the city rules on the rezoning request later this year.
“We understand that our vision for the next one to two decades is absolutely relevant to the people who live in and around Ballantyne,” Curran said. “We look forward to the opportunity to meet and share our plans and listen and discuss feedback with the community.”
The meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge, 10000 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy.
For more information on the rezoning request and planned road improvements, visit www.thecharlotteweekly.com and search keyword “BCP.”
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