Plan moving ahead to replace downtown park with apartments

A proposal to replace a 10-year-old, temporary park with a multi-million-dollar apartment project in downtown Gastonia received a favorable response from city leaders this week.

Tuesday’s meeting served as the first opportunity for the full City Council to hear the pitch from Kuester Development of Fort Mill, South Carolina, which specializes in commercial and mixed-use development.

The firm wants to buy the small pocket of land at 147 W. Main Ave. that is now home to Center City Park, and spend upward of $25 million to construct a multi-family housing complex with 90 to 100 apartments that would be known as Center City Crossing.

The new building would rise six stories at the main entrance off Main Avenue, and seven stories on the back side facing South Street, where the leasing office would be located.

The idea proved controversial after early details of it filtered out to the public last spring. A group of vocal critics began mounting an effort to save the park in the name of preserving green space downtown.

But supporters of the concept pointed to the clear benefits of bringing new residents downtown and furthering the cause for revitalization there.

“This is one of those situations where when you say you’re going to get rid of a park in favor of development, it’s an emotional issue,” said Councilman Todd Pierceall. “What came out of this is, yes, we had some different ideas, but man are we lucky to have so many passionate people who care about this city.”

A City Council subcommittee heard the presentation last month and voted to pass it on to the full council for consideration.

A formal vote endorsing or opposing the venture was not required and was not taken Tuesday, but council members hinted at their support for the idea and expressed a willingness to move forward.

The next step in the coming weeks will involve Gastonia attorneys drafting a redevelopment agreement for the park land. It will spell out expectations the city has for selling the property, which will likely mirror the key points of Kuester Development’s proposal.

To soften the blow from the potential loss of green space, city leaders began working on a plan several months ago to expand the Rotary Centennial Pavilion and create a new de facto park alongside it.

City staff talked more about the plans to follow through on that, though no cost estimates have been presented yet.

Critics of the plan to raze Center City Park spoke again during Tuesday’s meeting, though they have mostly come to terms with the likelihood of the apartment project moving ahead.

Husband and wife Walter and Heather Burks said they would like Gastonia to establish some type of quota, dictating what percentage of downtown real estate must be reserved for green space in the future.

If the city moves forward with developing a new park alongside the Rotary Pavilion, they want a binding restriction to be put in place that prevents it from being redeveloped in the future.

“We don’t want to go about this again in 10 years,” said Heather Burks. “We want to make this a good, permanent part of our downtown.”

Curt Butler, who owns an art studio beside Center City Park and has been heavily involved in its maturation over the last 10 years, urged city leaders going ahead to think about Gastonia’s official logo and slogan: “Great Place, Great People, Great Promise.”

The first and third parts of that motto are somewhat at odds with one another, Butler said. But it’s up to city leaders to balance existing good with an ambition to create better things, he said.

“With that logo, it’s really the philosophy of who we are,” he said. “We realize at some point we have to pick the best of both worlds.”

Supporters such as Jim Morasso, the owner of Webb Custom Kitchen on South Street, said such a major, residential-based investment of new construction represents yet another key turning point for downtown Gastonia.

“We’re no longer the red-headed stepchild of Charlotte,” he said. “We’re coming into our own. Feet on the ground and critical mass is what it takes to make a city.”

You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-896-1826 or on Twitter @GazetteMike.