Gastonia leaders looking ahead to city priorities in 2020

With a wealth of major ventures going on in Gastonia, city leaders are in the midst of determining their priorities for the coming year.

Gastonia City Manager Michael Peoples recently laid out a roadmap of five general initiatives that he thinks will get the city’s top attention over the next 12 months. The final say on that will be provided by City Council members during their annual strategic planning session at the end of January.

“These five are really ongoing projects that have been funded, and really have already either begun or will start very soon,” Peoples said.

Here’s a rundown of those five areas of focus:

FUSE District

Officials broke ground in October on construction of the multipurpose stadium and events complex that will serve as the centerpiece of the 16-acre Franklin Urban Sports and Entertainment District. Its cost has been estimated at upward of $26.2 million, and plans are for it to be completed by March 2021, in time for an independent league professional baseball team to begin play there.

Beyond that, Peoples said the city will continue to develop “all the other exciting items” that will go along with that stadium. That includes the redevelopment of the historic Trenton Mill into apartments; the conversion of the Coca-Cola building into a brewery and restaurant with boutique shops and residential units; and the installation of streetscape improvements such as decorative lighting, public art and more.

The city will also negotiate and finalize a management services agreement with the new Atlantic League baseball franchise that will play in the facility.

Downtown redevelopment

The number of redevelopment projects being planned in downtown Gastonia these days can be difficult to keep track of.

Peoples said city leaders will continue working with Kuester Development on its plan to build a 100-unit apartment complex in place of Center City Park. They anticipate The Esquire hotel finally opening in the historic Lawyers Building, and will continue pushing to recruit a larger branded chain to construct a hotel next to the Gastonia Conference Center.

Other projects in 2020 will include construction of new public restrooms beside the Rotary Centennial Pavilion, and a fine-tuning of the plan to expand that common with new green space. The city is also talking with a firm about redeveloping the ‘Yamaha Building’ along Franklin Boulevard.

Peoples said it’s all about “partnering with all the existing downtown business and property owners to improve downtown.”

Utility improvements

Utility expansions will be a big part of Gastonia’s focus in 2020, to make way for new residential and commercial growth that’s headed this way from Charlotte.

Peoples said the Southeast Utility extension project will be key among those. At a cost of more than $30 million, it will provide about six miles of gravity sewer mains, two miles of force mains, and regional pump stations serving an area of more than 5.5 square miles below Gastonia and Cramerton.

Other wastewater and water interconnection projects are proceeding with Dallas and Bessemer City. And the city will continue to study the area of southwest Gaston County for future utility service.

Parks and recreation upgrades

The recent approval of the city’s updated Parks and Recreation Master Plan has cleared the way for a number of projects to proceed in 2020, Peoples said.

“Substantial improvements are scheduled for the Rankin Lake Park clubhouse, along with improvements to Erwin Center and Phillips Center,” he said.

The work won’t stop there. The city will also move forward on plans to convert the former Linwood Springs Golf Course along Linwood Road in west Gastonia into a dynamic public park. And Martha Rivers Park will get some fresh attention along Neal Hawkins Road on the city’s southern border, with additional amenities to be installed.

Transportation planning

In terms of improving transportation, a lot of what the city does in 2020 will revolve around collaboration.

“The city will work with the North Carolina Department of Transportation and other regional partners to complete the study of a new connection to Mecklenburg County,” Peoples said. The intent is for that to lead to a new bridge being built over the Catawba River, just south of Belmont and near Duke Energy’s Allen Steam Station.

Gastonia will work in the same capacity to create a new regional transit plan, a transit-oriented development plan, and explore multiple options for commuter rail service to and through Gaston County, Peoples said.

You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or on Twitter @GazetteMike.