What the future McColl Park will look like
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Multi-season gardens will buffer the park from the busy street. Courtesy of Charlotte Center City Partners
A design is finalized and work has started for the new Hugh McColl Park in Uptown.
Why it matters: By next year, this prominent corner at Trade and Tryon will be a vibrant community space with plentiful seating and public art.
Catch up quick: McColl Park was formerly known as Polk Park, a poorly maintained public square. Its features, including its historic and faulty cascading fountain, were demolished in spring 2023.
- Charlotte Center City Partners and the McColl Park Committee, a group of civic leaders, have raised $12.9 million for the makeover and an endowment for maintenance. They aim to raise more than $13 million, up from a previous fundraising goal of $10 million.
- The park is renamed after Charlotte legend Hugh McColl, the former CEO of Bank of America and philanthropist. He played a pivotal role in shaping the city's skyline, economy and culture.
Zoom in: The chosen design is called "The Nest." Its central feature is a sculpture of crisscrossed logs, hung 56 feet in the air like a chandelier.
- The piece replicates a hornet's nest, a symbol of the city seen on police cars, the county seal and our NBA team. Charlotte earned the nickname "The Hornet's Nest" during the American Revolution.
- Designer Walter Hood, a Charlotte native, says the suspended logs "force one to look up and really respect the skyline of Charlotte." The tallest building in that view is Bank of America Tower, which McColl built.
- Under the nest, a water feature can be drained for events or performances. Benches will surround the water.
- "When birds are foraging for the nest, they're moving around the city and bringing things back to the nest," Hood says. "This is a metaphor for bringing people to the space."
Flashback: The park committee previously considered two other concepts by Hood Design Studio.
- One was a crown-shaped sculpture that sprouted plants, like a Chia Pet. People who shared feedback thought the garden may be difficult to maintain, as we reported earlier this year.
- The other was a 200-foot-tall spire and a crown-shaped canopy. People questioned if the crown was timeless. Some even suggested it was "cheesy."
What's next: Demolition work resumed at the site on July 15. The park should be finished by next summer, in time to celebrate McColl turning 90.
Editor's note: We've updated this story with additional details about fundraising.