Plaza Midwood businesses lose tree buffer to Independence Boulevard traffic
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The view behind Undercurrent, Moxie and Bev in Plaza Midwood Tuesday evening. Photo: Ashley Mahoney/Axios
The removal of trees along Highway 74 has left the hill behind several local businesses in Plaza Midwood looking like a "battlefield," Sustain Charlotte founder Shannon Binns told reporters Tuesday morning.
Why it matters: The trees provided a noise pollution and visual buffer between businesses along Commonwealth Avenue and Independence Boulevard.
Catch up quick: Binns noticed trees being removed behind Undercurrent Coffee on Monday. Local business owners had not been notified of the tree removal.
- The tree removal is intended to make an Adams billboard more visible along 74.
- The billboard is an advertisement for Charlotte FC. The club has several billboards around the city. A spokesperson for Tepper Sports & Entertainment, which owns the team, tells Axios they had no knowledge of the tree removal.
Zoom in: A permit from the North Carolina Department of Transportation dated Aug. 27, 2026 allows Adams Outdoor Advertising to remove "selective vegetation" around their billboard off of Independence Boulevard.
- The permit does not specify how much of the tree canopy may be removed, but rather allows "for a distance of 500 feet for a view zone that has a posted speed limit of over 35 miles per hour," according to page three of the permit.
- More than half of the visible vegetation had been removed on Monday.
What they're saying: "In Plaza Midwood, forever, we've forgotten that Independence Boulevard was right here, because you couldn't really hear it, couldn't really see it," Moxie Mercantile and Bev co-owner Clifton Castelloe told reporters.
- "We were blindsided," Castelloe says.
The bottom line: "We really want them to not cut any more of these trees," Undercurrent Coffee owner Todd Huber told reporters. But by 1pm on Tuesday, more trees had come down.
What's next: Local business owners and Sustain Charlotte hope a sound buffer via a wall or fresh vegetation replaces the torn down trees, but they say that doesn't seem likely.
What they're not saying: Adams Outdoor sent Axios their permit from NCDOT but did not address any of Axios' questions about the tree removal.
Editor's note: This is a developing story and may be updated.