By 2035, SouthPark will be a walkable, mixed-use district — here’s how

Get up to date: SouthPark is getting a major upgrade — one that'll make the area more walkable, energetic and accessible.

What you need to know: SouthPark Community Partners (SCP) recently unveiled the SouthPark Forward 2035 Vision Plan, a blueprint to shape the community's future and make it easier for people to connect and businesses to thrive.

• SCP's nonprofit mission is to lead SouthPark's advancement by driving economic vitality, creating memorable experiences and ensuring residents have access to a better quality of life.
• The new plan builds off the vision for the SouthPark Loop — a three-mile urban trail that connects SouthPark's experiences — and offers an inclusive, pedestrian-centered community center with active gathering spaces.
• It was developed through a review of prior SouthPark studies, robust technical analysis and several months of public engagement.

Plus, plus, plus: SCP has committed $1 million towards Vision Plan-related projects over the next three years.

What to expect: The goal is to evolve SouthPark from a collection of distinct centers to a cohesive mixed-use destination with welcoming neighborhoods, the region's best shopping and a vibrant employment hub.

The plan…

🤝 Is organized into three key themes — places, connections and mobility — that represent the best opportunities to affect transformational change in SouthPark. Plus, they reflect the community's top priorities.

🏞️ Offers opportunities to expand the open space network throughout SouthPark, creating spaces to gather, recreate and explore.

• Ideas include a festival street along Carnegie Boulevard, renovations to Symphony Park, a park along Cameron Valley Parkway and a linear park along Fairview Road.

🚲 Offers six recommendations to improve the pedestrian and cyclist experience and establish SouthPark as a trail-oriented destination through the Loop as well as a Living Ends project to better connect surrounding residential neighborhoods and complete street retrofits.

🚌 Offers a phased approach to expanding transportation options to create a more inclusive and accessible place.

• Five catalyst project recommendations include a free shuttle program, the implementation of a mobility hub, the creation of a neighborhood bike share program and shared parking districts.

Why it's important: Charlotte deserves a clean, safe and consistent pedestrian network with innovative mobility strategies that better connect people and places.

• These existing and future open spaces will inspire new recreational and entertainment offerings to improve SouthPark's connected experience.
• Plus, more placemaking opportunities mean expanded amenity offerings for workers, residents and visitors.

"SouthPark's future vibrancy requires continual evolution in retail concepts, a focus on placemaking and programming, and a recognition that the cohesive experience within SouthPark will drive continued loyalty to the district as a whole," says SCP President and CEO Adam Rhew, "which is essential to ensuring SouthPark fulfills its promise as an economic engine for the Charlotte region."

Looking ahead: Home to four Fortune 500 companies and 32,000 workers, SouthPark is an economic driver for the entire region — and by 2035, it'll be a hub for open space and connection.

See 60+ recommendations and read the Vision Plan.