Beatties Ford/ Rozzelles Ferry

The Beatties Ford Road corridor is located within the historic West End, home to some of Charlotte's most historic African American neighborhoods. In 2017, in collaboration with Historic West End community members and the Knight Foundation, the City of Charlotte Economic Development Department began researching the National Main Street Center’s new program, UrbanMain. This program offered a new set of community-driven economic development services to help under-resourced, older and historic neighborhood commercial districts restore economic vitality and promote quality of life.

When selecting a pilot district to test the UrbanMain model in Charlotte, the city and community stakeholders identified Beatties Ford/LaSalle as a place where the model could address ongoing issues that plagued the district and hampered the current efforts of revitalization. Staff identified themes that could all be addressed by the UrbanMain model: criminal activity and loitering; sluggish commercial investment despite increasing development pressure in other parts of the corridor; blight and code violations; the need for safety and walkability; and better relationships between local businesses and the community.

UrbanMain worked hand in hand with the community to develop steps to revitalize the corridor in this Transformative Strategy Report. Through collaboration with the community and key stakeholders, these ideas will be brought to life. The Beatties Ford Road and Rozzelles Ferry Road Corridor Report will serve as the community's vision for the corridor over the next 3-15 years.