Project Feature: Belmont Revitalization - A Century's Worth of Changes

The Belmont community was built during the turn of the century and was the setting for homes and businesses that sustained the livelihood for some of Charlotte’s first laborers.  The proximity to local textile mills and other industries of the time made the neighborhood location well-suited for many families that wanted to own their homes and be within walking distance to neighborhood stores, churches, schools, their jobs, and the streetcar.

The community thrived for many years until the mills and industries closed and jobs slowly left the area.  In May 2003, the Charlotte City Council adopted the Belmont Area Revitalization Plan.  The long-range plan for guiding the community and enhancing the quality of life for residents was developed with input from many stakeholders including Belmont residents, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department, the Charlotte Housing Authority, the Neighborhood and Business Services Department, area churches and businesses, etc. The City received a 20 million dollar HOPE VI grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2004 to redevelop and create new housing options at the Piedmont Courts location and to reinvest in the Belmont Community.

USI was retained to provide planning and design services to help implement streetscape improvements identified in the Revitalization Plan.  Working with City/County staff, the team applied the Urban Street Design Guidelines (USDG) Six-Step Process during planning and design efforts for the streetscape such that land use and transportation goals were integrated into improvement recommendations to consider the needs of various users.  The results of the overall process included a comprehensive collection of design recommendations to the corridor as a whole. 

Today, many of the strategies identified in the Belmont Revitalization Plan have been realized.  The streetscape improvements have been constructed.  The new mixed-income development Seigle Point is fully functional and providing housing at the previous Piedmont Courts location.  The Charlotte Housing Authority has constructed two smaller public housing sites in the northern portion of the corridor appropriately named McAden Park. These improvements are an example of thoughtful planning and re-investment which are able to preserve the historical value and character of neighborhood assets, and make them viable and relevant for the future. 

Beautifying Our Cities One Neighborhood At A Time

Cities and towns around the country are recognizing the value of revitalizing our urban neighborhoods which have been in decline as people moved to new housing in the suburbs. Many of our urban neighborhoods have suffered from high crime and declining housing and infrastructure as the areas have been neglected for years.

Cities in our region are involved in efforts to improve housing, rebuild streets and sidewalks, and encourage community pride. The City of Charlotte through its Neighborhood Improvement Program has identified neighborhoods where streets and utilities are being upgraded along with landscaping, neighborhood parks, and housing to offer an improved quality of life for its citizens. USI has assisted the City of Charlotte on six of these neighborhoods by planning and designing improvements to sidewalks, roadways, storm drains, and utilities including replacement of undersized water mains. Four of these projects are completely constructed and two are under construction.  In Greensboro, USI assisted the City with redeveloping the Morningside area as a Hope VI project. This project involved replacing a public housing area with new streets, utilities, landscaping, and housing to offer residents a better way of life.

These neighborhood improvement projects along with the movement to revitalize our center city areas are important to the citizens who live there as well as others. USI’s staff is proud to be a partner in rebuilding our infrastructure and understands the engineering and social issues that are involved in working with local neighborhoods.

How a Municipality can benefit from an On-Call Engineering Contract

• The process for selecting an engineering firm can be conducted annually, bi-annually, or as needed. Time spent by municipal staff is reduced because the selection process is not needed each time a project arises.
• One engineering firm can be selected to handle all projects, or several firms can be selected based upon their special services or particular strengths.
•  On-call contracts provide as-needed resources for smaller municipalities who do not have budget for full time engineering staff.
• Engineering contract is in place when projects come up.

If you think an on-call agreement might help your agency meet demands for engineering services, please contact John Fersner (336-272-3402) or Bonnie Fisher (704-342-3007) for more information.