CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two apartment complexes in east Charlotte notorious for flooding are long gone after rising flood waters battered the buildings, forcing the city to demolish them.
Flooding caused the low-lying Doral and Cavalier apartment complexes millions in damage, and even forced water rescues.
The apartments were located on Monroe Road near Briar Creek in the Chantilly neighborhood.
Rick Winiker, who is with the Chantilly Neighborhood Association, remembers Charlotte decades ago, when Briar Creek was a habitat filled with wildlife.
Development today has cut off wildlife from communities like Chantilly, but that’s about to change.
Mecklenburg County officials are in the process of transforming 31 acres around Briar Creek into a thriving ecosystem once again.
Mark Boone, with Mecklenburg Storm Water Services, showed Channel 9 anchor Blaine Tolison the $4.9 million plan.
He said damaging erosion and flooding will make the project more expensive if it gets put off.
"We would lose if we didn't do this work,” Boone said.
In 2008, Channel 9 was there at the Doral and Cavalier apartment complexes when flooding caused millions in damage.
With no feasible way to stop the flooding, the complexes were purchased with local and federal dollars and then demolished.
Officials told Tolison that the land will never be built on again.
"Now, it's able to function as a flood plain, and we also have a bunch of water controls that we're putting into this,” Boone said.
The sanctuary will have ponds, wetlands, new trees, dirt pathways and an outdoor classroom.
It will take five to 10 years to restore water quality and for wildlife to return.
Winiker said it's worth keeping a piece of nature preserved for generations.
"Once we lose our green space, we will never get it back,” Winiker said.
Even though it will take several years for the habitat to return, the county expects to complete its construction by next fall.
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