Demolition underway at low-income apartments in South End

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Demolition is underway at a low-income housing community that's drawn increased attention of city officials and federal prosecutors in recent months.

Brookhill Village is a community of apartments in Charlotte's booming South End neighborhood. An idle bulldozer was parked in front of several demolished buildings on the property Tuesday.

Residents said the demolition started last week.

"I have been here all my life," resident Shayonna Cherry said. "For it to go down like this with no warning, it's kind of crazy."

The razed buildings sit at the corner of Remount Road and South Tryon Street. Channel 9’s Blake Hanson observed that the group of buildings appeared to have been stripped of siding and other materials in recent months.

It's unclear what the plans are for Brookhill Village, which is still home to residents on a majority of the property. Representatives for the two groups that own the property could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

The head of Argos Realty, which owns the buildings, told Channel 9 in September that the company is working on a plan to redevelop the property "in a way that maintains affordability both for existing residents but also for future residents."

While some residents worry it is one of the few remaining affordable communities in South End, others wish to see it redeveloped. Many of the apartments are in poor condition.

"I think (redevelopment) is why they are tearing these down and that'll be good," said Faye Smallwood, a new resident.

"It is slum housing, let's be very clear it's not even subpar, it's slum housing," said Charlotte City Councilwoman LaWana Mayfield, whose district includes Brookhill Village.

Mayfield said she also is unaware of what the plans are for the community and its current residents.

She said in a “dream world” the city would purchase the land from its current owner if it could be done at a reasonable rate. While Argos owns the buildings, a company affiliated with billionaire developer C.D. Spangler owns the land.

"I have spoken with representatives (of the company) I have never spoken with any of the Spanglers," Mayfield said. "I have attempted over the past 5 1/2 years to talk about the land in order to try and get it released."

No one was available for comment when Channel 9 reached out to Spangler Companies for comment Tuesday.

Mayfield believes the private ownership of the land has held back groups from redeveloping the property.

Mayfield said in the current environment the city's hands are tied in dealing with Brookhill Village. She is hopeful recent action taken by the federal government could change things.

Federal prosecutors took actions in September to seize the property from its owners. Court documents blame owners for failing to deal with crime problems.

Recently filed court records said attorneys for the government and owner have had extensive discussions about what to do with the property. There is a court-ordered deadline on Dec. 15 for attorneys to respond to the action.

In the past, North Carolina prosecutors have taken action to seize properties and then later reached an alternative solution with the property owner. In one instance, the owner was required to make improvements to the property and add security measures.

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