Dilworth neighbors concerned about proposed Atrium growth plans

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An area in Dilworth is now residential but Charlotte's largest employer, Atrium Health, owns some homes and neighbors worry those houses will get knocked down and replaced by high-rise buildings.

That residential area includes Fountain View Street where Mark Allen has lived since 1993.

"This is a quiet dead-end street that will all of a sudden have trucks running back and forth," Allen said.

[ALSO READ: Atrium Health plans $147 million hospital in Lake Norman area]

The proposed Atrium plans come at a time when Dilworth could be changing.

Records show the Starbucks on East Boulevard was just purchased by a medical office developer out of Winston-Salem.

Atrium's plans do not specify what specific types of buildings would near current residential homes. Building heights range from 60 to 150 feet in certain areas.

Allen said many of the homes on his street have already been purchased by Atrium with students or staff living in them.

Some Dilworth residents said the biggest problem now for the community is they don't know a lot about the future.

"One of the issues is we really don't know what all the proposed changes are," Allen said.

Ellen Citarella with the Dilworth Community Development Association hopes to find out more details in the coming weeks. A stakeholder meeting is scheduled for Nov. 20.

"We were very disappointed in the lack of specificity of the plans," she said. "We would like Fountain View to remain a residential street. We would like for the expansion that is about to occur on the 70 acres that are their campus."

It is early in the rezoning process. A public hearing has not been scheduled and a vote on the project wouldn't occur until at least a month after the public hearing.

Atrium sent this statement to Channel 9:

Earlier this year, Atrium Health announced a major capital commitment and investment into the Charlotte community. Atrium Health's Carolinas Medical Center is fortunate to be the region's only Level I trauma center, and has been growing piece-by-piece since 1941. Carolinas Medical Center provides a tremendous service to everyone in this area and, as the population continues to grow, we have to update some of the facilities with state-of-the-art equipment to meet the rapidly-changing needs within our community we're privileged to serve.

Currently, there are six different zoning designations that apply to Atrium Health's Carolinas Medical Center 70-acre campus. We've asked the City to simplify that by applying a single, Mixed-Use Development District Optional designation to the property. This rezoning would give Atrium Health the flexibility we need to efficiently modernize our buildings and capabilities at Atrium Health's Carolinas Medical Center to better meet the needs of our rapidly-growing community. Construction permits have not been filed or approved, since we still need to understand what zoning requirements will apply.

Atrium Health has met with representatives of neighborhood boards in the area to discuss the rezoning proposal, and we will continue to engage in additional community outreach to share our rezoning plan and development proposal with area residents. It is still early in the rezoning process, and Atrium Health is continuing to work with its architects and engineers on revisions to the rezoning plan it filed with the City. The rezoning plan will evolve as we receive feedback from the community, the City and various governmental departments.

Cox Media Group