Neighbors not on board as Atrium Health plans Midtown campus overhaul

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A significant rezoning petition for Atrium Health’s flagship campus in Midtown and Dilworth has moved a step forward in the process, but the project in its current form has several residents opposed.

The proposed renovation and expansion of Atrium’s Carolinas Medical Center in midtown had its public hearing during Monday night’s Charlotte City Council zoning meeting, held virtually.

The project will include a new bed tower, which could begin construction in 2022 and be complete in 2026, as well as a new rehabilitation hospital, work on which would begin sooner.

The oldest portions of the existing campus — bordered by Scott Avenue, East Morehead Street and Little Sugar Creek — are to be demolished as part of the phased project, expected to wrap up by 2030.

The rezoning would allow nearly 4.8 million square feet of total development, a substantial increase from Atrium’s current 3.3 million square feet at CMC. The new plans call for taller development, particularly in the core of the site and on the eastern edge of the campus.

But one Dilworth resident said the expansion represents a years-long “strategic creep” into residential neighborhoods toward East Boulevard, immediately south of CMC.

Read more here about plans for the campus and opposition among neighbors.

Atrium plans for expansion in Dilworth Atrium plans for expansion in Dilworth

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