Stakeholders along Charlotte organizing their efforts towards revitalization

Over the past month or two, residents of Sylvan Park, Sylvan Heights and Historic West Town (the neighborhood formally known as The Nations) have been meeting in an effort to build some momentum for Charlotte Avenue's revitalization. This grassroots effort is still in it's early stages, but has already seen a huge interest among people in the surrounding communities that want to see positive change happen along the Charlotte corridor. The ultimate goal of the committee is to find ways to attract positive/sustainable development up and down the Charlotte corridor. The group is primarily focused on the section between I-440 and White Bridge Road.

A meeting was held earlier this week with several people who own property along Charlotte Avenue in an attempt to discuss the group's vision and also receive feedback. Among the topics discussed were:

• Formulating a vision for the group
• Possible re-branding of the Charlotte corridor (give it a cohesive name, i.e. 12South, 5 Points)
• Seeking grants for visible improvements like streetscape enhancements, crosswalks, etc.
• Consult with Metro Planning on the possibility of doing proposed site plans for specific parcels along Charlotte. (like the corner of 46th & Charlotte)

Another separate meeting was also held this week in an effort to bring together the businesses along Charlotte Avenue and form a Charlotte corridor business association. It was well attended by new business owners as well as old ones. Ellen Gilbert, director of the Global Education Center, along with the Neighborhood Resource Center and the MNPD West Precinct have been united in this effort to strengthen the community of businesses along Charlotte and should be lauded for their efforts thus far.

The business group will soon begin setting priorities for small beautification projects along Charlotte Avenue and will seek to engage community members to volunteer for these efforts. The group also plans to develop a new image by a joint marketing effort.

All in all, this is very good news for Charlotte Avenue. Not only are the residents of the surrounding neighborhoods banding together, but the businesses are as well. Please stay tuned for more updates as more and more progress is made by these two proactive groups in our community.