Charlotte Looks to Churches’ Land to Address the Housing Crisis

Monday, November 25, 2024 | Charlotte Magazine

When Newell Presbyterian Church opened its first sanctuary in 1892, the area was surrounded by dairy farms, cotton mills, and tobacco fields. Trees covered nearby hills. The city of Charlotte was miles away.

Today, Newell is part of fast-growing northeast Charlotte. Subdivisions and apartment complexes line Rocky River Road West. Another 650-home development is in the works nearby. Bustling commercial districts, as well as one of the state’s largest universities, are minutes away. But few changes have come to the church. A new sanctuary opened in 1979 with room for 200 members. Today, 50 might attend on a given Sunday. “We’ve grown small,” says pastor Matt Conner.

What the church does have is land. Alongside its three buildings is a grassy field on Old Concord Road that makes up half of its 10 acres. A few years ago, Conner and church leaders began to imagine new ways to use it. Conner wondered: Is just cutting the grass cutting it anymore?

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