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Charlotte to Annex New Middle School Site on Steele Creek Road (November 11, 2009) At its November 10 meeting, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board recommended approval of a voluntary annexation of a future middle school site by the City of Charlotte. This annexation will be approved at a future meeting of the Charlotte City Council. The currently vacant 30-acre parcel is located on the west side of Steele Creek Road across from Hamilton Green Drive, between the Steele Creek Landings and Falcon Ridge subdivisions. The site is approximately .4 miles from the South Carolina state line. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools acquired 20 acres of the site in 2007 and the remaining 10 acres in April 2009.
The middle school is one of three schools in CMS's long range plans for Lower Steele Creek. An elementary school, a high school, and a neighborhood park will be located on a 110-acre site on York Road across from McDowell Nature Preserve. See Plan for Neighborhood Park at the Palisades Released. Funding for the elementary school was approved in the 2007 school bond, but these bonds have not yet been sold. The Mecklenburg County Commission may approve the sale of school and park bonds later this year, which would allow for construction of the elementary school and neighborhood park in time for a 2011 opening. Funding for the middle and high schools will come from future bonds. Due to the current economic situation, and the County Commission's reluctance to sell bonds that have already been approved, funds likely will not be available to build these new schools for quite some time. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department staff currently are studying areas in Steele Creek to see if they qualify for involuntary annexation in 2011. The qualifying areas will be announced in summer 2010. See Charlotte Identifies 2011 Annexation Study Areas. See a detailed map and aerial photograph of the school site at WikiMapia Locator. To comment on this story, please visit the Steele Creek Residents Association Message Board. |
