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Residents urge commissioners to halt ‘upset bid’ and return Skyland to community use

5833715 · September 26, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Speakers at the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners public session urged the board to stop the upset bid process for Skyland property and return the site to community use, saying past redevelopment displaced Black families and that the current plan risks repeating that history.

During the public‑comment portion of the Sept. 25 Forsyth County commissioners meeting, Karen Kuthrill and a group of students and residents urged the board to stop an upset bid process involving the Skyland property and return the land to community use as a hub for history, culture and education.

Karen Kuthrill described generational displacement in Winston‑Salem during urban renewal, saying her grandparents were forced to sell property in 1971 and that thousands of Black families were displaced between 1958 and 1978. She asked commissioners to “stop the bid process” for Skyland and “return Skyland to the community so it can fulfill its true purpose.” Kuthrill said the latest proposal, framed as affordable housing, would not be affordable to longtime residents and risked repeating a history of displacement.

Speakers called Skyland a site of local history tied to Black landowners and institutions and argued the county should prioritize community uses over a for‑profit purchase through an upset bid. The remarks were part of the public comment period; no formal board action on Skyland was recorded during the Sept. 25 meeting.