County moves forward on purchase of former Smith School to create targeted housing for teachers and employees

Mecklenburg County staff told commissioners on May 5 that the county has agreed to buy the former Smith School site from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools for $4.5 million and intends to redevelop a portion of the property for targeted housing that would benefit school employees and county staff.

Jacqueline McNeil, the county's Real Estate Management Director, told the board the county will acquire roughly 8.2 acres of the larger ~26-acre site and has agreed to provide CMS with up to $2.5 million to abate and demolish the existing Smith School buildings before subdivision and transfer of the parcel to the county. Staff estimated the redeveloped site could hold between 100 and 300 multifamily units; the county is committing to target 20% of those units to teachers and to allocate the balance to county employees and other workforce needs.

McNeil said county staff will issue a request for proposals to select a development team to design, construct and manage the project, and that the county and CMS will coordinate demolition, subdivision and transfer logistics. Commissioners asked about demolition timing, buffers between the redevelopment and the adjacent school, likely funding sources for construction, the city's potential role and how the county will solicit and evaluate development teams. McNeil and staff said the construction budget and funding partners will be clarified once the county selects a development partner and that typical financing packages include multiple public and private sources, such as tax credits and partner contributions.

Commissioners praised the collaborative model: several called the purchase an innovative use of surplus public land and said they hoped the effort could become a repeatable template to address housing for teachers, county employees and others. The manager and staff said the project is an early-stage program and will return to the board with details as the development team is selected and financing is worked through.

What happens next: staff will proceed with demolition procurement with CMS, subdivide the parcel, develop an RFP for a development team, and engage employees and the community as the design and funding approach are refined.