Uptown Charlotte Leaders Seek Business Improvement District

Charlotte’s business community is asking for a tax plan to breathe life into its struggling uptown core.

Center City Partners, the nonprofit responsible for managing and promoting Charlotte’s central business district, has proposed a tax rate increase on commercial and condo properties in two uptown municipal districts, the Charlotte Business Journal reported.

The group is seeking an additional $1 million in annual funding to support marketing, security, beautification and programming efforts designed to tackle office vacancies and improve public safety.

The proposal would raise the tax rate by 0.0082 cents per $100 of property value. For a $1 million condo, for instance, that equates to roughly $82 more per year.

The plan has received unanimous support from major property owners and all eight condo associations within the affected districts, according to Center City Partners CEO Michael Smith.

The tax would take effect July 1, pending approval from the City Council.

In the meantime, 12 major local employers and property owners — including Bank of America, Truist, Wells Fargo, Duke Energy, Atrium Health and the Charlotte Hornets — have pledged $2 million over the next two years to jumpstart the revitalization efforts. Their contributions will fund a new initiative dubbed the “Uptown Vibrancy Collaborative,” which includes private security and cleanliness efforts, event programming and building upgrades.

The broader aim is to counter negative perceptions and bring energy back to a district where office vacancies and safety concerns have dampened foot traffic and leasing momentum.

The focus on public-facing improvements, especially safety, is timely, Committee Chair Malcolm Graham said. While crime stats are trending downward, “perception and reality” are key to restoring confidence.

Smith said the extra tax revenue would allow Center City Partners to maintain momentum beyond the two-year private funding window, with the $1 million used “almost exclusively on marketing and events.”

If enacted, special tax districts would account for 63 percent of the organization’s estimated $13 million budget next year.

The vote on the tax increase is expected in the coming weeks. For now, city leaders and business backers are betting that coordinated private and public investment can stave off long-term downtown decline.

— Judah Duke