Popular food & entertainment hub could be a stop for proposed rail line

CHARLOTTE — A Red Line stop may be coming to Camp North End, after all.

All aboard: City of Charlotte reaches historic agreement for Red Line

Right now, Camp North End is not in the proposed alignment, but in a virtual meeting Monday, the Red Line’s project manager says they’ve heard over and over again about how beneficial a stop there would.

It appears that the stop will be recommended to move forward.

CLICK here for past and upcoming meetings held by CATS.

“The Camp North End station is not in currently in the locally preferred alternative, but throughout our design process we’ve heard a lot of support for that station so we’ve been analyzing that and it looks like that that’s a station that we would recommend to the (Metropolitan Transit Commission) but that would have to be adopted,” said senior project manager Brian Nadolny. “But, definitely, have a lot of strong support for that.”

The Charlotte Ledger first reported Nadolny’s comments. The MTC has the final say over stops.

Charlotte Area Transit System officials previously told reporters any additional stops would require removing a stop from the line so it would not increase the commute time.

Derita Road and Harris Boulevard are currently the only Charlotte stops proposed outside of Uptown.

Derita, Eastfield and Harris are currently the only Charlotte stops proposed outside of Uptown. A spokesperson for CATS told Channel 9 that stops are still being evaluated.

Camp North End is one of Charlotte’s best revitalization stories. During the Cold War, the U.S. Army built missiles inside warehouses in Camp North End. Today, one of those warehouses is a now a pickleball bar called the Tipsy Pickle.

“When we were doing our construction when we went underground, there were, actually, tunnels underneath these buildings,” owner Mike Salzarulo said.

In front of Camp North End’s newest business, there are World War II-era train tracks. Salzarulo is excited about the prospect of train service returning.

“Knowing that we could have a rail coming right through here to go up north up to (Lake Norman) and down to Uptown is incredible because it just gives us more eyeballs on our space in Camp North End,” he said.

The Red Line commuter rail is the first priority if voters approve the sales tax increase for transit. It will run from Uptown to the county line and possibly into Mooresville. Camp North End has been rallying behind the idea of a stop, and CATS says there is strong support.

Development Analyst Tesho Akindele said it is a no brainer with numerous businesses, restaurants, and soon-to-be 2,000 apartments on the property.

“If you came here 10 years ago, this was barbed wire fenced off, a place that nobody was,” he said. “But if you’re here today, we’re surrounded by activity, music, life, and businesses.”

A bill authorizing the sales tax increase for transit was introduced in the state Senate last month. It has yet to have a hearing.

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