CHARLOTTE, NC - University City condo owners whose properties are in the path of a major state road project won't be able to quickly sell to the state even if they can no longer pay the mortgage. State transportation officials have refused a request to authorize advance land purchases for a road project that will cut through Park Place at Walnut Creek, off Mallard Creek Road, said Doug Allison, N.C. Department of Transportation manager of right of way.
About 16 units in two buildings at Park Place are among about 10 residential buildings that N.C. DOT targets for demolition when the state begins work on a decades-old plan to extend Graham Street to Mallard Creek Road.
N.C. DOT officials said their focus is on completing projects that are funded and scheduled for construction. Graham Street extension is not among those, although design work that maps the road's path is nearly completed.
The design calls for a four-lane extension of Graham Street, starting at its intersection with West Sugar Creek Road.
Graham Street would join with Mallard Creek Road near Garrison Drive, cutting through residential neighborhoods along the way.
When completed, the extension would create a thoroughfare between the center city and the university area and beyond.
Park Place's developer left vacant land available for the road, but the design calls for a wider swath that includes the site of two buildings.
Right-of-way purchases for the project at one time were scheduled for this year, with the start of construction targeted for 2011 or 2012. Right-of-way purchases allow the state to buy land it needs for the road from property owners.
State revenue deficits this year and last have put the schedule for this and other road projects at risk for delays. So in March, N.C. DOT's Charlotte office requested authorization for advance right-of way purchases in case of medical, financial or other hardships that leave property owners struggling to pay mortgages.
Without the option to sell, property owners at Park Place remain in limbo. The chances of selling a property targeted for demolition are slim, and N.C. DOT says it doesn't have money in the budget to buy right-of-ways for projects that are not yet funded and scheduled.
"As a homeowner and taxpayer, it's frustrating to be caught in a situation like this," said Nepherterra Estrada, a Park Place condo owner. "I feel like I'm in real estate purgatory."
A decision on which projects will move forward hasn't been made, said Calvin Leggett, N.C. DOT director of program development.
Leggett's staff is developing a five-year work plan that he expects to submit to the state Transportation Board in June. The board must approve the plan to identify which new projects move forward.
"I can almost guarantee you there will be some delay on virtually all projects," Leggett said. "Our revenues are shrinking."
The Graham Street Extension project was included on an April 16 project list, but some of the projects on the list will be removed, Leggett said.
"The sad reality is we have not updated that, but we know we cannot afford that (project list)," he said. "We have to create a new plan that we can afford."
Source: CharlotteObserver.com