Charlotte nonprofit seeks city support for West End co-op grocer and affordable housing redevelopment project

A mixed-use proposal at a long-vacant corner

A community-based nonprofit is advancing plans to redevelop a prominent West End site into a mixed-use project anchored by a grocery cooperative and new housing. The proposal centers on the former Church’s Chicken property near the West Trade Street and Beatties Ford Road area, a corridor that has been cited for years as lacking nearby full-service grocery options.

In February 2026, the project moved into a more public phase as Charlotte City Council weighed a request for more than $4 million in city participation tied to the redevelopment concept. The funding request is aimed at helping reposition the property from a vacant commercial parcel into a development that combines housing and neighborhood-serving retail and services.

What the concept includes

The nonprofit, Historic West End Partners, has described a plan that pairs a grocery co-op with additional community-focused uses. Public descriptions of the project have included:

• A grocery cooperative expected to be roughly 13,000 to 15,000 square feet, intended to function as a traditional grocer in the immediate area.
• Hundreds of apartments in a multi-story building; published development summaries have cited approximately 290 units.
• Non-retail components such as office space and a business incubator intended to support local entrepreneurship.

Project representatives have said the effort is intended to address two pressures that frequently intersect in west Charlotte: limited access to nearby groceries and the challenge of maintaining housing affordability as property values rise.

Land assembly and timeline signals

Historic West End Partners has been assembling property to support the larger vision. The organization purchased a nearby West Trade Street parcel in 2025 as part of a broader development plan and has linked that acquisition to the future co-op complex.

Construction timing has been discussed in multi-year terms rather than as a near-term start. Published project timelines have pointed to a potential start near the end of 2026, with completion targets discussed for 2027, though those dates are contingent on financing, approvals, and final development agreements.

How the city’s decision fits into Charlotte’s housing strategy

Charlotte has used a range of tools to expand affordable housing production, including direct investment through its Housing Trust Fund, land strategies, and corridor-focused initiatives designed to convert underused sites into housing. The West End proposal would test how far those tools can stretch when paired with a retail anchor that is not simply commercial, but structured as a cooperative intended to build community ownership.

If approved, the city’s participation would represent a significant public stake in a project that blends anti-displacement aims with a grocery model designed to shorten everyday travel for basic food needs.

Next steps include council deliberations on funding, continued site planning, and refinement of the development program as the nonprofit works to close remaining financing gaps and align partners around construction and long-term operations.