Charlotte Votes In Favor of I-77. REBIC Leaders Visible in Meeting In Force.

We extend our sincere thanks to the members of CREDA Charlotte who took the time to attend the City Council meeting and advocate for transportation solutions that support our region’s continued growth. Your engagement and willingness to lend your voices to this important conversation helped demonstrate the commercial real estate community’s commitment to improving mobility, strengthening economic competitiveness, and investing in Charlotte’s future.

From REBIC – 9/22/26

We’re back on track. But not without an incredible amount of work, worry, and energy. Sure. You can read about the meeting by logging into a dozen or more media outlets that reported the story. Here is a link to the meeting itself. It was long, intense, and emotional. But our story celebrates how the community leaders and REBIC members engaged in presenting a concise, logical, and powerful message to the Council in spite of its raucous atmosphere. The opposition was vocal, angry, and some were thrown out of the meeting. But in the end, the 7-4 vote put the discussions back on the table.

Last night’s rock star, though, was Allen Dargins, 2026 President-Elect for Canopy Realtor® Association and a proud Charlottean, who’s roots run deep into the neighborhoods affected by the project’s reach. As someone who was raised on the West side, he shared these powerful words. “We’re focused on the community benefits that could be lost for those living near the highways and many others,” he said and added “[but] we cannot miss the opportunity to reconnect people and neighborhoods with an intentional approach.” His 2 minute speech (the limit) was personal, relevant, and timely. Thank you, Allen.

Rob’s Take: A lot of folks have been holding their breath for too long and REBIC has been working feverishly, along with our partners, to bolster the negotiations that resulted in this positive outcome. But the conversations last night and the media focus kept elevating the idea that the Council members ignored majority sentiment. However, that math doesn’t work for me, and I think it’s time to set the record straight. We have almost a million people in Charlotte. And our elected leaders are stewards of every single one of them. To portray them as playing favorites to businesses and turning their backs on the community members who oppose this expansion is to ignore the facts. More people will be negatively impacted without this progress than we can even imagine. Prosperity would surely be curbed if you can’t even get through the city on an aging and impassable highway. The people who commute to uptown rely on corridors that are improved and maintained. I applaud the Council members who voted to reinstate the I-77 for all their constituents. As Allen stated, we’re “for an opportunity to reconnect people and neighborhoods with an intentional approach.”