At their January 27 meeting, Charlotte City Council approved advancing funds for a professional services contract with the Urban Land Institute in the amount of $125,000 for an national Urban Land Institute National Advisory Panel. This is a public-private collaborative effort sponsored by the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Charlotte Housing Authority, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership, Charlotte Center City Partners, Foundation for The Carolinas, Knight Foundation, UNC Charlotte Foundation, Charlotte Chamber and Mt. Vernon Capital/Vision Ventures.  The City of Charlotte’s actual share of the funding is $40,000 and the remaining amount will be paid by the other partners.

The Applied Innovation Corridor is an area identified in the Center City 2020 Vision Plan for targeted economic growth and industry recruitment to leverage the City’s academic and research capital with its business assets. The Corridor extends from Center City to UNC- Charlotte.

The Urban Land Institute offers a Technical Assistance Program to help find creative, practical solutions for some of the most challenging land use and economic development issues facing today’s communities. In a concentrated one-week effort this April and May, a national panel of six to eight experts will work with the City, community stakeholders, private developers, community development corporations and many other organizations to address the challenging real estate and land use issues within the Applied Innovation Corridor. A detailed report with actionable recommendations will be prepared and published following the week-long work session.