Special offer

CATS North Corridor Extension Project Being Reconsidered

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with The Anderton Corporation

While cost figures remain an issue, some Mooresville Town Commissioners are reportedly re-thinking their attitudes towards the commuter rail line extension to Mt Mourne.

New financial data regarding the project seems to be the major reason for the shift in attitude. For ΒΌ of the price of widening I-77 with an additional lane, the rail line could carry as much traffic and be done at least 8 years sooner. The cost of the North Corridor extension (to Mt Mourne from Davidson) is estimated at $21 million. Mooresville would be expected to provide $15.8 million of that. CATS officials feel that the increased tax revenue from business density increasing along the line would cover the bulk of that amount (previous reports of the CATS North Corridor negotiations reference Federal Railway Administration loans to acquire this capital upfront).

Iredell County has already passed on contributing financing to the project, but talk has begun about possibly re-submitting the project to the County Commissioners.

All of this speculation may be moot, however, as the rest of the financing for the line would have to come from Mecklenburg County sales tax increases, and other CATS rail line projects are competing for this same money. To complicate matters further, the newly elected board in Huntersville has expressed issue with town money, which would be necessary for the project, being allocated to the train.

These transportation issues stand to have massive impact on the commercial and residential real estate markets in the Mooresville / South Iredell area. We've talked here before about the perceived disconnect between the Charlotte Metro region and South Iredell. Apart from issues of ridership and usage, mass transit linkage between the areas would go a long way to dissolving that perceived disconnect and further emphasize the viability of Moorseville/South Iredell as a potential business location for those finding difficulty locating appropriate space in Charlotte.

Comments (0)