Charlotte City Bonds

When Charlotte voters head to the polls, on their ballot, they’ll see three long questions asking them to vote “yes” or “no” on three separate municipal bonds. If approved, the city would take out a total of $425M for capital projects in three categories.

1. Housing

The first bond question on the ballot is for $125M for affordable housing — the largest housing investment bond in the city’s history. Affordable housing for low- and moderate- income households would be built and preserved through partnerships with public, private and nonprofit entities, like Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region.

Housing bonds go directly into Charlotte’s Housing Trust Fund (HTF), the primary mechanism to finance new and preserve existing affordable housing in the city. The amount in the HTF fluctuates, but a $100M housing bond was last approved by voters in 2024.

The $125M also includes a new $25M anti-displacement fund.

2. Transportation

The second question will be for $280M for transportation projects. These are solely City of Charlotte projects, and will not include interstate projects. Seven projects are guaranteed if this bond is approved, including:

• Two major intersection improvements at the intersection of Eastway Drive and Shamrock Drive ($12M) and the intersection of Ashley Road, Freedom Drive and Tuckaseegee Road ($6.7M).

• One new street, phase two of Bryant Farms Road extension ($35M).

• “Complete street” improvements to better allow multiple modes of transportation. This is the widening of Robinson Church Road ($19.3M), and improvements for Brown-Grier Road ($6.6M), DeArmon Road ($6M) and Shamrock Drive ($14.5M).

Transportation projects also include sidewalk improvements, street resurfacing and other initiatives the city has listed on its website here. It does not include building new, large roads.

3. Neighborhoods

The third question is for $20M for neighborhoods, specifically initiatives “to better connect neighborhoods with major employment, institutional and retail areas.” This will include projects like sidewalks, streetlights, greenways and bike lanes.

The city says that if the bonds are approved, the projects will begin starting in 2027, and will unfold over the next few years.

Who is for the bonds: Proponents of all three bonds include the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party. The Coalition for a Better 2050, which is managed by the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, is also in favor and launched their Yes For Bonds campaign on Sept. 28. The progressive organization Action NC supports the neighboods and housing bonds.  

Who is against the bonds:  There is no organized opposition campaign, but some have raised objections. An op-ed from Charlotte conservative commentator Andrew Dunn argues that previous affordable housing bonds have largely not actually helped people who need it most, since much of the money has mainly gone towards housing that serves people in the higher end of the eligible income bracket. 

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