McColl Park Design Feedback
McColl Park Design Feedback
Located at the corner of Trade and Tryon, a 1/3-acre park has been a retreat for Uptown workers, residents and visitors for over 30 years. Prior to becoming a park, the corner was home to bustling businesses at the center of Charlotte’s ever-growing economy. The intersection of Trade and Tryon holds significance to the beginnings of Charlotte as the crossing of trading paths for indigenous peoples and later a colonial settlement.
The project team has developed three concepts that were unveiled to the public at the Jan. 18, 2024, Community Open House. Looking to the future of this significant corner, Charlotte Center City Partners invited the public to provide your input through this survey to help guide the redesign of this park that will honor one of Charlotte’s modern pioneers: philanthropist and former Bank of America Chairman and CEO Hugh L. McColl Jr.
The design survey is now closed.
To stay engaged in the project and receive project updates, please visit the project's website: www.mccollpark.com.
FLOATING NEST
The concept of the Floating Nest reflects Charlotte’s nickname, “The Hornet’s Nest,” with history rooted in the American Revolution. Drawing inspiration from North Carolina’s forests and native trees, a series of elements are “nested” and suspended above the space, representing the Community of Charlotte and a diversity of people coming together in Charlotte’s historic city center. Emerging from a grove of trees, the Floating Nest is reflected in a water mirror below. A waterwall anchors the southern edge of the park, in memoriam of the fountain that existed in the space previously.
CROWN DATUM
The intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets is where two Native American trading paths met and is the highest point in the city at 751 feet above sea level. Central to the space and referencing this datum is a tall, thin spire that represents the historic and current center of Charlotte. To the east, a molded sculptural canopy frames the entrance to the adjacent building. Anchoring the southern edge of the space is a layered canopy of trees, both as a shady place to sit, as well as to provide Spring blooms.
VERDANT CROWN
A Crown marks the center of Charlotte - the “Queen City” - named after Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg. The Verdant Crown is made of an innovative material, aluminum foam, which is lightweight with many small holes that can be planted with local plants and vines. These sculptural forms and their plant life will reflect the seasonality and provide a frame for the spaces below. The Crown lands in a series of gardens and a reflecting pool with pathways throughout, creating a garden at the corner of Trade and Tryon.
