Charlotte airport demolishes 200-year-old historic plantation home
Demolitions of historic structures are becoming more common as development pressures increase
The following article appeared in the January 5, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Charlotte’s airport has demolished another historic building in Steele Creek — its 2nd in a year-and-a-half
Charlotte’s airport has followed through with its plans to knock down a 200-year-old plantation home, one that was designated as a historic landmark in 1978.
A visit to the site last week, not far from the intersection of Steele Creek Road and I-485 near the Charlotte Premium Outlets, showed the house had been reduced mostly to rubble:
The Ledger reported in June that the airport had received a demolition permit for the structure. It’s on land that the airport bought in 2014 as part of its plans for future warehousing and logistics operations. The airport didn’t reply to The Ledger’s questions about the demolition last week.
It is uncommon for historic landmarks to be demolished in Mecklenburg County, but preservationists say it is happening with increased frequency as development pressures ramp up. The former Midwood School on Central Avenue in Plaza Midwood, which was also a designated historic landmark, was torn down in November to make way for apartments.
The demolition of the Grier House comes after the airport in August 2024 tore down the Steele Creek Presbyterian Church manse, which was built in 1914 to house church pastors. The Historic Landmarks Commission sought to have the Charlotte City Council designate it as a landmark, which would have delayed its demolition, but through an apparent bureaucratic mix-up and internal staff disagreements, the issue was never put before the City Council, and the airport knocked down the structure.
Preservationists have said the airport, which is a department of the city government, could have moved the structures to more suitable sites and rehabilitated them, but that the airport shows mostly no willingness to do so. The airport has said it is allowed to demolish the structures under the terms of a 2018 agreement with the FAA and state preservationists, in which the airport paid $450,000 to a fund to support historic preservation efforts. —Tony Mecia
Related Ledger articles:
“Historic landmarks under siege” (December 2024)
“Council members push for answers on demolition of historic house” (August 2024)
“Historic buildings near airport face demolition by city” (August 2024)
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