"Ready to really hit the gas." That's how Adam Rhew, president and CEO of SouthPark Community Partners, described the Symphony Park renovation to Axios Charlotte in July, after soil testing pushed the start from summer into fall. Permits went in that June. Construction is expected to begin this fall, and the 7.4-acre park beside SouthPark Mall at 4400 Sharon Road would then close for about a year.
That makes this fall SouthPark's first stretch without its main lawn in more than four decades of Summer Pops. The neighborhood's outdoor calendar hasn't stopped, though. It has moved to smaller lawns, a brewery green, and the short stretches of a three-mile trail that SouthPark Community Partners has been building one block at a time. For the next twelve months, the neighborhood will run the way its planners want it to run for good: as a string of connected gathering spots, with the big park as one stop among several.
The Park Was Already Full Before It Closed
The renovation is meant to make the same acreage work much harder. Rhew told Axios that the renovated park should go from hosting roughly 80 events a year to around 250, ranging from sunrise yoga for a dozen people to events that draw thousands. Tripling the event count on the same 7.4 acres takes more seating, more shade, restrooms, and a way to get people in and out on foot.
The plans cover that list. According to the Charlotte Observer, the plans include two pedestrian bridges over the existing pond that carry the SouthPark Loop trail through the park, more seating and landscaping, a play area with a public restroom building next to it, and an upgraded band shell. Axios reported that the park's share of the trail will be a 500-foot section.
Funding comes from three sources, as reported in July:
- City of Charlotte: $8 million
- Simon Property Group, owner of SouthPark Mall: $8 million, going toward two anchor restaurants inside the park
- Private donors through SouthPark Community Partners: a $5 million goal, with $3.1 million raised at the time of reporting
Those three pieces add up to the original $21 million estimate from a year earlier. Rhew told the Observer the final cost will be higher. The project was out to bid at the time, so he had no updated figure, but he said he didn't expect cost changes to delay construction further. Simon is also in talks with possible restaurant tenants, and the Observer noted that the restaurants could follow a different construction timeline than the park itself.
Summer Pops Played Its Farewell in June
The Charlotte Symphony announced the change in its Summer Pops 2026 release. Summer Pops 2026 ran Sunday evenings from June 7 to June 28 and was billed as "the final major event at Symphony Park before planned renovations." It was the series' 43rd year. The four concerts were built around America 250, with programs called American Classics, Best of Broadway, and Hollywood Hits, plus the Celebrate America finale with fireworks. Resident Conductor Christopher James Lees led the series.
Summer Pops isn't the only series taking a break. Axios reported that SouthPark After 5 will also be on hiatus until the park reopens. Rhew said that once it does, the goal is to put free programming open to everyone first.
That leaves a gap of about a year in the neighborhood's biggest outdoor events. Smaller events are filling it, spread across sites the Loop already reaches or will reach.
The Trail Was Being Built Before the Park Closed
The SouthPark Loop is a planned 14-foot multi-use path for walkers and cyclists that connects the neighborhood's main centers, with its own wayfinding signs, lighting, benches, bike racks, and public art. It's still more plan than path. SouthPark Community Partners lists three built segments:
- 400 feet along Roxborough Parkway Drive, connected to The Colony
- 800 feet on Carnegie Boulevard
- 642 feet on Piedmont Row Drive
Loop-branded crosswalks are also in place at Sharon Road and Carnegie Boulevard, at Sharon and Fairview Roads, and at Carnegie Boulevard and Barclay Downs Drive. More sections are in active planning, including at Symphony Park and at Capitol Towers.
Together, the built segments come to 1,842 feet, a bit over a third of a mile of a roughly three-mile route. The next stretch won't come from the park project. Axios reported that the City of Charlotte is working on a 0.2-mile section near Cameron Valley Parkway and Carnegie Boulevard at a cost of about $3.625 million. Rhew said the goal is to start connecting the trail in mile-long sections "rather than a few hundred feet here and there."
Axios reports that both the park and the trail are part of SouthPark Community Partners' "park once" vision for the neighborhood. The idea is that you leave the car in one place and walk between the mall, the restaurants, and the green spaces. This fall's events are already set up that way.
Where SouthPark Gathers This Fall
Two recurring series anchor the next several weeks. Both sit on or right next to a built Loop segment.
| Event | Location | Upcoming dates | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall Fitness on the SouthPark Loop | The Lawn at The Colony, 4220 Colony Plaza Dr | Tuesdays, Oct. 13, 20 and 27, 5:30 p.m. | Yoga with Palestra Spa & Studio, STRONG Pilates, then yoga and barre with Studio Fire |
| Second Saturdays Market, presented by Shop Local QC | The green beside Legion Brewing, 5610 Carnegie Blvd | Saturday, Nov. 14, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. | 30+ local shops and makers each month |
Fall Fitness meets at The Colony, at the same Roxborough Parkway end where the first Loop segment connects. The October sessions rotate studios each week. Palestra Spa & Studio leads yoga on Oct. 13, STRONG Pilates takes Oct. 20, and Studio Fire closes the month on Oct. 27 with yoga and barre.
The Second Saturdays Market started in April 2026 and sets up on the green beside Legion Brewing on Carnegie Boulevard, the same street as the 800-foot Loop segment. SouthPark's event listing describes boutiques, jewelry, candles, home décor, baked goods, and seasonal finds, with returning vendors mixed in with new ones each month. The October market was Oct. 10. The next one is Nov. 14, which falls in the gift-shopping season.
Neither of these is a Summer Pops-sized crowd. That fits the plan. Rhew's 250-event goal for the renovated park assumes the neighborhood will keep running small, frequent events, like a dozen people doing sunrise yoga, alongside the occasional big night. For now, those small events are happening on the Loop.
What Hasn't Been Announced
Some pieces are still unknown as of mid-October.
The latest detailed public reporting on the park dates from July. It set construction to begin in "mid-fall," followed by a 12-month build and a reopening in mid-fall 2027. Those July reports gave no groundbreaking date or contractor, and the final cost was still to be determined, so the timeline above is a projection.
The Charlotte Symphony's announcement didn't say where Summer Pops will go in 2027. As of July, Axios described Simon's two anchor restaurants as still to be determined.
For holiday-season events, the neighborhood's events calendar is the place to check as listings go up.
Here's what is confirmed: three short Loop segments are built, a 0.2-mile city section is underway near Cameron Valley Parkway, a 500-foot stretch is planned through the renovated park, and two recurring fall series are running beside the built trail. A year from now, the Loop is supposed to run straight through Symphony Park on two new bridges over the pond.
Ashley & Scott Sofsian follow projects like Symphony Park closely, because the projects that change how a neighborhood spends its weekends also change what buyers ask about. If you're curious what the next year of construction could mean for homes near Sharon Road and Carnegie Boulevard, the team at Ashley Sofsian is glad to talk it through with you. Schedule Your Consultation.
