CHARLOTTE, N.C. — You might be surprised at how busy it gets working at a library, but it’s what Hannah Terrell loves about her job.
What You Need To Know
- The Knight Foundation invested $225,000 in the City of Charlotte to enhance outdoor open spaces at the Allegra Westbrooks Regional Library on Beatties Ford Road
- The enhancements will improve underutilized space and create casual and inclusive places where community members can meet and enjoy innovative art and programming, such as immersive gardens, interactive games and more
- The Beatties Ford Road Corridor is one of six corridors the city is investing millions into as part of its Corridors of Opportunity project.
Terrell serves as the Regional Branch Manager at Allegra Westbrooks Regional Library, something she never thought she’d be doing.
“When I was younger I didn’t necessarily see a lot of people that looked like me, and so I didn’t imagine librarianship as a career,” she said.
Terrell worked in health care and education before eventually going back to school to get her master's degree in library science.
But last year, she was able to use all of her skills for a big project.
Terrell’s been working with the City of Charlotte on their Corridors of Opportunity project.
The city is investing millions into six key corridors within the city.
Those corridors consist of:
- Albemarle Road/Central Avenue
- Freedom Drive/Wilkinson Boulevard
- Graham Street/ North Tryon Street
- Sugar Creek Road/I-85
- West Boulevard
- Beatties Ford Road/Rozzelles Ferry Road
Beatties Ford Road is one of those corridors, and Terrell along with community members, have worked together to create a placemaking and public space playbook for the corridor.
“It is re-looking at our open spaces and revitalizing them so that the public can come and collaborate and meet outside,” she said.
Charles Thomas was a part of that process. He works for the Knight Foundation, which recently announced they were investing $225,000 into enhancing the outdoor space in front of the library.
“The investment we’re making at Allegra Westbrooks here in the West End ties very much so with our strategy of supporting the West End developing in a way that’s equitable and inclusive and creates a place that’s more walkable and more livable,” said Thomas.
Community members, the library, and the city will work together to enhance this space and bring things like an outdoor classroom, art and more seating.
As this project moves along, Terrell is excited to see how this new space will help grow the Beatties Ford Corridor.
“When we can see spaces where we can meet, and we can greet and we can come together - It is when we come together that ideas are born,” she said.
You can read more about what’s happening along the Beatties Ford Road Corridor here.