CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Greenville, a historically Black neighborhood in Charlotte, is getting a makeover. Spring Street Plaza has been selected for Lowe’s Hometown Community Impact Project. Certain areas of the neighborhood will get rebuilt, thanks to a five-year, $100 million commitment.

Thomas Sadler, also known as "Pop," was born and raised in the Greenville neighborhood until he left in 1969.

"This is home, you can’t leave it. You can take the person out of Greenville, but you can’t take Greenville out of the person," Sadler laughed."This is home, you can’t leave it. You can take the person out of Greenville, but you can’t take Greenville out of the person," Sadler laughed.

It wasn't by choice that he left. The area was set to be demolished and replaced with freeways. Sadler says at that time there was a stereotype that it was the slums, but to him it holds some of his most important memories.

"I enjoyed growing up here in this community and doing things that young boys do," Sadler said. "We would go out to the woods and find a vine and swing on it. We always had fun."

He came back to the area in the 1980s and hasn’t left. He says it's his final stop which is why the hometown project means that much more.

"That's fixing, that’s not just working on the problem, that’s fixing it because it’s providing a resource that we didn’t have, a resource that’s much needed," Sadler said.

As part of the rebuild, Spring Street Plaza could see public art, a fruit orchard or tree grove. Sadler says even if it’s something as small as a bench, it gives people a reason to see the area's value.

"A reporter said once, it’s the best kept little secret in Charlotte. It’s a little pocket of people making a difference," Sadler said.

Sadler says the initiative will help build a better version of Greenville for the next generation.