NC: Charlotte City Council Approves CATS Assuming Full Operational Control of Charlotte Transportation Center

After 19 years of a successful private-public partnership with Bank of America, the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) will assume full control of the Charlotte Transportation Center (CTC) on July 1.

“Our partnership with the bank is exactly how private and public entities can work together for the benefit of a community,” said John Muth, CATS deputy director. “We are grateful to Bank of America for their support in getting this facility built in 1995 and helping us provide accessible and convenient transportation for thousands of commuters daily.”

Customers and tenants of the CTC will not experience any changes since this is a management change only.

The CTC was constructed and operated as a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation known as Charlotte Transit Center, Inc. since its inception. The corporation’s board of directors is staffed by two representatives from the bank and two representatives from CATS.  The Corporation manages the property through a property manager, Lincoln Harris, with participation and supervision by CATS Facilities Management Department.

In anticipation of dissolution of the corporation, the city/CATS performed a due diligence process, both in terms of the building itself and in terms of the financial condition of the corporation. The CTC was physically inspected by an engineering consultant retained by the city as well as the city’s risk management department. No issues were identified.  The corporation has incurred no long-term liabilities and has a capital/operating reserve of approximately $800,000 that transfers with the property.  This reserve is a result of revenue built up over time from tenant leases after payment of expenses.  The reserve will be available to the city for future use to maintain the CTC. 

The leases with the nine retail tenants, along with vendor contracts and the property itself, will be transferred or assigned to the city by the start of Fiscal Year 2015.  Lincoln Harris will continue to manage the CTC during FY2015, which will allow staff sufficient time to determine whether the property management functions should be assumed internally or whether these functions should be part of a future competitive bid process.