City clears way for office tower at NASCAR site

Charlotte City Council members approved a set of agreements Monday that clear the way for construction of a 19-story office tower on the planned NASCAR Hall of Fame site.

The council unanimously approved NASCAR's 99-year lease of the site, at Stonewall and Caldwell streets uptown. It also approved other agreements with NASCAR, tower developer Lauth Property Group of Charlotte and the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, which would operate a parking deck there.

City and tourism officials consider the tower a complement to the $154.5 million hall of fame, scheduled to open in late 2009.

They believe the tower will generate about $1.2 million per year in combined city and Mecklenburg County property taxes and help spur other development in the Second Ward area of uptown, said Assistant City Manager Ron Kimble. City leaders also like the parking deck, which will include up to 1,060 spaces that the public can use along with visitors to the hall and the Convention Center, Kimble said.

glacour@charlotteobserver.com