Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has locked in a new home for Berryhill Elementary, closing on roughly 40 acres inside Crescent Communities' River District on Monday and paying $7.5 million for the parcel in what the developer calls a below-market transaction. The campus is set to open first as a K–5 school with plans to expand later, and the deal includes a requirement that construction begin within two years. The purchase plants a neighborhood school in the middle of one of the city’s biggest new communities as homes and retail rise around it.
In a press release, Crescent Communities said the closing took place June 29, 2026, and described the site as a roughly 40-acre campus along Sadler Road that will replace the existing Berryhill School. The developer said the campus was intentionally located to allow pedestrian-friendly access and outdoor learning opportunities, and that the first phase will serve grades K–5 with a planned second phase to add grades 6–8. Crescent’s release also notes that CMS will oversee school development, operations and programming.
The Charlotte Business Journal reported the $7.5 million price and noted that Crescent "intentionally sold the land to CMS below market value," with the sale carrying a requirement that school construction begin within two years. As reported by Charlotte Business Journal, Crescent framed the concession as part of the master-plan's community-building strategy. The Business Journal's item was published July 2, 2026.
Developer Talks Up Walkable Campus
“This is an incredibly meaningful milestone for The River District and for West Charlotte,” Rainer Ficken, senior managing director of The River District, said in Crescent’s release. The developer emphasized safe walking and biking access and "immersive outdoor learning experiences" tied to the neighborhood’s trails and preserved natural areas, pitching the school as a built-in perk for families moving into the new community. Crescent’s statement presents the sale as both a public benefit and a way to accelerate the River District’s broader buildout.
Sale Plugs School Into Fast-Moving Buildout
Local reporting has tracked rapid activity across the River District, which regional coverage has described as a multibillion-dollar redevelopment spanning roughly 1,400 acres with apartments, single-family homes and new retail already under construction. According to the Charlotte Observer, Crescent and its partners have already sold parcels to homebuilders and corporate buyers as the neighborhood adds its first shops and multifamily units. Locking a school site into that mix gives planners a public anchor as thousands of new residences come online.
What is next: CMS and the developer now move into permitting and design work, and the district will need to set a construction schedule that meets the two-year requirement tied to the sale. For West Charlotte families, the deal promises a neighborhood school close to new housing. For local planners, it locks in one of the key public pieces that Crescent says will help make the River District a complete, walkable community.
