CCS Community Presentation — March 17, 2026
Site Plans: What's
Actually Being Built
All images below are taken directly from Cabarrus County Schools' own community presentation on March 17, 2026. These are not our interpretations — they are the district's own slides.
← Back to The Issue
The district's own site evaluation flagged this property — the "Hutchins Property" — for "challenging topography that renders a large portion of the property unusable." They purchased it anyway for $1.6 million without public disclosure. The images below show what they plan to build. Judge for yourself.
The property boundary (dashed red line) sits along Sudbury Road on the left and Davidson Highway at the bottom. The heavily wooded ravine is clearly visible across the eastern portion of the site — this is the terrain requiring massive grading. The stream runs through the lower-right of the parcel. Both the school building and all site entrances are positioned on the western edge — the only relatively flat portion of the property.
The 129,000 sq ft school building sits in the upper-left — the only relatively flat area. Two large stormwater retention ponds (labeled BMP — Best Management Practice) are required to manage runoff from the graded ravine. The stream corridor runs through the right side of the parcel. Both the main entrance and bus entrance are on Sudbury Road — the narrow two-lane road that will require complete reconstruction before the school opens.
Every vehicle — parents, buses, staff — enters and exits via Sudbury Road. The school is projected to generate over 2,100 vehicle trips during peak morning and afternoon hours. Road reconstruction requirements are not finalized until end of April 2026 — three months before construction begins.
This is what the neighborhood will look like starting August 24, 2026. The entire wooded ravine has been cleared and graded flat. The scale of earthwork visible here is exactly what the district's own evaluation described as "challenging topography that renders a large portion of the property unusable." Construction runs through May 2028.
⚠ Road Not Yet Designed
All entrances are on Sudbury Road. NCDOT road improvement requirements aren't finalized until end of April. Road design doesn't start until May — just 3 months before the August 24 groundbreaking.
🌿 Stream & Wetland Infrastructure
Two large stormwater ponds are required to manage drainage from the graded ravine. The stream running through the property requires protective infrastructure. No environmental permits have been publicly disclosed.
💰 True Cost Undisclosed
The $50.6M budget excludes road reconstruction, stream mitigation, and full infrastructure costs. The land cost $1.6M — never announced publicly. The district's own first-choice site was passed over on cost grounds alone.
All images sourced from the CCS NW ES Community Presentation, March 17, 2026.
View the original CCS project page →