Museum rendering by C Design

Aug. 17. by Dave Vieser. The last formal step needed to give the long-awaited Cornelius History Museum its necessary zoning designation is expected to take place tonight when the town board votes on a request to rezone one-third of an acre on School Street for civic use.

The property, which houses the Cornelius Agricultural School building, is on the west side of School Street, a block south of Catawba Avenue. The structure was originally built in 1937 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal initiative and taught modern farming practices.

“Though it was recently subdivided into a separate parcel, it is physically integrated with the Cornelius Elementary School property,” Assistant Town Planning Director David Cole said. “The property, and all adjacent properties, are currently zoned Neighborhood Residential.”

Cole said the Land Use Plan, adopted by the town board in 2023, designates the property as civic, which would include such buildings as a library, school, community center or place of worship.

“We consider the proposed museum use compatible with the Land Use Plan and as an excellent example of a community-serving use that is integrated within a larger civic complex,” Cole said.

In July, the town planning board voted unanimously to recommend that the civic zoning be approved by the town board.

A concurrent approval procedure is also expected to take place tonight at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission.

The town board meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at Town Hall and will be livestreamed on the town website at www.cornelius.org.