A historic property outside Charlotte is undergoing its most significant transformation in years, and the story behind that change is as important as the construction itself. Mecklenburg County broke ground Monday on an $11.2 million project to restore and reopen Historic Latta Place in Huntersville — a site that has been closed since 2021 following a public controversy that drew national attention.
The ceremony drew a crowd of more than 50 attendees who gathered not just to mark the start of construction, but to formally acknowledge the enslaved men, women, and children whose lives and labor shaped the land. Among them was Kodi Ardrey, 47, who has spent years researching his family roots — and discovered that his ancestors were enslaved at this very site.
Ardrey described the weight of that discovery as something he still works through.
“It’s mixed because it brings so much context to everything. The good is that I found my family and I know where they lived. At the same time, I know what they were subjected to. Overall, it’s a wonderful thing to know that I’m connected to this area and something I can share with my own family to preserve our history.”
— Kodi Ardrey
How the Site Closed
The property, formerly called Latta Plantation, shut down in June 2021 after widespread backlash over a planned Juneteenth event that critics said minimized or ignored the experiences of enslaved people. The program centered on white residents and included discussions about “white refugees” following the “downfall of the Confederacy,” and promised stories told from “the massa himself.” When criticism erupted, the site’s manager published a 1,300-word response stating that “no apology will be given for bringing a unique program to educate the public about former slaves becoming FREE!” Mecklenburg County subsequently ended its contract with the organization managing the property. Reporting on the closure was covered by Dashiell Coleman for WFAE…