Symphony Park Gets One More Thanksgiving Before Its Renovation

In December 2025, Axios Charlotte reported a plan to start construction in July 2026, followed by a yearlong closure of the 7.4-acre park beside SouthPark Mall. On that schedule, this year's Thanksgiving crowd would have stood outside a fenced construction site.

The construction start slipped instead. On Thanksgiving morning, Thursday, Nov. 26, the 38th Charlotte Turkey Trot hands out race-morning will-call packets at TowneBank Symphony Park. It is also the last event on Simon's 2026 calendar for the park. The renovation is still planned. Until it starts, the neighborhood gets one more race morning at the park as it stands now.

How the start date kept moving

Each update on the project has pushed the start date back:

• December 2025: construction planned for July 2026, with the park closed from summer 2026 until it reopens in summer 2027, per Axios.
• July 2026: construction now expected to begin in "mid-fall," with a 12-month build and a reopening in mid-fall 2027, the Charlotte Observer reported.
• August 19, 2026: the project's own summer update said final design and permit review would continue "through late 2026" and called those steps "the final hurdles to beginning construction soon."

Adam Rhew, CEO of SouthPark Community Partners, told the Observer that part of the delay came from soil conditions that needed more analysis before the permit applications could go in. "We shifted the timeline by really just a few months, and ultimately what that did was give us the time to make sure that we designed a project that we were confident we could build," Rhew told the Observer.

The permit review also covers a structure under the street. According to the August update, a state-regulated earthen dam has sat under Carnegie Boulevard, at the edge of the park, for decades. The project team has been working with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to meet dam safety standards. That review covers removing a few trees inside the dam's boundaries and a closer look at the SouthPark Loop trail plans along the edge of the park.

The budget has gone up too. Axios put the project at $21 million in December 2025. In July, Rhew told the Observer he expected the price to rise from that figure, and said he had no updated numbers to share because the project was out to bid. A June 30 Charlotte Business Journal story summarized it the same way: renovations "will begin several months later than expected and with a higher price tag."

Race week, built around the park

The race needs the park for two things this year: a place to hand out bibs and a place to start the morning. The 2026 schedule on the official Turkey Trot site looks like this:

The 1-mile, 8K and 5K all start on Carnegie Boulevard, the same street that sits on top of the dam the state is reviewing. The post-race festival, with music on the Novant Health Stage, sets up in the DICK'S Sporting Goods lot. The race homepage advertises a post-race beer garden with Suffolk Punch and Legion Brewing, the two breweries closest to the finish. SouthPark's holiday guide describes the event as an 8K, a 5K run/walk, a 1-mile fun run/walk and a Tot Trot, with more than 12,000 attendees.

If you live close enough to walk, the race-morning traffic rules apply to you as much as to the runners:

1. The race's parking map says to avoid driving on Carnegie Blvd and Barclay Downs from 6 to 11 a.m. on race day.
2. Parking is free in every SouthPark Mall deck and surface lot, but the lots closest to DICK'S are off limits. The race directs drivers to come in from Fairview or Sharon Road.
3. Bring a new, unwrapped toy. The race supports the CMPD Explorers Toy Drive and takes drop-offs at the Novant Health Stage.

After Thanksgiving, the season moves indoors and down the street

After the race, the 2026 park calendar has nothing else on it. The rest of SouthPark's holiday season is already booked at other venues, and the schedule shows how little of it depends on the lawn. Even the Charlotte Symphony, whose Summer Pops series is the park's signature event, holds its holiday programs elsewhere. Holiday Pops runs Dec. 18–20 at the Knight Theater.

Inside the mall. Simon's "It's a Holiday Thing" lineup puts most of its events under the roof. Santa photos started Nov. 6 and run through Dec. 24. Santa Paws, for pet photos, is Nov. 29 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The sensory-friendly Caring Santa visit is Dec. 6 and requires reservations. Deans Duets plays live classical music in Circle Court on Dec. 5 and Dec. 19. On Dec. 12, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., South Charlotte Ballet performs the Nutcracker in the same spot. The Salvation Army Angel Tree is in the Dining Pavilion from Nov. 20 through Dec. 2.

At the breweries. The Jingle Bell Bash, the mall's family event, is at Suffolk Punch Brewing on Dec. 5 from 9 to 11 a.m., with brunch, cookie decorating, train rides and a visit from Santa. This Saturday, Nov. 14, the Second Saturdays Market sets up on the green beside Legion Brewing from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. SouthPark's guide lists more than 20 local vendors.

Along the side streets. Anne Neilson Home holds its flagship grand opening on Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 721 Governor Morrison St. The holiday guide promises local coffee, a bouquet bar, light bites, champagne and live music. At Apex, the guide lists a King Arthur Baking Co. pop-up starting Nov. 7, selling flours, baking mixes, sourdough starters, cookbooks and kitchen tools. Its calendar includes Ask the Baker hours through Nov. 12 and a kids' drop-in baking activity on Dec. 5 for ages 5 and up. Starting Dec. 1, Hyatt Centric has a freestanding "Season's Greetings" mural by Charlotte artist Amber Thompson, plus a letters-to-Santa station. Kids who leave a return address get a reply, through a partnership with The Sharon at SouthPark.

At Phillips Place. The Holiday Stroll is Thursday, Dec. 3, from 4 to 7 p.m. at 6800 Phillips Place Ct. It includes photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, traveling carolers, face painting, balloon art, a flower truck, seasonal treats, and shopping and dining offers.

What the park comes back with

The park is going to be closed for about a year, so it helps to know what the plans say it will gain.

The plans add two new boardwalks, one connecting the park to the Carnegie Boulevard side and one to the Barclay Downs Drive side. Both tie into the SouthPark Loop and add 500 to 600 feet to the trail, according to Axios. The Loop already has finished segments of 400 feet at Roxborough Parkway, 800 feet on Carnegie Boulevard and 642 feet on Piedmont Row. The Symphony Park and Capitol Towers sections are still in planning.

The money behind the project shows what it is meant to do. Simon Property Group, which owns SouthPark Mall and Phillips Place, committed $8 million for two anchor restaurants. The City of Charlotte's $8 million goes toward pedestrian access into the park. TowneBank committed $1.5 million for the naming rights. SouthPark Community Partners' project page describes up to 12,000 square feet of restaurant space and permanent public restrooms at 4400 Sharon Rd. If you have ever planned a Summer Pops evening around portable toilets, that last item will matter.

The organizers say the anchor events are staying. The August update says SouthPark Community Partners is planning the first year of programming in the renovated park, including outdoor yoga, farmers markets and family movie nights. It also says the Charlotte Symphony's Summer Pops, SouthPark After 5 and the Charlotte Turkey Trot "will continue to call the park home." The Observer's July report described a 12-month construction period once work begins.

When construction starts, the people who walk past it every week will care about the parts that are hard to see: the dam under Carnegie, the soil analysis that pushed the schedule, and how the new boardwalks connect to Carnegie Boulevard and Barclay Downs Drive. Our team reads job sites with a builder's eye, and we're glad to walk the park with you once the fences go up and tell you what the work means for your part of SouthPark. If you want that walk, or a read on any project near your street, reach out to Real Estate Layne. Let's Connect.