Discovery Place owes Mecklenburg County $14.6 million for the new nature museum, with a default possible after October 27

Discovery Place owes Mecklenburg County $14.6 million for construction of the new Charlotte Museum of Nature next to Freedom Park, and the nonprofit has told the county that the organization cannot pay the lump sum due October 27, The Charlotte Ledger reported. County commissioners took up the debt at their Tuesday, October 6, meeting and must decide this month whether to declare a default or negotiate a repayment plan.

The building, on the site of the former Discovery Place Nature beside Freedom Park, was mostly finished this spring and appears ready to open, but the question of when it will open went unanswered at Tuesday’s meeting, according to the Ledger. WRHI reported in 2025 that the museum was planned to open in 2026. The county owns the building in Charlotte, and Discovery Place, which also runs Discovery Place Science in Uptown, operates the museum.

The key facts

The numbers and dates commissioners are working from, according to the Ledger, WSOC, Spectrum News and WCCB:

• Discovery Place owes the county about $14.6 million, and the agreement calls for a lump-sum payment due October 27.
• Museum leadership told county staff this summer that the nonprofit could not make the payment, and commissioners said they learned of the shortfall only days before Tuesday’s meeting.
• One option on the table is a repayment plan of at least $400,000 a year, which officials said could take about 36 and a half years.
• Another is declaring a default and having the county take over the building, which officials estimated could cost the Park and Recreation Department $3 million to $4 million in the first year.

How the county got here

The county agreed in 2019 to put up to $16 million toward a new nature museum on the county-owned site, according to Spectrum News and WSOC. As construction costs climbed, Discovery Place asked for about $20 million more in December 2023. Commissioners approved $10 million instead on December 5, 2023, by an 8-1 vote, with Commissioner Elaine Powell voting no, WSOC reported at the time.

The $14.6 million came after that. On January 17, 2024, commissioners approved a letter agreement on their consent agenda that authorized the $10 million and included reimbursement language, and no one appears to have noticed that language until now, WSOC reported on Tuesday. Mark Hahn, the county’s asset and facility management director, said former County Manager Dena Diorio asked him to draft an agreement covering the $14.6 million because she believed the board wanted the museum built, according to WSOC. The Ledger’s Tony Mecia told WFAE that the county never settled how the rest of the overrun would be covered before the building was finished.

What commissioners said and did

Commissioners voted 7-1 to approve a motion from Commissioner Leigh Altman asking County Attorney Tyrone Wade to examine whether any laws or policies were broken and to propose changes so it does not happen again, WSOC reported. “Nobody at the dais had any idea there was a $14 million loan,” Altman said. County Manager Mike Bryant told the board there was no violation, and that the question is whether commissioners were clearly told what they were voting on.

“It’s become a parasitic relationship,” Powell said, according to the Ledger. Chair Mark Jerrell said, “You are in no position to dictate terms to the residents of Mecklenburg County,” Spectrum News reported. Commissioner Laura Meier called the deal unethical but not illegal, WSOC reported, and pointed out to WCCB that the finished building has to open to bring in money: “We’ve got a building that needs to open so they can create revenue.” Commissioner Arthur Griffin suggested the business community cover the $14.6 million, according to WSOC.

Discovery Place has said the organization cannot repay the money in one lump sum, Spectrum News reported, and wants to negotiate a solution, according to WFAE.

What a default would mean

Under the agreement, a default would let the county take back control of the building it already owns. The options Mecia described on WFAE include running it as a community recreation center, turning it into offices or operating it as a nature museum, though the county has little experience running a museum and that would add ongoing costs. The Ledger raised another open question: what happens to the otters.

The otters are part of the plan for the new museum. Discovery Place’s aquatic team trained with caretakers at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Columbia to care for them, WRHI reported in April 2025. That report listed the other features planned for the building:

• A Tree Canopy Walk, an outdoor walkway 20 to 40 feet above the forest floor, with a lookout called The Nest that has views of the Charlotte skyline.
• Piedmont Explorations, with native freshwater fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects and turtles, including snapping and softshell turtles.
• Saplings, a nature play space for children up to age 6, and a Naturalist Lab for experiments, design challenges, music and art.
• A Frog Bog pond in the Woodland Garden that Freedom Park visitors can see for free.

What happens next

The county has a short calendar to work with. The steps outlined at Tuesday’s meeting, according to WSOC and Spectrum News:

• Jerrell will form a committee to recommend how the county should proceed.
• The committee’s recommendations go to Bryant, who will meet with Discovery Place again and report back to the board.
• Commissioners plan to meet before October 27 to settle the terms they will put to Discovery Place, then decide between a default and a payment plan.
• Wade will complete the legal review and propose policy changes, with no deadline announced.

For families waiting on the museum, Tuesday’s meeting did not produce an opening date.

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