DEVELOPMENT
A Brief HunterWood history lession
HunterWood and several surrounding neighborhoods were carved from 200 acres once owned by the Hunter family, whose homestead still stands on Charlotte’s Sardis Road. The Rev. John Hunter, installed as the minister at nearby Sardis Presbyterian Church in 1859, began assembling the property during the Civil War in the 1860s and lived there until he […]
Accepting change when you can’t stop it in a “tear-down” neighborhood
This is the second part in a two-part series. Read the first story here
What’s on our city’s wish list? See some gifts for Charlotte
It’s hard shopping for the city that has it all: Gleaming office towers, a new-ish light rail line, a booming population and one of the world’s busiest airports. But that doesn’t mean Charlotte couldn’t still use a few gifts this holiday season. After all, despite the city’s obvious and explosive growth, there are still plenty […]
Single-family construction once dominated Mecklenburg, but that’s changed
At 500 West Trade Street in uptown Charlotte, another luxury apartment building is under construction. The 350-unit complex, developed by Northwood Ravin, sits on the site of the now demolished James K. Polk building. The Polk building was built by C.C. Coddington in 1925 to serve as a Buick dealership, and for a time housed […]
Fort Mill’s historic black neighborhood maintains the old, but braces for the new
From her porch in booming Fort Mill, S.C., Barbara Mackey can point out three houses where neighbors who love her live. One takes her to church every Sunday morning. Another trims her hedges and mows her grass. A third chauffeurs her around town whenever she needs to run errands. “Here, everybody knows everybody,” says Mackey, […]
Charlotte has had four main uptown libraries. What do they tell us?
Charlotte is a city with a reputation for tearing down its old buildings to replace them with the next big thing, and perhaps nowhere is that go-go approach to development more apparent than at the site of the Main Library. The corner of Sixth and North Tryon streets has been home to three main library […]
Building on natural assets: How Burke County is capitalizing on recreation
Rural communities around Charlotte are looking for new economic engines. Urban residents are looking for more outdoor recreation. That provides an opportunity for communities around Charlotte to use their public lands and waterways to fuel growth. And two areas in the region that were ahead of the curve offer lessons for other communities trying to […]
How to brand a region: Searching for authentic identity in the Uwharries
Rural communities around Charlotte are looking for new economic engines. Urban residents are looking for more outdoor recreation. That provides an opportunity for communities around Charlotte to use their public lands and waterways to fuel growth. And two areas in the region that were ahead of the curve offer lessons for other communities trying to […]
Homegrown economic development: Turning to entrepreneurship
A string of high-profile business relocations and corporate expansions have boosted Charlotte in recent months, from a Lowe’s technology hub with 2,000 employees to the headquarters of international firm Honeywell to the merged bank Truist moving to Charlotte. At the same time, local leaders have also been trying to increase support for entrepreneurs. In 2017, […]
There’s a housing affordability crisis in rural areas, too
Charlotte has struggled with housing affordability in recent years, as the city faces rising rents and home prices driven by rapid growth and low supply. But urban areas are not the only places grappling with these challenges, even though affordable housing is typically seen as an urban problem. Rural areas in the Carolinas Urban-Rural Connection […]