After decades of chasing the American dream in
the suburbs, Charlotteans are rediscovering the urban core.
With young professionals and empty-nesters
leading the way, they're buying high-rise condos, converted
apartments and single-family infill houses.
Their urge to escape traffic-snarled commutes
by moving closer to center-city jobs and cultural amenities is
reshaping the skyline and altering growth trends.
By the end of the decade, the uptown
population -- about 10,000 today -- could exceed 20,000.
But that's not all.
The new urbanites are fueling some of the
hottest trends in center-city development.
Among the next big things ahead:
• The
uptown skyline will look dramatically different by mid-2008 if seven
uptown residential high-rises totaling nearly 1,700 units
materialize as proposed inside Interstate 277.
Projects announced in 2005 include a 53-story
residential building on the old convention center site at College
and Trade streets and a 50-story condo tower in Fourth Ward.
• With more
residents, the center city finally might reach the population
density needed to lure back big retailers who departed uptown
starting in the 1960s.
Real estate experts say the early arrivals
likely will be on the edges of uptown, where stores such as Target,
Lowe's and Whole Foods Market would serve both uptown and nearby
neighborhoods.
• South
Tryon Street, which for a decade has played second fiddle to North
Tryon's vibrant cultural and entertainment district, is making a
comeback.
Wachovia Corp. is spearheading the
re-emergence with a 30- to 35-story office tower on a 4-acre site in
the 400 and 500 blocks.
The project, to be completed in 2008, also
includes condos, a park and arts and cultural facilities.
• In and
near uptown, apartment owners are converting rental units to
for-sale condos to capitalize on the demand for urban housing and
the low mortgage rates for buyers.
Over the past few months, Fifth and Poplar
Apartment Homes in Fourth Ward and Olmsted Park Apartments in South
End have gone condo.
• With land
costs at a premium, residential developers also are beginning to
look at nontraditional approaches to creating more urban housing.
Congregations that vacate churches, for
example, are discovering that potential buyers are interested in
converting the former houses of God to single-family homes or
condos.
Away from uptown
Outside the urban core, other trends offer
clues to where Charlotte is heading at mid-decade. Among the next
big things to watch:
• Charlotte's
Hendrick Automotive Group wants to develop nearly 200 acres it owns
next to Central Piedmont Community College's Levine Campus at U.S.
74 and Interstate 485 in Matthews.
Hendrick plans up to 15 car dealerships,
offices, shops and townhomes to mesh with CPCC's campus in an
educational, commercial and residential hub.
• Within 20
minutes of uptown Charlotte, Gaston County's version of south
Charlotte's Ballantyne area is coming together along five miles of
Interstate 85.
The founders of Belmont Abbey College and
Gaston's prominent mill families are cooperating in a 1,100-acre
mixed-use development that could create an employment base of at
least 10,000 in 20 to 30 years.
• The
Charlotte area's vacant industrial properties are attracting eager
suitors as businesses try to beat rising construction costs by
renovating instead of starting from scratch.
Real estate watchers say the best bargains
generally are empty single-tenant warehouses or factories in
locations convenient to traffic arteries.
• Innovation
in the distribution industry -- one of the Charlotte area's top job
generators -- is putting a premium on taller buildings with
30-foot-plus ceilings.
By stacking higher and deeper with automated
racking systems, distribution companies can make maximum use of a
structure's square footage and save on land costs and rent.
And in the workplace, the next big thing might
be your cubicle.
Maybe you haven't noticed, but that's another
trend.
Work areas are shrinking, cubicles are
becoming more compact and furniture is being put on wheels as
businesses seek to reduce leased office space to save on rent.
