Uptown Charlotte Neighborhoods

Uptown Charlotte Neighborhoods

Charlotte

Charlotte’s tremendous growth rate is reflected in the housing market, which has remained hot for years, no matter the swing in interest rates. The city offers an array of homes, both existing and new construction, giving people a selection large enough to accommodate anyone’s taste. And you’ll find just about any style you want: cozy bungalows or two-story Georgians, modest ranch houses or custom-built mansions, ginger-breaded Victorians or contemporary condos.

The same variety abounds in lifestyle. Choose from Uptown living or suburban locations, comfortable old towns or new-home communities, urban homesteading or prime Piedmont countryside.

Some current trends in the Charlotte region’s housing market may add an interesting twist or a challenging dimension to your search. First, while prices are still reasonable here compared to some other parts of the country, housing in this area isn’t the bargain it once was. Thus, depending on your circumstances, finding a home in your price range may mean you’ll have to look a bit longer, come up with some more cash or expand your search to less-costly neighborhoods that are a little farther away from the office.

At the same time, you’ll find some options here that you wouldn’t have enjoyed a few years ago. Case in point: condos and lofts in various locations throughout Uptown and other urban neighborhoods in Charlotte. Neo-traditional communities, whose homes and layout reflect the old-fashioned neighborhoods many of us grew up with, also have become extremely popular.

If you like condos or town homes, you’ve come to a good place. The condo market has boomed in the past decade, with sales nearly doubling in the five-county Charlotte region. In addition, building permits for condos and town homes have increased several hundred percent over the last five years.
With demand, though, comes a higher price. You’ll pay more for a condo in Charlotte’s hottest neighborhoods, although you may still find some bargains in new construction and former apartments that were converted to condos years ago.

One way to start your search is with the area map prepared by the Charlotte Regional Realtors Association and the Carolina Multiple Listing Service, which covers seven counties including Mecklenburg. The map, which pinpoints neighborhoods and developments in the Charlotte region, is used to organize home listings in the MLS directory and newspaper classified ads. You also can look for current listings on the CRRA/MLS Web site, www.carolinahome.com.

The center of the map is Uptown, which has a rapidly growing list of residential options. Look for Uptown listings in Area 99.

Nine areas branch out from the center in a clockwise fashion, starting at the top, or the north. Area 1 is north, Area 2 is northeast, Area 3 is east, Area 4 is southeast, Area 5 is south, Area 6 is south-southwest, Area 7 is southwest, Area 8 is west and Area 9 is northwest.

Because the metro region has sprawled across county lines, the area designations extend there too. They include Area 10, Union County; Area 11, Cabarrus County; Area 12, Iredell County; Area 13, Lake Norman; Area 14, Lincoln County; Area 15, Lake Wylie; Area 16, Gaston County; Area 17, York County; Area 20, Alexander County; Area 21 Rowan County; Area 22, Cleveland County; Area 23, Stanly County; Area 24, Lancaster County; Area 25, Anson County; Area 29, Catawba County; Area 35, Chester County; and Area 42, Mountain Island Lake. You can search MLS listings for homes in these areas at www.carolinahome.com.

For its real estate stories, First Impressions has grouped neighborhoods that share similar interests and lifestyles, such as south Charlotte, University City and urban neighborhoods. Consequently, the stories don’t follow the MLS area boundaries; however, for your convenience, each story lists the real estate areas that contain the neighborhoods mentioned in the story.

Once you’re ready to buy, choose from the wide selection of mortgage options. The area is served by dozens of firms, including mortgage brokers who represent lenders nationwide as well as local lenders. You can find plenty of options for 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages, ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages) with a variety of terms and jumbo loans.

To help you negotiate the mortgage challenge, here are two tips. First, before you shop, qualify for a loan to know how much financing you can seek. Second, take a few minutes to make sure your paperwork is in order. Check your credit reports and clear up any nasty surprises you might uncover. Organize your financial papers so you’ll have the documentation you need at your fingertips to complete the application process quickly.

For more information on what the Charlotte area has to offer, check with your real estate agent. Realtor advertisements appear throughout this magazine. You’ll find these agents know the area well and can guide you in the right direction.

This region is a collection of towns and neighborhoods, each with its own unique personality and home styles. So, call your Realtor, grab your copy of First Impressions and a map and spend some time driving through neighborhoods and subdivisions. Your new home is out there – just waiting to be discovered.

Uptown
Viewed from an upper level in one of Charlotte’s glitzy skyscrapers, the Uptown roofs below resemble an ever-changing sea. There is new construction everywhere – high-, mid- and low-rise. Moreover, a good many of those roofs represent homes: penthouses, condominiums, apartments and even single-family homes.

Uptown is one of the city’s fastest-growing areas, with 11,000 residents – a number that is expected to increase to 21,000 by 2010. In fact, there is so much housing growth that the Multiple Listing Service has given Uptown its own designation: Area 99.

Hundreds of dining establishments and late-night bars attract the urban crowd – a figure that is steadily increasing.

As the numbers grow, so do the amenities that add so much to life. Some Uptown residents find so much here to entertain them that they park their cars on Friday and don’t move them the entire weekend. They’re within walking distance of much of the city’s cultural and entertainment venues, with more headed their way.

Block-long, massive Bank of America Stadium anchors Uptown on the southwest end. Snarling panther statues outside the gates hint at the passions inside as the Carolina Panthers take on NFL opponents.

On the other side of Uptown, the new Charlotte Arena is home to the NBA expansion team Charlotte Bobcats. The growing First Ward neighborhood, once the site of numerous parking lots, has seen significant changes in recent years, in part due to the construction of the new arena.

The aptly-named Courtside, a 17-story high-rise of 106 condominiums in First Ward at the corner of Sixth and Caldwell, features 7,500 square feet of retail and restaurants at the street level.

The city’s cultural district, dubbed North End, extends from the center’s front door southward to the center of town: Independence Square, at Tryon and Trade streets.

This district includes Discovery Place science museum, the main branch of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library, North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Spirit Square, the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, the McColl Center for Visual Art and a handful of private art galleries. The area also includes the Levine Museum of the New South and the new $40 million ImaginON, an ambitious project of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library and Children’s Theatre that includes a youth library, classrooms, technology center, early childhood reading center, performance stages and a craft shop.

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is planning a $1 billion urban village in First Ward with classroom space as well as retail, entertainment and residential units. The campus will provide classes for Uptown workers, mostly in business, architecture and engineering. The Urban Village could open as soon as 2009.

Opportunities to eat, drink, and be entertained abound in Uptown. The number and variety of Uptown restaurants keep growing, with fine dining, down-home Southern standbys and ethnic cuisine all part of the mix.

Prefer to dine on your rooftop terrace or by your urban window? Reid’s Fine Foods at Seventh Street Station parking garage supplies Uptown kitchens. In summer, you can supplement the fare with farm-fresh produce from the Center City Green Market in the Station’s plaza.

Until recently, the Charlotte trolley could be heard clanging from the Atherton Mill in South End up to Ninth Street in Uptown. Its operation was suspended until early 2007 while the light rail line is constructed in South End. The #85 car was built at the Dilworth Trolley Barn in 1927 and is the only original electric trolley car still in operation. When operation resumes, the trolley will run seven days a week.

A new Trolley Barn is in the works that would also provide public space shared with the light rail line. The project would be a common area for South End.

The current route was rebuilt to accommodate the light rail system, which will share the trolley corridor. The system, which runs through the Charlotte Convention Center and the Westin Hotel, will link Charlotte to outlying towns beginning in late 2007. Anticipation for the light rail system has caused property values to skyrocket along the proposed route.

For a long time, Fourth Ward was the only residential pocket in what was the concrete expanse of Uptown. The turn-of-the-century homes in this quaint quadrant between North Tryon and West Trade streets had fallen into disrepair but were restored by determined homeowners and the bank that became Bank of America.

Fourth Ward is now one of the most charming spots in the city with its sidewalks and street lamps, its cozy front porches and Fourth Ward Park.

A new condominium community, The Citadin at Fourth Ward Square, covers the entire block between Eighth and Ninth streets on North Graham. With retail on the street level, The Citadin is composed of two 25-story towers and two 11-story buildings. The 427 units range from the $200s to around $2 million.

Fifth and Poplar, a 305-unit mix of penthouses, condominiums and town homes, offers a number of amenities, including a concierge service, state-of-the-art fitness center, central courtyard and its very own Harris Teeter Supermarket.

In Third Ward, Uptown’s southwest quadrant, small, renovated homes mix with new condominiums and apartments. It’s flanked on its southern side by Bank of America Stadium, the Panthers’ practice field and on its northern side by West Trade and Gateway Village – Bank of America’s mammoth new mix of homes, retail and office space that also houses Johnson & Wales University students. The Village stretches along five blocks of West Trade and also has a YMCA. Gateway Lofts and Post Gateway Place near Trade Street also add hundreds of residential units to Uptown.

The last piece of the Uptown residential puzzle began with The Ratcliffe on the Green, an upscale condominium high-rise in Second Ward, an area in the southeast quadrant of Uptown that had been occupied mostly by government buildings. The luxurious Ratcliffe offers an interactive park with fish fountains and landscaped walkways and is surrounded by 60,000 square feet of retail and office space. The Green, a 1.5-acre park built over an underground parking deck, is a popular gathering spot during the week, and is converted into an ice skating rink during the winter months.

Lately, it seems that development of Uptown high-rises is happening everywhere. Over a dozen new buildings are expected to open in the next few years.

At 13 stories, the brand-new 230 South Tryon offers 110 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units as well as several penthouses ranging from $300,000 and $1.5 million.

At the site of the old Charlotte Convention Center in Second Ward, EpiCentre is a retail/residential complex that stands 50 stories with 428 luxury rental units. Retail shops on the street level will open in early 2007 and the residential section – 210 Trade – is expected to be completed in 2008.

At Poplar, Mint and Trade streets, the 28-story TradeMark features five levels of office, retail and restaurant space, 202 residential units as well as a pool terrace, exercise room and community facilities. Scheduled to open in mid-2007, TradeMark offers units from $265,000 to $765,000.

The Park will rise 21 stories above Third and Caldwell streets. Its verdant rooftop will include gardens, sitting areas, a walking trail, a pool and a small forest of trees. The Park is slated to open in late 2007.

At Fifth and Church, 36-story Avenue will offer 386 one- and two-bedroom condos with floor-to-ceiling windows, a pool and sundeck when in opens in late 2007.

Another high-rise, The Vue, will open in 2009 with 50 stories and 403 units ranging between $240,000 and $4 million. The Vue will be located at Fifth and Pine in Fourth Ward.

About 400 condominiums and 140 hotel suites will compose TWELVE, a 33-story high-rise on College Street between Seventh and Eighth streets. TWELVE will open in early 2009.
In First Ward, Quarterside will be a mixed-use development of retail and loft-style condos off McDowell between Sixth and Seventh streets.

The excitement that attracts people to Uptown home ownership is evident also in commercial life. The Westin Hotel on Stonewall and College streets opened in 2003, offering a unique new building for the Charlotte skyline. With 700 rooms, the hotel is right across from the Charlotte Convention Center and features a bar, restaurant and 44,000 square feet of meeting space.

Bank of America’s new building, The Hearst Tower on North Tryon Street soars 46 stories, making it the city’s second tallest building after the Bank of America tower, which rises above all others at 60 stories. Across Tryon, the 30-story IJL Financial Center, which was built in 1996, shares similar window designs and exterior colors as the Hearst Tower. Three Wachovia Center ascends 32 stories on South Tryon, and a 27-story tower at 300 S. Tryon includes a front courtyard and outdoor seating and dining.

It’s all happening within a relatively small area – the blocks radiating outward from the intersection of Trade and Tryon streets. For the city at large, that’s the center of action.

And for an increasingly large number of Charlotteans, it’s the place they call home.

Urban Neighborhaoods
Nestled between Uptown’s high-rises and Charlotte’s southside suburbs are what many consider the jewels of the Queen City’s residential crown — its original streetcar suburbs. As you travel the broad, tree-lined, leaf-canopied streets you’ll see the Charlotte of the turn of the last century and pre-World War II.

Real estate listings for Charlotte’s center-city neighborhoods are in areas 3, 4, 5 and 6 on the Multiple Listing Service.

Start in the oldest suburb, Dilworth. The vision of Edward Dilworth Latta, this neighborhood was developed in the 1890s thanks to the advent of the streetcar and was the first place for Charlotteans to live outside the city. The streets of Dilworth feature house after house with front porches. The homes are primarily bungalows – with the occasional Queen Anne thrown in – and some larger, two-story Colonial Revival homes that line Dilworth Road East and West.

East Boulevard divides the residential areas. The road is lined with restaurants, offices and shops, many located in renovated homes. New developments like Latta Pavilion – named after Dilworth’s original entertainment center – offer condominiums, office and retail space, landscaped courtyards and walkways.

You also will find the city’s only Greek Orthodox Cathedral, which draws thousands to its annual Yiasou Greek Festival in September. At the other end of the boulevard is the entrance to Freedom Park, well known for its annual arts festival, athletic fields, walking paths and amphitheater.

Charlotte’s largest hospital, Carolinas Medical Center, is in Dilworth. This 861-bed teaching hospital is the region’s only Level 1 trauma center and is the centerpiece of the ever-expanding Carolinas HealthCare System.

South End, one of Charlotte’s hottest communities, is on Dilworth’s western edge. Just 20 years ago, the area was an eyesore of run-down mills. Today, the mills have been renovated into shops, restaurants and lofts, making it a trendy locale.

While the rebirth initially generated commercial development, new residential options have cropped up, including Summit Grandview and The Arlington, a 25-story condominium high-rise with a pink hue.

South End is also home to the Charlotte Trolley – out of service until early 2007 for construction of the light rail line, which is expected to begin operations in late 2007. Residential and commercial development has boomed near the tracks, and property values along the route have skyrocketed in anticipation.

If you’re more traditional than trendy, Myers Park may be right for you – if you can handle the price tag. Myers Park was developed in the early 1900s by a real estate tycoon who wanted to create a neighborhood in the country. Today his countryside is a mere five minutes from Uptown, but you can’t help feeling miles away as you travel the curving boulevards and lanes with their towering willow oaks that dwarf even the grandest Myers Park homes.

While most of the homes in Myers Park are older, traditional houses, a few infill projects offer new options. These projects, primarily townhouses and condominiums come at a hefty price due to skyrocketing land values. In fact, Myers Park features two of only a handful of developments with units exceeding $1 million. Among them is 2400 Roswell, with 21 luxury condos and nearby St. Serrant, offering two balconies for each of its 11 units. Both developments provide lavish décor and amenities to appeal to the most prestigious tenants.

The Queens University campus is on Selwyn Avenue, in the heart of Myers Park. This liberal arts school was founded in 1857 and moved to its Myers Park campus in 1914. In addition to undergraduate studies, the university offers several graduate degrees, courses for working professionals and continuing education classes.

The shops and restaurants along and just off Providence Road on Myers Park’s eastern edge – including Laurel Market, the shops in the Villa and the old Manor Theater (rumored to be haunted!) are neighborhood favorites.

Eastover, tucked between Providence and Randolph roads, was developed after Myers Park and features majestic homes on broad, rolling lawns. Some of the original homes have been replaced by even more grandiose homes or infill projects for the truly discriminating buyer. The Crillion, an upscale development of 11 luxurious townhomes in the heart of Eastover, features units priced over $1 million.

Eastover is also home to the Mint Museum of Art, which garnered its name from the building in which it is housed – Charlotte’s original mint, which was moved from Uptown to this site in 1936. The Mint specializes in art of the Americas, from pre-Columbian to present day, and presents many national exhibits.

Across Randolph Road is the charming community of Elizabeth, a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood where residents can walk to a variety of locally owned restaurants. The homes, located off Randolph Road and 7th Street, are bungalows, but feature a greater architectural variety than those of Dilworth. Consequently, the neighborhood’s popularity means even the smallest homes fetch a hefty per-square-foot price.

The main campus of Central Piedmont Community College is located on the edge of Elizabeth. CPCC is the largest community college in the state and has satellite campuses across the region.

A short walk from the campus is Thompson Park, home to Mecklenburg’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The quaint St. Mary’s Chapel, also in the park, is owned by the city, but available to anyone to rent for weddings.

It’s hard to imagine three hospitals on one block, but that’s exactly what you find at the intersection of Randolph Road and Caswell Avenue. Presbyterian Hospital, Presbyterian Orthopedic Hospital and CMC-Mercy Hospital are a stone’s throw from one another. Numerous medical offices are also nearby.

Next to Elizabeth is Chantilly, a small neighborhood popular among young professionals who want to live in the shadows of Uptown. Chantilly features beautiful streets and charming bungalows. It’s not yet as pricey as Elizabeth, though it’s well on its way.

From Chantilly, you come to Plaza-Midwood, a neighborhood comprising several smaller subdivisions. Plaza-Midwood traces its development back to 1903, when the first roads and trolley line were laid among the trees. The community is bordered by Central Avenue and The Plaza.

Central Avenue has enjoyed a great deal of redevelopment lately that complements its antique shops and vintage clothing stores. New restaurants and entertainment venues have made it a hot destination.

The Plaza is a residential boulevard lined with stately old homes, including the historic Van Landingham Estate, which is available to rent for special events.

The wide variety of homes in Plaza-Midwood may be the draw behind its diverse population. This is one of the few historic neighborhoods ringing Uptown where you will still find charming, affordable homes among larger, expensive homes. As with other historic neighborhoods, Plaza-Midwood is seeing its share of infill projects where the price per square foot is relatively high.

Charlotte Country Club, the city’s oldest country club, is surrounded by grand homes dating back to 1920. The Country Club’s quiet, curving streets blends seamlessly with those of Plaza-Midwood, making the two communities seem singular.

The latest urban neighborhood to see a rebirth is Historic North Davidson, or “NoDa.” The community, out North Davidson Street at about 35th Street, is known for its funky art galleries and colorful bungalows. In addition to old shotgun homes, NoDa has seen a boom in residential construction in the past few years. The Renaissance offers 230 affordable townhomes with a variety of floor plan options and the 100-year-old Highland Park Mill No. 3 at 33rd and North Davidson has been renovated into urban apartments.

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