What will Monroe look like in 20 years?

[atownrocks]

What do think Monroe will look like in 20 years.

[monsoon]

Well I saw it 25 years ago and it hasn't changed much except the XXX movie theatres and XXX drive-ins on Hwy 74 are gone. Imagine driving by at night and seeing that 50 ft long UFO only to realize that it is something quite different indeed. :shifty:

[peaceloveunderstanding]

er, it will probably be a bit bigger (The city that is) and clean up some more. I don't forsee any huge growths, that new tower is probably the only one for quite some time.

[teshadoh]

You're quite a futurist / man of vision atownrocks

I'd say Monroe will be a pretty big suburb - there will be many office / industrial parks & possibly US 74 or some parrallel route will be converted to a freeway. I don't know much though, sorry...

[wellington]

What are real estate prices like in the area? I've never been there, but I'd expect there to be a lot of growth over the next 10-20 years.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

very low. Go to the west and prices get much higher.

[appatone]

Monroe is having a problem with white flight. Many of Monroe's wealthier residents seem to have been fleeing for quite some time now heading to greener pastures (literally)westward. People in western Union county rarely if ever step foot in Monroe in favor of Charlotte. All of my friends who are recent college grads who grew up in Monroe have returned home only to move into Charlotte in short order. These things certainly don't bode well for the city.

[monsoon]

No doubt. If you want to write a book on everything you can do wrong with urban planning, then head to Monroe/Union county. You have it all there.

• White Flight - well these days call it Middle Class Flight as its not confined to one race anymore

• City - County fighting over development, competition for business

• Approve anything as long as it is built here

• NCDOTitis - i.e. We build the roads to NCDOT specs. To hell with local planning or wishes.

• Big Box retail that killed downtown Monroe. It started 35 years ago with Sky City on Hwy 74 and continues today. There are emply big boxes on the older part of the Hwy.

• The western part of Union County is nothing but bedroom communities for Charlotte. They have no distinctiveness, no character, no nothing. The town of Weddington was incorporated solely as a device to keep from being annexed by anyone else. A damned and desolate place.

I can't think of any place in the metro that would be worse than Union county except for maybe South Charlotte/Ballentyne.

[Neo]

I live in Monroe and I'll be honest with you, I'm not staying. I am working to get my house paid off in the shortest time possible and will move at the first chance to do so. In 20 years? Monroe is likely to be the ghetto of the Charlotte area. Uur influx in population shows that we are one of the fastest growing counties, period. But what it doesn't show is that the influx is caused by not so welcomed immigration and illegals, the numbers don't speak about the middle and upper class leaving for Charlotte. It's a shame really.

[49er]

wait, are we talking Union County or just monroe? The high increase in population is due to new construction and middle/upper income families moving to the county. At one point, it was the second fastest growing county in the nation.

[Neo]

wait, are we talking Union County or just monroe? The high increase in population is due to new construction and middle/upper income families moving to the county. At one point, it was the second fastest growing county in the nation.

I had thought we were talking about Monroe since the subject is about Monroe, not Union County? As far as the COUNTY population increases are because of what you just stated. But in MONROE city it is a horse of a different color.

[DigitalSky]

[*]The western part of Union County is nothing but bedroom communities for Charlotte.  They have no distinctiveness, no character, no nothing.  The town of Weddington was incorporated solely as a device to keep from being annexed by anyone else.  A damned and desolate place.

I can't think of any place in the metro that would be worse than Union county except for maybe South Charlotte/Ballentyne.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is true about Weddington and Marvin having nothing but sprawl and country clubs on what was once woods and farmland only. At least Waxhaw does have a small town "downtown" district still

[peaceloveunderstanding]

I hate the roads in Union County so much, they are clogged two lane monstrosities(sp)!