"Transcending the Sprawl"

[revitalize]

Maybe a tad off topic...

I was wondering if Charlotte is developing an alternative downtown area and where would it be? By that, I mean an area distinctly separate from downtown, but containing an extensive mix of high-rise and mid-rise office and residential (condos and apartments and even single family) with a dense mix of retail, shopping, fine eating and entertainment? Examples would be Atlanta's Midtown or Buckhead or even Nashville's Midtown.

I will be visiting Charlotte soon, just to see what all the fuss is about, and was curious as to where a 'mid town' might be.

Ballantyne fits your description, except for the high-rise or mid-rise buildings - at least not YET. I could see this developing over the decades though.

[Charlotte_native]

Maybe a tad off topic...

I was wondering if Charlotte is developing an alternative downtown area and where would it be? By that, I mean an area distinctly separate from downtown, but containing an extensive mix of high-rise and mid-rise office and residential (condos and apartments and even single family) with a dense mix of retail, shopping, fine eating and entertainment? Examples would be Atlanta's Midtown or Buckhead or even Nashville's Midtown.

I will be visiting Charlotte soon, just to see what all the fuss is about, and was curious as to where a 'mid town' might be.

SouthEnd is developing that way but is still a couple years from the density needed. There are a couple blocks off South Blvd that have shopping, restaurants, bars, clubs, but it is fairly scattered. The city does view this area as an extension of downtown -- they have included SouthEnd in the Center City Partners territory to promote business and growth, they have reworked zoning in many areas to a very developer friendly designation, there are quite a few projects in the works that include more high-rise, mid-rise, shopping, and apartments.

They also moved this area from a west police district to the same district as center city. This area also has great potential with available land to redevelop. Most other areas spanning right out from center city have a few blocks, some scattered, some not (Elizabeth area), but this area has huge areas where there are vacant tracts, warehouses, open areas that are being purchased with just the plans you are asking about. The area that most see as developing this way swings all the way from South Blvd over to Morehead Street and Freedom Drive.

As for today, Southpark.