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Charlotte area "ring cities"


krazeeboi

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1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

Up in Hickory today walked around and ate lunch downtown.  Lots of businesses seem to be thriving.  Their Carolina Theater is open and seems to be thriving with first run films.  Olde Hickory Brewing is the last photo also downtown.  Union Square is a big public open space for concerts, farmers markets etc.

Nice pics KJ!  I regret to say that I haven't yet had the chance to check out downtown Hickory.  I've driven past many times en route to the mountains, but I've always others with me who aren't necessarily as adventurous lol.

A few pics of Belmont from a couple weeks ago.  Been really busy lately and haven't had a chance to post before now, but I think this is a really under-rated town, maybe a little small but still nice.  Chronicle Mill is coming along and will definitely take this area to another level imo (first pic).

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Edited by nicholas
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This is a good win for the region 180 new jobs for a steel fabricator in Rock Hill and I like they do work for Apple.  And hopefully they will be doing some more work for them both at Apple's Maiden data center and a new office in RTP soon enough.   https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2018/07/19/steel-fabricator-used-for-apple-hq-other-high.html

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Here's a nice story by Chuck McShane about Albemarle and all the positive developments underway there from the August issue of Charlotte Magazine

Things are lookin' up!  -  "Around Town: A  Trip to Albemarle Near the Uwharries, Albemarle's Main Street Thrives," by Chuck McShane, Charlotte Magazine, August 2018.

Link:  http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Magazine/August-2018/Around-Towns-A-Trip-to-Albemarle/   

Albemarle_MainStreetDowntown-2-a7c25a1e.jpeg?ver=1532087028&aspectratio=1.5009380863039

PHOTOGRAPHS BY LOGAN CYRUS

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Edited by QCxpat
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15 minutes ago, QCxpat said:

Here's a nice story by Chuck McShane about Albemarle and all the positive developments underway there from the August issue of Charlotte Magazine

Things are lookin' up!  -  "Around Town: A  Trip to Albemarle Near the Uwharries, Albemarle's Main Street Thrives," by Chuck McShane, Charlotte Magazine, August 2018.

Link:  http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Magazine/August-2018/Around-Towns-A-Trip-to-Albemarle/   

 

PHOTOGRAPHS BY LOGAN CYRUS

 

I like Albemarle. I ate a great local lunch place farm to table restaurant and the prices are much lower than in the QC. It was Off the Square featured in the article  right downtown.   Morrow Mtn state park is a local treasure only 45 minutes to Charlotte and it is weird driving east to a mountain.  Hike around the top or go down by the river and launch a canoe.  (Plus Albemarle has one of nicest Cook Outs in the chain for a quick milkshake) 

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1 hour ago, SgtCampsalot said:

Next time I feel the urge to go to Asheville and Pisgah National Forest, I should instead consider Albemarle and Uwharrie...

It's a nice trip as long as you're not trying to escape heat. It doesn't help with that.

There are a few wineries up that way too. They aren't going to win any awards (none that matter anyway), but Stony Mountain Vineyards up that way has a beautiful view of the river  valley that runs through the Uwharries.

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If you haven't visited the uwharries then you absolutely need to. Lake tillery and badin lake go through them. It's pretty cool being on the lake with the pine covered mountains rising on either side of the lakes. It's only an hour away and once you're past 485 traffic is almost non-existent.

The hiking trails are magnificent. And there are Jeeping/four Wheeling trails that would rival anything in the country. Albemarle is a great place to launch a weekend trip from or even just a day trip. Albemarle's downtown is undergoing a revitalization and there are pretty much all the basic chain restaurants available.

I really like the area if you couldn't tell.

 

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2 hours ago, Nick2 said:

If you haven't visited the uwharries then you absolutely need to. Lake tillery and badin lake go through them. It's pretty cool being on the lake with the pine covered mountains rising on either side of the lakes. It's only an hour away and once you're past 485 traffic is almost non-existent.

The hiking trails are magnificent. And there are Jeeping/four Wheeling trails that would rival anything in the country. Albemarle is a great place to launch a weekend trip from or even just a day trip. Albemarle's downtown is undergoing a revitalization and there are pretty much all the basic chain restaurants available.

I really like the area if you couldn't tell.

 

Albemarle also has a drive-in theater on Badin Road. Those are very rare these days.

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2 hours ago, rancenc said:

A nice little infill project in downtown Salisbury.  As in Charlotte, the debate over affordable housing was discussed.

https://www.salisburypost.com/2018/07/19/salisbury-city-council-approves-new-development-on-east-innes-street/

I think it will be a while before affordable housing becomes a problem in Salisbury.   When I drove through there a couple months ago, Main St wasn't too bad near the central intersection (Innes St), but it started looking pretty rough once you went just a few blocks away in either direction.  Salisbury's got a ton of potential, but being located ~45 miles outside of Charlotte might make it a bit of a tough sell for a lot of potential residents, although I don't think it will be as bad once 85 is widened.  I think Kannapolis will probably be the next city to pop if most of the current proposals pan out.

Edit - after looking at the location, am I the only one who thinks it will be a shame if the old service station currently sitting on that lot is torn down?  It's really not a bad-looking building, and if done right could become a great little restaurant or something like that.

Edited by nicholas
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50 minutes ago, nicholas said:

I think it will be a while before affordable housing becomes a problem in Salisbury.   When I drove through there a couple months ago, Main St wasn't too bad near the central intersection (Innes St), but it started looking pretty rough once you went just a few blocks away in either direction.  Salisbury's got a ton of potential, but being located ~45 miles outside of Charlotte might make it a bit of a tough sell for a lot of potential residents, although I don't think it will be as bad once 85 is widened.  I think Kannapolis will probably be the next city to pop if most of the current proposals pan out.

Edit - after looking at the location, am I the only one who thinks it will be a shame if the old service station currently sitting on that lot is torn down?  It's really not a bad-looking building, and if done right could become a great little restaurant or something like that.

I don't know what the train schedules look like, but once the Amtrak terminal is open in Uptown, commuting into town via Amtrak for work may be possible, which could make Salisbury a more attractive location for people working in Charlotte.

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2 minutes ago, Niner National said:

I don't know what the train schedules look like, but once the Amtrak terminal is open in Uptown, commuting into town via Amtrak for work may be possible, which could make Salisbury a more attractive location for people working in Charlotte.

Unfortunately, train tickets are expensive ($10.50 a person for the cheapest seat, just from Salisbury to CLT), and the morning train to Charlotte doesn't get there until 9:40 am, so commuting via train is a bit of a tough sell currently.  Seems to me that a Charlotte-Concord-Kannapolis-Salisbury commuter rail would be an effective way to take advantage of the infrastructure already in place while also giving commuters an option other than driving.

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On 7/17/2018 at 6:29 PM, nicholas said:

Nice pics KJ!  I regret to say that I haven't yet had the chance to check out downtown Hickory.  I've driven past many times en route to the mountains, but I've always others with me who aren't necessarily as adventurous lol.

A few pics of Belmont from a couple weeks ago.  Been really busy lately and haven't had a chance to post before now, but I think this is a really under-rated town, maybe a little small but still nice.  Chronicle Mill is coming along and will definitely take this area to another level imo (first pic).

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Unfortunately, the original developer of Chronicle Mill in Belmont did not get the historical status he was anticipating for the overall renovations.  Everything has basically come to a grinding halt and they are trying to figure out what to do next.  Regardless, Belmont is still thriving a few blocks away with their great downtown and the town is growing. And from some of the things I read, and experience by living so close, maybe growing too fast for its own good!

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Kannapolis's new 1 Million sq ft Amazon warehouse is ready to open and it will employ 600 and it has a nice CK Rider bus stop out front.  

Amazon in Charlotte metro: 202,000 sq ft sortation center Concord, 500K warehouse on Old Dowd Rd in Charlotte, extra 100K warehouse nearby, this 1 Million sq ft Kannapolis facility and under construction now the 2.4 million sq ft warehouse at Wilkinson and 485.  Similar warehouses to the huge multistory warehouses underway now also in Garner and Stone Mountain GA 

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On 7/20/2018 at 7:37 PM, Nick2 said:

If you haven't visited the uwharries then you absolutely need to. Lake tillery and badin lake go through them. It's pretty cool being on the lake with the pine covered mountains rising on either side of the lakes. It's only an hour away and once you're past 485 traffic is almost non-existent.

The hiking trails are magnificent. And there are Jeeping/four Wheeling trails that would rival anything in the country. Albemarle is a great place to launch a weekend trip from or even just a day trip. Albemarle's downtown is undergoing a revitalization and there are pretty much all the basic chain restaurants available.

I really like the area if you couldn't tell.

 

Jeeping trails are awesome.  Flipped a CJ-7 on one of those trails back in 1998.  Hell of a ride and hell of a good time.  Roof rack wasn’t a big fan unfortunately.

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9 hours ago, hinsp0 said:

Jeeping trails are awesome.  Flipped a CJ-7 on one of those trails back in 1998.  Hell of a ride and hell of a good time.  Roof rack wasn’t a big fan unfortunately.

That's what we used to take out too! We stopped taking the cj out just because it finally started giving some problems the last ten years or so. But we still take out the 06 Wrangler Rubicon. 

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Mooresville and its Langtree development at exit 31 I-77 is getting 2 more hotels that will be open by 2020.

""The side-by-side Aloft and Tru hotels planned at the Langtree development in south Iredell County should be ready for the 2020 Republican National Convention in Charlotte, developers say. Site prep has started on the four-acre site off Interstate 77's Exit 31 for construction of the two six-story hotels, a project valued at $40 million. J.D. Deva, CEO and co-founder at Charlotte-based Maya Hotels, says it should take about 18 months to complete both of the structures, allowing time for rooms to be booked for the RNC. The two hotels will add 262 rooms to south Iredell County's hotel market, which now has about 1,000 rooms available. Aloft will include 138 rooms, while the Tru hotel will house 124, Deva says.""

Aloft is 6 stories and TrubyHilton is 4 stories. 

Subscriber article https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2018/07/25/construction-begins-on-2-hotels-at-langtree.html?ana=e_du_prem&s=article_du&ed=2018-07-25&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1532548236&j=82909361

Edited by KJHburg
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14 minutes ago, jtmonk said:

Whatever happened to the 12 story Double Tree Hotel and Conference Center that was proposed at Langtree?  

It still may happen.  these are sort of outparcels and closer to the apartments the larger hotel was is planned for a separate tract. 

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