Charlotte area "ring cities"

[KJHburg]

Industrial expansions in various Lincoln county towns including Lincolnton, Denver and Lowesville adding 66 new jobs.

Incentives approved for four manufacturers expanding in Lincoln County - Charlotte Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

the ring counties around Charlotte is where most of the manufacturing (and there is a lot of it) in this region and continues to attract new plants and jobs. 

[KJHburg]

Was up in Lincolnton today on business and what a pretty downtown.  Walked around a bit before heading back home.  Only saw 2 vacancies lots of shops and lots of friendly people.  Almost everyone said hello.

Eastern Lincoln county is booming with new growth along NC 16 and in the Denver area.  Love the courthouse square you have to drive around reminds me of my ancestral home in Chatham County. 

Love the murals too popular in the ring cities of Concord, Mooresville, Oakboro etc. 

[rancenc]

Jobs and investment coming to Hickory/Catawba County.

https://www.nccommerce.com/news/press-releases/filtration-supplier-invest-26-million-hickory

[rancenc]

Projects approved for Catawba County

https://hickoryrecord.com/news/local/2-development-projects-centered-on-n-c-hwy-150/article_7c109ecc-a1ec-11eb-b115-3fc383d26366.html

[KJHburg]

continuing my dining around the ring cities to Belmont tonight.  Great downtown that was PACKED its restaurants, the park the sidewalks.  Dined at Old Stone Steakhouse right downtown and it was great and packed.  Check out the tour of downtown of Belmont and the Chronicle Mill renovation is underway by Armada Hoffler.   Brewery, restaurants, bike shop, boutiques, etc. 

Notice their electronic kiosk at their downtown Stowe Park.  a couple of these uptown would be great maybe on S Tryon and N Tryon and near the convention center.  

LOTs of photos for a small town I can't help it.  Gaston County needs the love. 

[videtur quam contuor]

Starting in September I needed an escape from my four walls and chose a Sunday drive to a county seat within the orbit of Charlotte, but seats that are uncommon in our discussions about urban development. Thus I found Gaffney, York, Lancaster, Lincolnton, Albemarle, Wadesboro, Chester. In my years here I had been to downtown Lancaster alone among the group. So I saw with fresh eyes and new awareness. These nearby counties are the  planets of Charlotte. Our development washes out and over them but one must look widely to see it, and use some imagination, at least for this city person unfamiliar with the rhythms of those places.

I close with the central body of our region, the gravitational force, Charlotte and the courthouse which has served it for nearly one hundred years.

Architect Louis Asbury* was the designer of this building. He was the first AIA architect in North Carolina and was assigned membership in the organization “Chapter at Large” for those “who lived in isolated places”. The obelisk is for the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence and the Hornet Nest is visible on the plaque. The nest is the county symbol. Quite the variation from the other neoclassical courthouses I have presented from our area. The size is several times that of any outlying courthouse I photographed, except Albemarle (which is from late 1960's and a brutal eyesore in size and appearance.) Corinthian capitals, which are a first in my studies. The end bays have arched windows and the building has no  pediment. Triple bronze doors are proportional to the building. This building has drama. Just visible above and behind the balustrade is a fourth floor roof set back from the sides and this was the county jail for nearly fifty years. Occasionally a journalist is allowed in this area and the spooky experience is like that of an abandoned prison.

Rusticated granite basement exterior and steps with ashlar limestone completing the façade. Fenestration is appropriate size for such a building. Modern buildings that seek to emulate this style with modern materials often have fenestration far larger and look bizarre. The lonely handrail appears to be a later addition. The rear of the property has the current handicapped entrance. This is the Northeast face on Trade, the main face of the building. I can imagine a movie using this entrance for court drama setting.

Side of end bay. Arched windows match those on front. These are likely court rooms. I have never been in this building.

**Correction** I have been in this building. I was on a jury for a trial held here long ago. My experience, now recalled as well as the experience of my personal in-house historian expert, on whom I should have called prior to this post, tells me that the rooms on the exterior walls of the building that had windows were the judge quarters, conference room, law library, public defender, elections, register of deeds and other county services. Courtrooms were interior. That is my memory of my trial in an interior room, dark wood, limited lighting, no window.

Rear or Fourth Street façade. First level extensions, four column portico, Corinthian pilasters complete the look  to simulate the front. The Fourth Street entrance is below this plaza and provides an underground entrance and handicapped access. The plaza and access was a much later addition. It also serves as a secure entrance.

Detail from rear: corbel, then egg and dart detail, then dentils. Corinthian capitals with leaves and fluted columns are distinctive to Corinthian order. Corinthian order is the most artistic and "advanced" of the capitals and expresses grace and lightness. I cannot detect entasis on these columns which  perhaps means the architect and carver were in perfect accord.

(Stupid architecture wit: When some geography snob brags he has memorized all the capitals I match him by saying I know them also:  Doric, Ionic, Corinthian. )

View through the rear (locked) door. The front door and main stairs seen with landing. Marble abounds. Lovely lighting. Much of the building has been repurposed for current use by District Attorney office, clerks, storage and so on. No courts held here.

Further post has more photos.

*  Louis Asbury, about whom:   https://ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu/people/P000449

 

Edited April 25, 2021 by tarhoosier

[videtur quam contuor]

Charlotte its ownself. Which building in the distance is most like the building in the foreground?

 

When this building was built in 1926-28 it was away from the center of the city. Charlotte had no "square" as do many outer towns. We refer to the Square at Trade and Tryon as a substitute reference. Thus this site was to emulate the courthouse square feel (imo). The natural environment is impressive. There are three large magnolia trees and they are indeed Magnolia GRAND-iflora. Also we find one of the largest Ginkgo trees I have seen. In the past one could see individuals collecting the fruit of this female of the species when they fell to the ground. Used in Asian concoctions and such. Note the Magnolia behind it with the creeping low limbs.

Ginkgo leaf

In the magnolia: All trees on this "square" have lightning protection.

This is our property, natural and built, and I am proud of it and it should never be lost.

Edited April 25, 2021 by tarhoosier

[JRNYP2C]

On 4/23/2021 at 8:13 PM, KJHburg said:

continuing my dining around the ring cities to Belmont tonight.  Great downtown that was PACKED its restaurants, the park the sidewalks.  Dined at Old Stone Steakhouse right downtown and it was great and packed.  Check out the tour of downtown of Belmont and the Chronicle Mill renovation is underway by Armada Hoffler.   Brewery, restaurants, bike shop, boutiques, etc. 

Notice their electronic kiosk at their downtown Stowe Park.  a couple of these uptown would be great maybe on S Tryon and N Tryon and near the convention center.  

LOTs of photos for a small town I can't help it.  Gaston County needs the love. 

Thanks for the love of Belmont!!  Chronicle Mill is "finally" back on track to be completed after another year or so of hurry up and wait.  Most places in downtown (including Primal's location and other restaurants just up the street are typically packed.  One would never know we were (and still are to an extent) in a pandemic.  Social distancing means absolutely nothing to Gaston County.

And our SECOND Chick-Fil-A is going in across from South Point High School just up the road in front of Harris Teeter.  In all honesty, it is a 50/50 split around here about that.  Traffic is already a nightmare, and this is only going to exasperate the current situation.  But I can guarantee that it will help alleviate the stress on the one that is roughly a mile away on 85.

Next stop for KJHburg is Cramerton and McAdenville!!!  Let me know when you are back in this neck of the woods!  I'll give you the grand tour of our little towns!

 

[KJHburg]

New Belmont hospital Caromont on Belmont Abbey land will start this summer.  

""CaroMont Regional Medical Center-Belmont will have 54 acute-care beds, including 48 for telemetry and six for labor and delivery. There will also be 12 observation beds; a surgical section with two operating rooms, a C-section suite and an endo/bronchoscopy suite; a 16-room emergency department; and imaging services, said Trish Goble, senior director of patient care services in Belmont, at a recent roundtable discussion.  The hospital, near the intersection of N.C. Highway 273 and Interstate 85, is scheduled to open in July 2023. Crews are clearing the site, with construction planned to start this July, Goble said.""

this is a result of the high growth in eastern Gaston county Mt Holly and Belmont.  

CaroMont Health to break ground on Belmont hospital this summer - Charlotte Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

PS  @JRNYP2C I noticed some new restaurants in downtown McAdenville when I drove through around Christmas time. 

Edited April 28, 2021 by KJHburg

[rancenc]

Large development approved for Kings Mountain!

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/huge-residential-development-kings-mountain-approved/ULZJODKLBBH6LLUXNY2LXGNMCQ/

[rancenc]

New development proposed near downtown Cornelius!

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/mixed-use-development-planned-cornelius/SKT2HHYQ6NFRFAOK4KR7LLWY7Q/

[Windsurfer]

1 hour ago, rancenc said:

New development proposed near downtown Cornelius!

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/mixed-use-development-planned-cornelius/SKT2HHYQ6NFRFAOK4KR7LLWY7Q/

Ugh.

[JacksonH]

3 hours ago, rancenc said:

Large development approved for Kings Mountain!

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/huge-residential-development-kings-mountain-approved/ULZJODKLBBH6LLUXNY2LXGNMCQ/

" A sprawling residential project . . . ."

:-(

Edited April 29, 2021 by JacksonH

[Windsurfer]

3 hours ago, JacksonH said:

" A sprawling residential project . . . ."

:-(

Yep.  The media and local-yocals will jump with glee with any new announcement, regardless of the irreparable damage done to mother earth.  Science tells us the damage we do by increasing our carbon footprint and despoiling watersheds.  We wring our hands over the destruction of great forests like Amazonia, then celebrate another sprawling, landscape. The number one reason for species extinction is loss of habitat.  I don't get it.  Infill and smart growth seemed honorable goals to me. I hate to think that was just a fad.

Edited April 29, 2021 by Windsurfer
grammar

[CLT2014]

For the Kings Mountain area, it looks like a pretty dense development with retail and shopping mixed in. Largely apartments and townhomes too. There are many factories, warehouses, and plants out in Cleveland County. As infill happens in the city to build luxury apartments and breweries, it pushes places of employment that physically make things like Charlotte Pipe, food plants, polymer plants, auto parts, brick yards, lumber yards, Pepsi, warehouses, and more into the outer towns due to cost of real estate, complaints by neighbors moving into former industrial areas of Charlotte, and an overall desire to push those types of uses out of Charlotte in favor of live-work-play uses. A perfect example is folks would prefer a massive stadium / entertainment district for the Panthers to the Charlotte Pipe plant.

People work at these plants though and need places to live so there is demand for housing in the outer towns. As far as housing goes for the manufacturing / warehouse employment areas of the metro, this doesn't look too bad to me. 

  

Edited April 29, 2021 by CLT2014

[JacksonH]

13 hours ago, Windsurfer said:

The number one reason for species extinction is loss of habitat.  I don't get it.  Infill and smart growth seemed honorable goals to me. I hate to think that was just a fad.

Yes.  I saw an article awhile back about the Piedmont Crescent and how, if development continues and fills in all those rural woodlands gaps, such as between Salisbury and Lexington and Salisbury and Kannapolis, an animal migration barrier will be created that will result in the extinction of numerous species.  If that crescent extends to Kings Mountain and beyond, it could be a catastrophe.

[Windsurfer]

42 minutes ago, JacksonH said:

Yes.  I saw an article awhile back about the Piedmont Crescent and how, if development continues and fills in all those rural woodlands gaps, such as between Salisbury and Lexington and Salisbury and Kannapolis, an animal migration barrier will be created that will result in the extinction of numerous species.  If that crescent extends to Kings Mountain and beyond, it could be a catastrophe.

The Europeans build tunnels for their high speed rail lines at key spots. Part of the reason is to allow for animals to cross over. But, I suspect you know this. Our interstates are already huge barriers. NC was somewhat forward thinking when they build #264 in Eastern Carolina with extended bridges over some swampy areas specifically for animals.  Animals are the canaries in the coal mines for us.  

[Windsurfer]

6 hours ago, CLT2014 said:

For the Kings Mountain area, it looks like a pretty dense development with retail and shopping mixed in. Largely apartments and townhomes too. There are many factories, warehouses, and plants out in Cleveland County. As infill happens in the city to build luxury apartments and breweries, it pushes places of employment that physically make things like Charlotte Pipe, food plants, polymer plants, auto parts, brick yards, lumber yards, Pepsi, warehouses, and more into the outer towns due to cost of real estate, complaints by neighbors moving into former industrial areas of Charlotte, and an overall desire to push those types of uses out of Charlotte in favor of live-work-play uses. A perfect example is folks would prefer a massive stadium / entertainment district for the Panthers to the Charlotte Pipe plant.

People work at these plants though and need places to live so there is demand for housing in the outer towns. As far as housing goes for the manufacturing / warehouse employment areas of the metro, this doesn't look too bad to me. 

  

I'm currently trying to preserve some land near Davidson. Across the street the developers are using the same argument in order to launch their next "planned" section of 600 houses. The argument is that the cheaper housing they will be providing will allow for local folks who work in Amazon warehouses, or lower paying jobs, to  have a place to live near their work.  That said, I can't tell you how many people moving in actually work in Charlotte. I can't tell you how many of my own employees actually live in Kings Mountain, or Concord, Rock Hill, etc. It does indeed come down to money and price of real estate.....and dare I say it 'white flight'.  Sadly, quick buck rules most of the time.  I bought near Davidson years ago when they actively pushed and got through the "ETJ" program.  What happened?  The land values and housing increased and made Davidson a very sought after community.  That was an unintended consequence. 

Trying to make a quick buck on cheap land backfires for all of us in the long run.  One day, folks who used to want to live in that area because they could hike Crowded Mountain will find the views won't be the same and the wildlife will be gone.  

[CLT2014]

22 minutes ago, Windsurfer said:

I'm currently trying to preserve some land near Davidson. Across the street the developers are using the same argument in order to launch their next "planned" section of 600 houses. The argument is that the cheaper housing they will be providing will allow for local folks who work in Amazon warehouses, or lower paying jobs, to  have a place to live near their work.  That said, I can't tell you how many people moving in actually work in Charlotte. I can't tell you how many of my own employees actually live in Kings Mountain, or Concord, Rock Hill, etc. It does indeed come down to money and price of real estate.....and dare I say it 'white flight'.

Yep, people make personal decisions on where they want to live and how all the time. Half of the RedVentures employees live in the SouthEnd area and would prefer to drive to the campus in South Carolina in order to live in an area with many other people their age range. Then you got an Uptown bank right off transit and half the employees drive because they want to live in a 4 bedroom house with their 2 kids, have a guest room, and be in a good public school district right down the street from RedVentures in Ballantyne. 

[rancenc]

Check out Lansing-Melbourne's projects that are under construction and/or in the design phase in Gastonia, Kannapolis, and Concord.

https://www.lmgroup.us/commercial-development-portfolio.php

 

[KJHburg]

Downtown Concord is really going through a growth spurt. Lots of locally owned businesses and restaurants and even now a brewery.  New apartments rising right on Union St. New county courthouse rising downtown.  This is the 2nd largest city in the metro and is just over 100,000 people.   New coworking and lots of historical renovation.  Uptown Charlotte once had many buildings this scale.  Perfect place to come and ride your bike or take a walk and go N or S on Union Street and see the historical homes right adjacent to downtown. 

Today.

New apartments:  this what is photo where the building is coming down:  Novi Lofts - Lansing Melbourne Group (lmgroup.us)

Plus 2 more projects coming downtown:  Development Portfolio - Lansing Melbourne Group (lmgroup.us)

Cabarrus County    New courthouse rendering here and it is MUCH needed

and I know you said you don't get to the ring cities much so here you go @ertley

Concord Rising!

Edited May 23, 2021 by KJHburg

[rancenc]

Great pictures.  The Lansing Melbourne Group has really made a mark on the downtowns of several surrounding cities.  Not only the projects in Concord but also Gastonia and Kannapolis.  Also from what I understand, the firm is in negotiations with the City of Mooresville for a similar size development in the core of that city.

 

Edited May 23, 2021 by rancenc

[rancenc]

Aerial view of the Gaston County town of Belmont!

 

[nicholas]

Finally getting a chance to post this.  Took a drive down to Waxhaw when I was in Charlotte for graduation a week and a half ago.  Never been through here before, but lots of people walking around, having a drink, getting ice cream, etc, even during the weekend afternoon lull.  Saw several new apartment buildings on the north side of downtown, but stuck to the traditional downtown area when I was there.  Stopped by the Waxhaw Creamery for a Coke float; the ice cream was good, but the Coke was a bit flat (or maybe my taste buds have been desensitized due to copious amounts of Cheerwine and Dr. Pepper, which are both way better than Coke anyway).

[KJHburg]

downtown Waxhaw is one of my favorite ring towns in the metro and their downtown is very active and vibrant with lots of new apartments built nearby within walking distance of downtown.