Southwest Charlotte

To natives, southwest Charlotte was always just Steele Creek, because for a long time that was the only neighborhood in this part of town.

How times change. Over the past decade, southwest Charlotte has seen the number of households double. And thanks to ready access to I-485 and the rising housing costs in south Charlotte, southwest Charlotte is expected to be one of the primary residential and business growth spots of the future.

While Steele Creek offers the charm of an established neighborhood, this area has much to offer if you’re in the market for a new home. New, affordable communities line N.C. 49, the main thoroughfare of southwest Charlotte. Every weekend you’ll see neighborhood signs directing you to Shopton Road, Sandy Porter Road and Choate Circle. Some higher-end communities are under way on the Mecklenburg side of Lake Wylie. You’ll find southwest Charlotte homes listed in real estate area 7.

Even with the residential buildup, the area has been slow to see retail and entertainment growth. However, a mixed-use project planned for the I-485/N.C. 49 interchange will begin to remedy the situation. The new project will feature shops, restaurants, hotels, movie theaters and luxury apartments, designed with the feel of an old European village.


In addition to residential growth, the area has seen a spectacular rise in commercial development. For many years, southwest Charlotte was attractive only to industrial companies. Today, it’s a hotbed of high-tech companies and national headquarters, with new buildings and office parks announced frequently.

Among the projects under way is a 400,000-plus-square-foot campus for Microsoft Corp. in Arrowpoint. The Eastern Region Product Service Center will be second in size only to the company’s Seattle headquarters. In addition to Microsoft, Arrowpoint’s major tenants include BellSouth and the U.S. headquarters of Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance.

Also in the works is a 31,000-square-foot building and 18-acre campus off Carowinds Boulevard for nondenominational Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Area residents will be able to enjoy the reflecting pond and gardens, as well as the 100,000-volume library.

Whitehall, one of Charlotte’s largest office parks, is split by I-485 and includes a technology park and the corporate center, now under construction. Sprint PCS employs more than 1,200 workers at a major customer service center and Source Technologies is building its 57,000-square-foot U.S. headquarters in the technology park. Within Whitehall’s 1,000 acres is the 40-acre Whitehall Nature Preserve. Take a tour and you’ll find the preserve, owned by the Catawba Lands Conservancy, is home to several varieties of salamander and frog indigenous to the rare, seasonal wetlands.

You won’t believe you’re only minutes from the city when you visit McDowell Park on Lake Wylie. The park features 956 picturesque acres of forest where you can hike, picnic, camp or visit the nature center. Another recreational spot is Renaissance Park, near the Charlotte Coliseum on Tyvola Road. This popular county park includes an 18-hole golf course, athletic fields, and tennis courts.
 

The Charlotte Coliseum is the home to the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets and WNBA’s Charlotte Sting. The arena, which seats 23,000, also hosts numerous concerts and other sporting events throughout the year. The Hornets and Sting are looking to build a new arena uptown, so the land where the Coliseum sits may be redeveloped for a different use in a few years.

Just around the corner from the Coliseum is the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market. While you can visit just about any day of the week, on spring weekends you’ll find the greatest selection of vendors from all over the Carolinas. Wander through each “shed” chatting with the farmers and selecting your produce, flowers, baked goods and even crafts.

Central Piedmont Community College recently opened its Southwest Campus off Arrowood Road. The high-tech campus specializes in teaching graphic arts, printing, electronics and welding. It is home to the Harper National Flexographic Center, a key learning center for those who want to enter the printing field. Paramount’s Carowinds, a 100-acre theme and water park that straddles the N.C.-S.C. border, is a major family attraction. The young and young-at-heart enjoy more than 100 rides, shows and attractions. New for 2000 is the swinging Nickelodeon Flying Super Saturator, a suspended roller coaster with interactive water play that sounds perfect for hot summer days.
 

Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, US Airways’ largest hub, serves 160 cities with 500 daily departures. The airy, sun-lit terminal welcomes passengers with rocking chairs and piano music, along with shops and restaurants. But you’ll have to move quickly to get a rocking chair - they’re hot property for folks between flights.

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