Many now consider Charlotte to be one of the greatest cities in the south – and perhaps America. The clean streets, modern design, numerous museums, European-esque Uptown restaurants. The ‘Queen City’ has some pretty spectacular spots.
This video is just further proof of what residents already know – there’s no place quite like Charlotte;
Please share if you love Charlotte;
Crescent Communities and Lincoln Harris are teaming up to build one of Charlotte’s largest developments in decades.
The new ‘River District’ will be built on a massive undeveloped stretch of land between the Charlotte Douglas Airport and the Catawba River.
The plans currently include thousands of new homes, several office towers, retail corridors, hotels, waterfront parks, and plenty of new dining and entertainment options.
It will be split up into 3 distinct ‘districts’; the gateway district, transitional district and the town center district.
The gateway district will include several office buildings, totaling 500,000 square feet, at least 50,000 square feet of retail space, and several new hotels. 250 hotel rooms. The transitional district will have 300 multifamily units, 1 million square feet of office space, and 25,000 square feet of retail. The heart of the new community will be the town center district, which will extend up to the Catawba River – it will feature 1,250 multifamily units, 300 single-family units, 2 million square feet of office space, 300,000 square feet of retail and 500 new hotel rooms.
The development will be somewhere between Ballantyne (2,000 acres – heavy office with a golf resort) and Rock Hill’s new Riverwalk community (1,008 acres – mostly residential with water-front shops and parks).
With over 500,000 square feet of retail and over 8 million square feet of office space proposed, the development would actually be larger in density than the original Ballantyne development.
Crescent Communities and Lincoln Harris have just submitted re-zoning proposals with the City of Charlotte, which could take about 6 months for approval.
What do you think about Charlotte’s new development?
North Carolina is one of the key swing states in the upcoming 2016 election, meaning that if you’re a North Carolina resident, you’re vote could literally determine whether Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton becomes our next president.
Early voting started today in select locations around our state.
There are now 10 sites open in Mecklenburg County, and an additional 12 sites will open starting on Oct. 27.
Early voting starts today from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 1-6 p.m. on Sundays
Here are the locations of the initial early voting sites:
▪ Ballantyne Village – 14825 Ballantyne Village Way.
▪ Beatties Ford Library – 2412 Beatties Ford Road.
▪ Cornelius Town Hall – 21445 Catawba Ave, Cornelius.
▪ Hal Marshall Annex – 618 N College St.
▪ Hickory Grove Library – 5935 Hickory Grove Road.
▪ Morrison Regional Library – 7015 Morrison Blvd.
▪ North County Regional Library – 16500 Holly Crest Ln.
▪ Steele Creek – 11130 S. Tryon St.
▪ University City Regional Library – 301 E W T Harris Blvd.
▪ West Boulevard Library – 2157 West Blvd.
Starting Oct. 27, voting expands to add these additional 12 sites, with the same hours:
▪ Bette Rae Thomas Rec Center – 2921 Tuckaseegee Road.
▪ Delta Center – 5408 Beatties Ford Road.
▪ Independence Regional Library – 6000 Conference Drive.
▪ Main Branch Library – (uptown) – 310 N. Tryon St.
▪ Marion Diehl Rec Center – 2219 Tyvola Road.
▪ Matthews Library – 230 Matthews Station St, Matthews.
▪ Midwood Cultural Center – 1817 Central Ave.
▪ Mint Hill Library – 6840 Matthews-Mint Hill Road.
▪ Mountain Island Library – 4420 Hoyt Galvin Way.
▪ South County Regional Library – 5801 Rea Road
▪ Sugar Creek Library – 4045 N Tryon St.
▪ UNCC – Cone Center – 9201 University City Blvd.
The final day for early voting is Nov. 5 before the election.
Please get out there and vote and please spread the word!
A killing in York County has just been ruled a self-defense by York Police.
The shooting took place back in August after an online feud over a girl escalated between Christopher Gore (aka Mike Lowry) and Antonio Nichols (aka Slimthug Moore) – you can read the original Facebook post here (vulgar language used).
Nichols was told on Facebook that Gore was at his girl’s house. Nichols then went to the house to find Gore sitting on the porch. According to witnesses, Nichols said, “Now you know who you are messing with,” then pulled out a gun and shot Gore. Gore then shot back at Nichols several times before running around the back of the house and inside.
The shooting took place at 1395 Might Joe Tr. in York, SC. According to the police report.
Once emergency crews arrived on scene, Nichols was pronounced dead and Gore was air-lifted to the hospital.
According to police, Gore had the right to defend himself with lethal force. The homeowner gave Gore permission to be armed at the home, in spite of the fact that Gore didn’t have a weapons permit – under SC law, he did not need a permit to use a firearm to defend himself on private property.
This weekend is going to be incredible! There will be tons of live music, plays, festivals, and even a haunted food truck event!
Here are the top 10 things happening around the Charlotte region this weekend:
On Thursday night, two of the most legendary basketball teams of all time (we may be biased) will be facing off in the Queen City.
Tickets are now only starting at $3 each – click here for tickets or more info.
Featuring a set hand-crafted and designed exclusively for the Charlotte production, FIRST DATE tells the story of when Aaron meets Casey and a casual drink turns into a hilarious high-stakes dinner. Can this couple turn a dating disaster into something special before the check arrives? There will be several show times throughout this weekend at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center.
For tickets or more info click here.
The inaugural Matthews Chamber FallFest will include a craft beer festival, a cornhole tournament, food, live music, arts & crafts vendors and more – all proceeds will benefit the Matthews Free Medical Clinic!
For more information click here.
Marshmello will be performing live this coming Friday night at the Fillmore. His identity remains unknown, and his helmet seems to have been inspired by other masked DJs like Deadmau5 and Daft Punk. Despite the anonymity, his career received international recognition in 2015 when he began releasing tracks online, including remixes of Zedd’s “Beautiful Now”, Jack Ü’s “Where Are Ü Now” and others, as well as his own single “Alone”.
For tickets or more info click here.
2 stages, live music all day, 5 food trucks, indoor and outdoor pouring stations, craft beer, cider, wine, champagne.
For more info click here.
The annual Carolina Renaissance Festival continues this weekend. There will be tons of shows, arts and crafts, games and rides, jousting knights on horseback, feasting and so much more! Time travel to the greatest party since Camelot!
Carrie Underwood’s “Storyteller Tour” has already performed for over 800,000 fans since launching in Philadelphia, Boston, Washington DC, Houston, and Chicago, and now she’s coming to Charlotte. This coming Sunday night at the Spectrum Center (formerly Time Warner Cable Arena).
For tickets or more info click here.
This is the first food truck festival to offer movies, talent, music, beer, food of course and some haunted fun all in one place – This will be Charlotte’s first ever haunted food truck festival.
For more information click here.
The most beautiful colors are now on display in most parts of our state. The blue ridge parkways is at peak stage at medium elevations, and the lower elevations around North Carolina are just now starting to show color.
Check out our Top 10 Best Places To See Fall Colors Around North Carolina list here.
Showcasing the origins of some of the greatest and most dangerous illusions ever built, the show also unveils never-before-seen experiments drawn from a treasure trove of long-forgotten mysteries.
For more info or tickets click here.
If you think other events should be on this list or future lists, let us know – Scott@CharlotteStories.com
Carowinds is about to bring back the 50s with it’s brand new ‘Carolina County Fair’.
Opening in the Spring of 2017, the new section will offer four vintage fair rides, as well as new foods, landscaping, and events.
The new theme park section is being built in partnership with Cedar Fair Entertainment Co., who want to bring back old antique rides from Europe and the United States to theme parks all across the country.
Here’s a preview of what the new Carowinds section will look like:
“They will be very recognizable rides. It’s playing to nostalgia and just having fun,” Cedar Fair CEO told The Los Angeles Times last year.
Carowinds will also be starting a new tradition called ‘WinterFest’, which will include a 70-foot-tall Christmas tree, Christmas crafts, food, music, and other events to the theme park. (including Ice skating on Snowflake Lake).
The Carolina’s biggest theme park also just completed their recent $50 million expansion, which included the new Carolina Harbor waterpark, as well as the new Fury coaster – which is now the tallest and fastest giga coaster in the world.
What do you think of Carowind’s new additions?
The NBA just hosted their first ribbon cutting ceremony for their new Hornet’s themed parks – in partnership with Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte.
The entire Charlotte Hornets team, including Owner Michael Jordan, joined with Charlotte’s mayor and other local officials to cut the ribbon on a fully refurbished basketball court at Latta Park.
The new court features the team colors and seating. Two other courts are scheduled to be built at Camp Greene Park and Tuckaseegee Park.
Several Hornets players and coaches then held a Junior NBA Clinic with Dilworth Elementary kids to officially break in the new court:
Sorry, kids. When you're up against a 7'2" center, you don't stand a chance 😂 #blockparty #youcantseeme https://t.co/Mb5jBOfbUB
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) October 18, 2016
They will also be adding new basketball goals, goal pads, benches, fountains, hornet-themed courts, and other amenities to Camp Greene Park and Tuckaseegee Park.
“We are excited to bring the Hornets Experience to these three neighborhood courts in Charlotte,” said Hornets President & COO Fred Whitfield. “It is important to us to give back to the youth of our community, and we can think of no better way for them to show their love of both the Hornets and the game of basketball than by playing on Hornets-themed courts at their local parks. We also want to thank the NBA for demonstrating its continued commitment to Charlotte and Mecklenburg County by joining us in this effort.”
After a clown was spotted trying to lure children into the woods outside of Greenville, and a hatchet-wielding clown was just arrested in Indian Trail last week, The City of Belmont has decided to officially ban any clown from participating in its upcoming Halloween festival.
Flyers for the city’s upcoming “Boo Festival” have small print at the bottom stating that adults are not allowed to wear clown costumes.
The city’s parks and recreation department has now confirmed that the ban is indeed in place for safety reasons.
In light of the nation wide hysteria over clowns, a counter trend has begun to emerge – #ClownsLivesMatter
My homie Bozo just tryna make a dollar to support his family and y'all pullin up on him #ClownLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/jVBf70sIpB
— 21 Average (@joshcurrier43) October 9, 2016
What do you think about clowns? Do you think they should be banned?
Tonight at 7:40, the NASA’sAntares rocket will be launched from Virginia, and the rocket is so big, you’ll be able to see it tonight from Charlotte.
Here is the path the rocket will be flying across the night skyline:
According to NASA, “there are currently no technical concerns with the rocket or spacecraft and weather is 100 percent “go.” Liftoff is scheduled to occur during a five minute window beginning at 7:40 p.m. EDT from the Mid-Atlantic Spaceport’s Pad 0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.”
The rocket is loaded with about 5,100 pounds of science investigations, food, supplies and hardware for the space station and its crew.
Keith Lamont Scott was just laid to rest over the weekend in his hometown in Charleston County, SC.
His funeral was initially delayed due to Hurricane Matthew, but even in spite of the change in schedule, a few hundred family members, friends, and supporters filled James Island’s First Baptist Church to pay their respects.
Several tribute services also took place over this weekend to honor and pay respect to the Scott family:
Scott, 43, was the father of seven children ages 25 to 9. His immediate family wore all white for the funeral, where emotions ran high.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) is still investigating the shooting, and they have yet to release the autopsy conducted by the medical examiner, but the Scott family has now conducted their own.
The family’s autopsy, which was released late last week, showed that Scott was shot three times, with a fatal shot to his back. The Scott family still disputes the police account of the shooting.
CMPD has requested an independent investigation by the Police Foundation in Washington D.C., and they will continue to look deeper into the department’s practices.
You can find out more about the Keith Lamont Scott shooting and protests that followed on our live-updated article here.