Late last night a major “pin-in” multi-car accident completely shut down all northbound lanes on I-85.

According to the West Mecklenburg Fire Department, the tragic wreck began just past Exit 26 near Belmont Abbey College when 1 car was ‘pinned-in’ by a larger vehicle, and subsequently caused 5 other vehicles to crash into them with a total of 7 vehicles being involved in the wreck.

There have now been 6 people transported to the hospital with various levels of injuries.

All lanes of I-85 have now been reopened.

From chocolate bars to apartments, shrinkflation is real.

The latest analysis of apartment size in the 100 largest U.S. cities shows that America’s newly built apartments hit a 10-year low, after a sharp 30-square-foot drop in size last year.

Charlotte renters may feel like the walls are closing in on them, as they have to make do with 9 square feet less than what they used to rent a decade ago. However, apartments in the city are far from smallest in the country.

Here are more highlights:

• The average Charlotte apartment measures 929 square feet, less than what renters get in Greensboro, Winston-Salem or Raleigh. Still, that’s significantly more than the national average of 887 square feet, placing the city on the 35th spot nationwide for its apartment size.
• New rentals in Charlotte offered 938 square feet in 2013, but lost 9 square feet by 2022. The shrinkage is the 2nd most significant in the state, with Durham taking the lead after a 27-square-foot drop.
• Apartments in Charlotte are expected to shrink further in the future, as units under construction are estimated to average 923 square feet once completed.
• Nationwide, the average size of new apartments contracted by 54 square feet in the last decade. Notably, 2022 showed the largest year-over-year decrease, down 30 square feet. The drop in size can be attributed to more studios and one-bedroom apartments entering the market in 2022, among other factors.

To get a complete overview of apartment size evolution across the nation, check out our complete sudy: https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/market-snapshots/national-average-apartment-size/

Are you an artist or part of an arts and culture group in Charlotte-Mecklenburg?

Mecklenburg County’s new Opportunity Fund has just announced grants as high as $30,000 for local art and creative projects and initiatives.

This year, the Opportunity Fund has already invested more than $925,000 in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg arts and culture sector, and the Arts and Culture Advisory Board first tested the Fund in fiscal year 2022 and awarded roughly $235,000.

The fund supports projects, programs, and initiatives that:

• Take place primarily in Charlotte or Mecklenburg County or benefit the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area.

• Conclude by June 30, 2024.

• Do not require multiyear or unrestricted funding from the Infusion Fund.

• Do not fund capital expenses or infrastructure costs (a new requirement for this cycle).

• Have not received prior support through the Opportunity Fund.

The deadline to submit your letter of intent will be on March 31, and if you meet the eligibility requirements, you could be contacted to submit a full proposal. A total of $325,000 is available in this new grant cycle and will be awarded in late June and distributed by early July.

All interested applicants can submit a letter of intent using a form here on charlottenc.gov/arts-culture.

Letters should summarize the following:

• How the project or initiative meets the city’s guiding principles for arts and culture planning and Infusion Fund investments — principles such as more collaboration, equity and access, and financial sustainability and growth.

• The project’s timeliness.

• Why the project falls outside established or existing grant structures, or why it requires the type of support offered through the Opportunity Fund in particular.

• Challenges and conditions the grant funding may help address.

• How the project is open to the public and/or focuses on expanding the public’s access to arts and culture.

A Charlotte-area teen is now heading to Hollywood after wowing the judges of American Idol last night.

Clover, SC’s own Aiden Adair covered a song from another Tik Tok-American Idol star from a few years back, Benson Boone in front of Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie. The audition went so well, he got the green light from all three judges to advance to the next round of the singing competition.

Here is a short clip from his tik tok showing his skills:

@aidenadairofficial Oceans 🌊 #fyp #foryoupagе ♬ original sound – Aiden Adair

Real Estate research firm Commercial Edge has just released their annual industrial development report with some surprising results about the Charlotte region.

The report breaks down and ranks the industrial markets experiencing the most demand and supply, and ranks the largest industrial properties scheduled for completion in 2023.

Here are some highlights:

• Charlotte ranks 7^th among the markets with the most industrial real estate space under construction with a total of over 15.8 million square feet of industrial space currently under development.
• This means that 5.3% of Charlotte’s construction inventory is made of industrial space currently in the works.
• Regionally, there are a total of 5 projects from the Southern region to rank among the top 10 largest industrial developments scheduled to be delivered this year, the highest of which is Louisiana’s Cortana Mall Redevelopment project.
• Nationally, Dallas has the most industrial space in the pipeline for the third year in a row with 61.6 million square feet under construction.

You can get more information about this topic in the full report here: https://www.commercialsearch.com/blog/national-industrial-construction-report/

Charlotte is about to break some records today as an unusually warm front sweeps through our region.

Highs today are expected to reach into the 80s, which will break the record for hottest Feb. 23rd in recorded history (currently set at 79° from Feb. 23rd, 2018), and possibly even break the hottest February day in the history of the Queen City (currently set at 82° from Feb. 25th, 1930).

Today should be the warmest day of what's proving to be a warm week! Some records still appear likely to be broken. Look out for a few showers crossing the area as well. #ncwx #scwx #gawx pic.twitter.com/wS8JwGdne5

— NWS GSP (@NWSGSP) February 23, 2023

Here are all the current records for this month in Charlotte:

How will you be enjoying the unusually warm day today?

The COVID–19 pandemic brought about a whirlwind of unprecedented business trends, ranging from a surge of new business applications to a rollercoaster of unemployment rates. But with life now returning to normal, LendingTree took a closer look at the 100 largest metros across the US to see which ones have boomed the most since 2019 and which ones have not.

Their evaluation criteria included 8 unique metrics across three categories: people and housing, work and earnings, and business and economy. 

3 of the top 10 spots were right here in North Carolina, including; Charlotte, Raleigh, and Durham.

Biggest Boomtowns in America