Dilworth- Charlotte’s most Exclusive Urban District

Dilworth was Charlotte’s first true streetcar suburb established in the 1890s to allure upper middle class residents through stately trees, curvilinear streets, convenient access to parks, and large homes. Commercial development is concentrated along South Blvd and East Blvd with a mix of urban and suburban orientated buildings. Recent in-fill has generally improved the urban form of existing commercial nodes especially at East Blvd & Kenilworth and South Blvd adjacent to the light rail line and across from the dense development of the South End.

A major area for Dilworth to improve in order to become a premiere urban district is more density. Its current density of 5,000 souls per square mile is more akin to a post War II suburb. Higher density could facilitate more walkable schools and retail amenities. The district is also pretty exclusive and needs more diversity.

Click here to view my Dilworth Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Good public transit and very convenient access to Dwtn.
* Solid ADA and sidewalk infrastructure.
* Great dedicated bike lane system but only a couple bike share along the northern edge of the district.
* Large supply of rental housing generally skewing expensive. 1-bedrooms lease btwn $1,000-$1,500, 2-bedrooms from $1,000s to the low $2,000s, and 3-bedrooms btwn 2K-4K.
* Great park amenities with the expansive Freedom park on Dilworth southern edge with its extensive recreational path and the multi-faceted Sedgefield and Latta Park. Also a nice bike path on the northern edge of the district.
* Very safe district with really no blight.
* Culturally Dilworth hosts a great array of restaurants, bars, cafes, art galleries, and a handful of live music venues,
* Quality urban amenities although some are pretty auto centric. Several full service supermarkets, including a supermarket, drug store, public library, post office, good array of chain retailers at the Atherton Mill and many other higher end retailers, plenty of boutiques, a couple book store, and Charlotte’s largest hospital sits alongside the district’s southern border.
* Great early 20th century SF historic architecture. Modern in-fill is good as well with a nice mix of urban townhomes, MF, and historic looking SF homes.
* Excellent Tree canopy.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Racial, economic, and generational diversity are
all fair.
* This is one of Charlotte’s most expensive urban districts, but still some for sale product reasonably priced. 1-bedroom condos sell in the high 100s & 200Ks, 2-bedroom condos btwn 250K-500K, modest SF homes btwn 500K-800K, larger homes 800K to 1.5 Million.
* No museums, theaters or historic sites.
* Schools are limited to a highly rated elementary.
* Urban form of the business districts (South End & East Blvd) is a mixed bag.
* Good vibrancy at commercial nodes (South End & East Blvd and East Blvd & Scott Ave) but plenty of dead spots.

Charlotte’s Commonwealth District- One of the City’s best Commercial Nodes

I included the traditional boundary for the Common Wealth district and expanded it west to include the sliver of land south of 10th St. The Commonwealth district is a historic crossroads of Charlotte where Central and Pecan Avenue meet. This district hosts lots of restaurants, bars, cafes, and neighborhood retail service along with many live music venues. The commercial district spans several blocks mixing historic and modern buildings but with mixed urban form. Also lots of new apartments, condos, and townhomes here generally with good urban form. Still many areas of historic pre WWII fabric remain comprised of pleasant 1920s-1940 single family homes.

Plenty areas to improve in the Commonwealth District from an urban perspective. Most importantly is increasing the neighborhood’s very low density, and replacing autocentric commercial. The neighborhood also has limited access to schools and affordable for sale housing.

Click here to view my Commonwealth album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Very convenient access to Dwtn (only 2 miles) across all modes.
* Decent Bike infrastructure includes a couple dedicated bike lanes and handful of bike sharing station.
* Great ADA infrastructure but areas of uncomfortable sidewalks crossing through strip walls and located too close to busy routes.
* Good middle income diversity although very limited % of residents living in poverty.
* Good amount of rentals and a nice diversity of price points. 1-bedrooms generally lease in the low $1,000s, 2-bedrooms in the high $1,000s and $2,000s, 3-bedrooms in the $3,000s.
* Nice large park (Veterans Memorial) Located in the center of the neighborhood. Includes tennis courts, ballfields and playgrounds.
* Good cultural amenities including a great array of restaurants, bars, cafes, and small breweries, lots of live music venues, and a couple art galleries.
* Quality urban amenities although some located in strip malls including a supermarket, drug store, public library, post office, a book store, many boutiques, several antiques, and several hospitals in the adjacent district.
* Overall a very safe district.
* Lot of urban in-fill and most of it is pretty good.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Density is very low. More similar to a suburb.
* Decent racial and economic diversity.
* For sale options are generally expensive but good diversity. Bottom of the market are small homes in the high 200Ks. Most properties selling between 300K-700K. Some larger mansions sell over 700K. Plenty of new townhomes and condos in the mix.
* Good tree canopy.
* No museums or historic sites.
* A public middle school is located in the neighborhood but little else.
* Quality urban massing in the urban biz districts (i.e. Central & Pecan Ave) is a mixed bag of auto centric strip malls & parking lots and quality form. Form falls apart further east along Centre.

Belmont- A quality inner ring neighborhood in Charlotte North Carolina

Belmont is a typical Charlotte medium density neighborhood built up built between the 1910s-1930s. It appears the neighborhood experienced some blighted after the 60s but gentrified significantly over the past couple of decades. Quality urban attributes include convenient access to dwtn, good public transit, great ADA infrastructure, and good parks and recreational amenities.

Important areas to improve before Belmont becomes a great urban district include significantly more density, creation of a cohesive urban business district helping to create a better sense of place, and more affordable housing.

Click her e to view my Belmont neighborhood on Flickr

URBAN STRENTHS:

* Very convenient access to Dwtn (only 1.5-2 miles) across all modes. Bike infrastructure includes several dedicated bike lanes and one bike sharing station.
* Some sidewalks missing but overall excellent ADA infrastructure and curb cuts.
* Great racial, economic, and generational diversity.
For Sale hsg is generally expensive but good diversity. Some smaller unrenovated options selling in the 200Ks & 300Ks. Most homes selling between 300K-500K. Larger, luxurious product selling between 500K-800K. Mix of SF home, condos, and townhomes.
* Great tree canopy.
* Lots of great park amenities along Little Sugar Creak including a lengthy bike trail, sports fields, open space, and a public pool.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Due to its low density and lack of a cohesive commercial district, vibrancy is lacking here.
* Rental options are generally expensive but very limited.
* Cultural amenities are limited to a several restaurants & bars, a couple cafés & breweries. But surrounding neighborhoods have good amenities.
* Neighborhood retails are also pretty limited to a couple boutiques, Good cluster of retail amenities nearby in Commonwealth.
* Historically a pretty high crime area, now closer to the national average.
* Only a couple middle schools located within the neighborhood and convenient access to other schools in adjacent districts.
* Imageability is not great with not definitively urban biz district and pretty spreadout housing.

The 4th Ward- Charlotte’s best Victorian District

Charlotte’s 4th Ward has great location sitting basically within Charlotte’s CBD. The neighborhood also hosts a good array of turn of the century Victorian architecture mixed in with some pretty good in-fill. Downtown’s two main arteries (Tyron and Trade Street) form the edge of two sides of the district providing the district some quality mixed-use district with good urban form. Also some great neighborhood parks weave recreational space into residential areas.

The biggest areas to improve from an urban perspective is more density and better urban form along Graham and the northern and eastern edges of the district.

Click here to view my 4th Ward album on Flickr

URBAN STRENTHS:

* Generally good sidewalk and ADA infrastructure. ADA compliant curbs are often missing however.
* Excellent Tree Canopy.
* Probably Charlotte’s best collection of turn of the 19th century arch. But much of the neighborhood is mixed in with new urban in-fill of a general good quality.
* Dedicated bike lanes are limited within 4th Ward but good coverage nearby in Dwtn and lots of bike sharing stations.
* Good racial and economic diversity.
* For sale housing is generally expensive but some good diversity. 1-bedroom generally sells in the 100sK and 200Ks. Fair amount of 2-bedrooms condos and townhomes selling in the 200Ks & 300Ks. But plenty of 2 & 3 bedrooms selling between 400K-800K.
* Several nice smaller parks well integrated into the neighborhood fabric along with convenient access to other great Dwtn parks.
* Great cultural amenities including many restaurants, bars & cafes, several live music venues, several performing art theaters, a cineplex, Imax theater, and a good array of museums.
* Good neighborhood amenities as well with a full-service supermarket, a couple drug stores, banks, some locally owned creative stores, a good amount of higher end clothing stores, a Dwtn library and post office, and several small shopping malls.
* Generally a very safe neighborhood. Being so close to Dwtn, certainly some homeless here.
* Several grade and middle schools within the Dwtn area. No high schools.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Very poor generational diversity with only 10% family households and most adults are below 40.
* 4 bedrooms are very limited
* Good amount of rental product but pretty expensive. 1-bedrooms lease in the low $1,000s. 2-bedrooms around $2,000s. 3-bedrooms in the 2Ks and 3Ks.
*Art galleries are pretty limited.
* Density is very low, especially for an urban are so close to Dwtn. There in affect leads to just okay vibrancy.