Charlotte Real Estate Agent's Blog

Governor makes promise for finishing the outer belt

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:01:09 -0500

Charlotte has an outer belt highway called I - 485. It circumnavigates the city and has made it really easy to get around. It connects all of the major survace streets that act like spokes on a wheel in Charlotte. It also connects the major interstates which connect Charlotte to the rest of the state and country.

The governor has committed the funds to finish the project starting construction this year, the Charlotte Observer said.

Charlotte is a town of Churches

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 23:59:04 -0500

Charlotte and the south is known for its churches. If that's what you're looking for, then this is a great place to come and find it. I've seen a statistic that says that Charlotte has 700 churches in Charlotte and its surrounding areas. I can't tell if that is a big number or a small number. I am not actually positive that it is right.

Harlem Globetrotters visit Charlotte, NC

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 23:50:10 -0500

Here's a great american tradition for you. The Harlem Globetrotters have made their way to the Time Warner Cable Arena on their tour arount the world. I guess they just tour to show everyone how good at basketball they are. Their basketball tricks have become world famous. They put on a show that's great for kids. Some Globetrotters have even become NBA Players.

Jonas Brothers coming to Charlotte

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 23:45:44 -0500

It's official, the Jonas Brothers have announced their tour dates for the next few monts as they embark on their three continent tour. They've chosen June 15 to stop in Charlotte, their only tour stop in North Carolina. The Jonas brothers have already seen fit to make a stop in Charlotte a few months ago, when they promoted their new movie by showing up at Regal Theaters at Stonecrest in South Charlotte, near Ballanytyne Real Estate.

The Jonas Brothers have become one of the biggest pop groups in the nation over the past couple of years. They come from the Disney inventors who have made stars out of kids for years.

Creative loafing is charlotte's free paper

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:55:17 -0500

Charlotte NC has a ton of different things to do and different people with different interests.

Creative Loafing is the free paper that serves the community. The idea is to create a publication that serves readers who don't necessarily care about the stuff that goes on at the city council meetings.

The paper is aimed at younger people who go out to bars and art shows. The paper doesn't mind being edgy and doesn't censor much. They print curse words and go after subjects that would never make it in the Charlotte Observer, the daily paper.

I'm not endorsing it. But with the newspaper industry the way it is, there have been many opportunities for people with a bunch of extra money in their pocket to start a paper and print whatever they feel like printing.

Call it free speech or what you will, but there are a lot of people with a lot of different opinions and the fact that the big newspapers are falling by the wayside means that the opportunity to be heard have increased and will continue to increase. The Charlotte Observer has been laying off people in droves over the past few years. It is the way of the world, I guess.

Charlotte and Mecklenburg work together

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:50:28 -0500

Since Charlotte NC has experience such amazing growth in the past 20 years, the city has expanded to the size of the county almost. There are several towns outside of Charlotte, but inside of Mecklenburg county. Many departments of city and county government have merged to provide better services to these communities and the county as a whole.

The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department is one of the department. I really don't know all the ins and outs of the policing in Charlotte. But there are Mecklenburg county Sheriffs. I have no idea what they do though. If the city and county police are the same thing, then where do the county sheriffs patrol?

Maybe they just take care of the county jail or something. You really don't see many sheriff's cars around in Charlotte.

The schools are another department that has seen a merger between county and city. It really has been that way for a long time. I can't remember when the city schools weren't part of the county system. Their pooled resources probably caused a stir when they merged, but it may have made the city and county schools better as a result. Or it may have caused problems, who knows.

Fit city Challenge in Charlotte NC

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:46:49 -0500

Charlotte and Mecklenburg county have come together to issue the Fit City Challenge in Charlotte NC.

Its basic mission is to try to make people walk 5 miles a week and eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day. The idea is to get as many people moving and eating healthy so that the city's medical bills start going down instead of up.

I don't think that there are very many ways that you can slice it that this is a bad thing. Encouraging people to be fit is a great way to build community and to help people become healthy.
The more you read and think about it, the more difficult it is to be sure that you are eating healthy and doing the right things to be healthy. It's even more difficult to muster the energy and drive to get up and excercise everyday.

Many people need a little encouragement to either start or continue their exercise routine. Encouragement is also important in maintianing a healthy diet.

This looks like it is another way that Charlotte and Mecklenburg have teamed up and pooled their resources to provide services to their residents. I'll keep my eye out on this one to see if it works.

Mecklenburg Aquatic Center in Charlotte

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:41:58 -0500

The Mecklenburg Aquatic Center is the downtown pool for the county. There are some high schools with olympic sized swimming pools already in them in Charlotte, but this serves the high schools with no pool as well as holds tournaments for big events.

It is a great pool, cool enough that the men's olympic decided to do their training there as they ran up to the Beijing Olympics. The word on the street is that Michael Phelps and the rest of the relay team trained at this complex in uptown Charlotte.

The pool is massive and is home to many of the big swim meets. I think they are a lot like high school track meets. There are a ton of people at them and they don't happen very often. The other thing is that seems like the only people who know about track meets or swim meets are the people who do the swimming themselves.

There is another big stadium pool in Charlotte at Providence High School in South Charlotte. I've never been to that one and really don't know much about it. But I think it is the only other pool that they use for swimming events in the city of Charlotte.

ImaginOn a center for Children in Charlotte

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:37:48 -0500

ImaginOn is a building in uptown Charlotte on 7th street that hosts shared events for young people. There were two competing service groups who came together to share this facility to teach children.

The public library and the childrens theater of Charlotte joined together to make this happen.

I've already posted about an event going on at the venue, but I wanted to write about what the space is all about.

It is named after Joe and Joan Martin, two people who gave to their community. Joe was an author who published two books.

The building was finally completed in 2005 after the idea was originally floated in 1997. It works on the principal that children learn in many different ways. Some can hear something and remember it, others like to act it out. Either way, it is designed to engage young children so that they can find out a way to learn that works for them.
It is probably one of the reasons that they have a workshop designed to shoot myspace photographs for kids. They try to do things that kids will like in order to get them in the building and then teach them something once they get there. It's the old bait and switch.

Dessert First fund raiser in Charlotte NC

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:27:32 -0500

There was a bit fundraiser recently at the Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte NC for Dessert First, a fundraiser for the V Foundation - a foundation that supports cancer research.
The foundation is named for Jim Valvano, a coach at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He took N C State to the championship and won if I'm not mistaken.

He was also struck down by cancer later.

Dick Vitale, the college basketball announcer always mentions it several times a broadcast. He supports the program by getting the name of the program out to the college basketball audience.

Dessert First, served dessert first. Then they had a silent auction of stuff, probably sports memorabilia or something and then everyone went home.

Nick Valvano, Jim's older brother was on hand to meet people and to make a speech at the program.

The Charlotte Observer posted photos of the black tie event on their website. They either sent a photographer down there or they had someone at the party take pictures and send them to them. They have posted photos of people at black tie events regularly on their website.

It is an interesting way to see who is out in the community doing what.

St. Patrick's Day parade postponed in Charlotte

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:16:58 -0500

The Saint Patrick's day parade that I said was going to happen this weekend in uptown Charlotte has been postponed.

Bad weather has caused the parade to shift its date to next Saturday. I'm not sure that Saint Patrick would like that. Maybe he would have wanted everyone to tough it out with a parka on.

The weather here over the weekend has been difficult to accept. After a week in the 80s, someone flipped a switch and turned Charlotte into a wintery, rainy place to be.

They actually cancelled it on Friday, because they feared bad weather. They were right. The cold rain may have a lot to do with the way Ireland really is. But it has nothing to do with our sunny green idea of what Ireland should be.

I think its funny that a ton of people have an idea of what they think Ireland must be like based on parades and stories. I think they include traditional dancers in the parades too. But that really doesnt' tell you what it's like to visit the country and live there. I guess that is something that it would be nice for everyone to do, see another country, or even another part of this country.

Selection Sunday is tomorrow!

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:05:10 -0500

It's the big day tomorrow. Thousands of office pools will be circulated in Charlotte NC offices on Monday after the brackets are announced for the NCAA tournament tomorrow.

The people who run college basketball are probably hard at work deciding who goes where based on a bunch of information that is supposed to tell us how good each team is.

Most of the teams are probably already set in their place. But there are still some teams that are on the bubble whose performance in their conference tournaments will affect how they are placed.

Teams are admitted to the NCAA tournament if they win their conference tournament, but there are some good teams that could possibly win the tournament that did not win their tournaments that will get in at-large. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of Connecticut are both at the top of the list and have been ranked at number one by the coaches and news media all season. But neither won its tournament. They will still have the one of the highest seeds and the easiest road to the final four.

The final four is when all the rules get thrown out the window. You can resonably predict who is going to win where, by looking at the seedings, although there are alway upsets. In fact, the rule is, there are always upsets. It is just more dramatic in the final four because the stakes are so high for each of the teams.

Photos for your myspace

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 22:54:58 -0500

The charlotte public library is holding an event for people to come get their myspace photos done. There's nothing worse than having your high school yearbook photo as your myspace photo.

I'm sure they'll have someone come up with something that is more intersesting than just a well lit shot.

The event is at Imaginon: The Joe and Jean Martin Center, which is downtown and frequently has events for kids.

It is one of the events I found on the city's website. It may seem like a lost cause to look on the city's websites for cool things to do, but I found some really good ones. It seems that someone keeps the website up to date in Charlotte NC.

The library is a great source of not only information, but a free resource for internet access if you decide that a home connection is too expensive for you. There are tons of free events, if you are into being intellectual. There really isn't much there for thrill seekers. Many of the branch libraries have been renovated to make them more comfortable and inviting.

There is a relatively new regional library in South Charlotte that serves the town of Matthews.

ACC tournament in full swing

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 22:35:27 -0500

The Atlantic Coast Conference, one of the best college basketball conferences, is close, along with just about every other basketball conference, to finishing the end of its post season tournament. In many cases around the country, the outcome of the tournament will affect how the teams are seeded for the NCAA tournament, the big end of season tournament that people like to call March Madness.

The ACC tournament is a big deal in North Carolina because there are four universities from NC in the tournament. Many of those graduates find their way back to Charlotte NC.

This year finds Duke and Florida State in the Finals of the ACC tournament. FSU knocked off the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill today to make it there. Chapel Hill is currently ranked number one in the nation going into the NCAA tournament. They have been without their starting point guard for the tournament because of an injury. Ty Lawson should be ready for the NCAA tournament though.

Duke is three hours away from Charlotte on Interstate 85 in Durham.

If you have the money, now is the time to invest in a sweet 40 inch hdtv so you can watch this tournament. It is a whole month of exciting basketball games.

St. Patricks Day Parade set for next week

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:49:43 -0600

Everyone better figure out what shade of green they are going to be wearing next week. The Charlotte North Carolina St. Patrick's day parade will be held on March 14. It starts at 10 am, which is a really early start, if you ask me. The parade will be full of bands and drill teams and other cool people. It will also feature the superintendant of schools as the Grand Marshall, which is kind of a downer. When I think of St. Patrick, I really don't want to be thinking about education. But I'm sure he's swell guy and will marshall the parade well.

The parade runs in uptown Charlotte, like most of the seasonal parades do. It is a fun way to go into the city and bring the kids to see who is parading. It's not a huge parade, and Charlotte isn't a huge city, so parking and getting to the parade probably isn't going to be a problem as it might be somewhere else. Although uptown Charlotte Real Estate is desireable, most people in Charlotte live outside of uptown, so the streets won't be clogged with people who just got up. They'll be clogged with people who want to be there.

Anoop Desai is North Carolina's latest hometown hero

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:45:23 -0600

Anoop Desai is a popular contestant on American Idol, at least around North Carolina. He is from Chapel Hill, which is a sacred place in many Charlotttean's hearts to begin with. He is the second big star to come out of American Idol. Clay Aiken was also from North Carolina, if any of you remember. He was a big deal.

Even though Clay lost, he went on to become a top selling artist and is still tabloid fodder today. I'm no expert, but I think at the point Anoop is right now, he will have some type of ongoing recording contract with American Idol.

Winning American Idol is no guarantee of success. Some winners have gone on to sell poorly and fade away just like all kinds of talented people in the music business.

But the people who don't win on American Idol are usually under contract with the American Idol people. They go around on musical tours as a group to perform in arenas for fans.

After their contract runs out, they are free to do whatever they want. Some have joined theater troupes. One that is currently touring the country is "Ain't Misbehavin'" with Reuben Studdard, from the second season.

Lots of those shows show up in Charlotte NC at one point or another.

Rowan Cabarrus Community College makes a new home

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:41:58 -0600

The Rowan Cabarrus Community College will make a new home in Kannapolis, which is north of Charlotte NC Real Estate. Rowan and Cabarrus Counties are both north of Charlotte, but they are home to many people who commute to the city. It is only about an hour to Salisbury, which is the county seat of Rowan County.

Many people have settled into Salisbury Real estate in order to commute to Charlotte, especially if they work downtown because of the ease of access to freeways. However, those are a rare breed, without traffic, it is about an hour and fifteen minute commute from Charlotte to Salisbury. Morning traffic can add to that.

Other commuters choose closer communites like Cornelius, Concord, and Davidson to commute from. Which are much closer and can offer more of the ammenities that come with living close to a city the size of Charlotte. They are close to the new Ikea store, Lowes Motor Speedway, and Lake Norman.

The new community college should help make education more easily accessable to more people in Charlotte's economic region. Charlotte's Central Piedmont community college already has a complex system of campuses to serve the needs of the Charlotte area. This new campus will extend that umbrella around the city.

Charlotte Bobcats look for a seventh straight win

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:38:37 -0600

You may not know it, but I think the Charlotte Bobcats are on a path to the playoffs. They have won their sixth straight game, according to the Charlotte Observer.

The Bobcats beat the Knicks for their sixth straight win.

Some say that the franchise was named for their founder Bob Johnson, who also owns the BET Television network. Or they could be named for the mountain lion. Who knows.

The stadium they play in is relatively new and sits right in the heart of downtown. I think some dining establishments have sprung up around the stadium, although I can't name them. Charlotte's uptown and nightlife districts have become more happening over the past ten or 20 years thanks to the stadiums bringing people downtown. Panther's stadium is also located close to the banking center downtown.

The Bobcats stadium is much closer to the end of the light rail line that has sprung up in Charlotte, making it super easy to jump on the train in Pineville and jump off at a basketball game. In fact, the final stop of the rail line is the stadium, I think. Just remember to wear plenty of orange. Nobody wants to see you at a game wearing Knicks blue or Suns purple.

Carbon Motors looking at Charlotte for new plant

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:33:19 -0600

A new car company that makes futuristic police cars is looking at Charlotte NC for their new home, the Business Journal says. The idea is to take some of the people in the Charlotte area who have been idled by the downturn in the motor sports industry around Charlotte Motor Speedway and put their skills use building the police cars of the future.

Carbon Motors is a homeland security company, they say, whose goal is to build, service and recycle the world's first purpose built police car. The law enforcement equipment will be fully integrated into the car instead of bolted onto a current model like they are now.

They are just starting this venture, and they are looking for a home. They have designed the vehicle, but have not chosen a location for the plant. The executive team looks like a bunch of auto industry executives.

One of the big selling points of the car, they say, is the fact that it will run on clean diesel get 40% more miles to the gallon, which they say will save law enforcement agencies money. They also say that their vehicles will come with all their law enforcement equipment already on them so the agencies don't have to go out into the world to find and install their own equipment and take it off when they finally sell the vehicle at the end of its service life.

Interesting idea.

Wachovia championship has a new logo

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:29:07 -0600

The golf tournament formerly known as the Wachovia Championship has gotten a new face. Wachovia started the tournament at Quail Hollow Country Club in South Charlotte in 2003. After Wells Fargo bought Wachovia, the fate of the PGA Tour event was up in the air. But Wells announced a while ago, and I blogged about it, that the show would go on, but the tournament would be given a new name.

But, now, it's sure, the show will go on. It is a full fledged tour event that is covered on television and everything. Sometimes a lot of big names show up. I think Tiger Woods missed last year because of his knee injury. But other big name golfers show up to do their thing.

Arnold Palmer was part of the course design I believe. He is active in Charlotte and lives in the city. He owns some Cadillac dealerships in the area. That's a good enough golf pedigree for anyone if you aske me!

The event is a big one for Charlotte NC because it brings so many people to the area to watch golf. Tour buses stream through southwest Charlotte taking people to their cars at satellite parking areas.

Krispy Kreme doughnuts - a southern thing

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:20:29 -0600

Perhaps you may have tasted some Krispy Kreme doughnuts in your time. But before the doughnuts went public and spread all over the country, they were local favorites here in Charlotte NC Real Estate. They aren't good for you. I really can't lie about that. They aren't healthy. But they are tasty and they were a southern secret. Consider yourselves lucky that you were brought in on it.

Krispy Kreme went public in the 90s, I think and the world started to taste the best doughnuts ever made.

Really, Dunkin Doughnuts can't even come close to the delicious Krispy Kreme Doughnut.

The best part about Krispy Kreme is that they are fried right on site and if you order plain glazed doughnuts, they pull them right off the line in front of you, right out of the frier. There is nothing better than a fresh doughnut.

Some say coffee is the perfect compliment, chocolate milk can also be a solid choice when choosing a beverage to go with your artery clogging breakfast item.

There's a Krispy Kreme located on the West side by I - 77, but there is also one on Independence Boulevard, or US 74, whichever you prefer, in Matthews. It makes it very convenient for commuters to drive in, grab a doughnut and eat it on the way in to work in downtown Charlotte.

New building downtown completed

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:18:06 -0600

A new building downtown has been completed and just had a topping out ceremony, according to the Business Journal. The ceremony is one of the first ceremonies that happens after a construction is completed. The building is 15 stories and will house almost 400,000 square feet of office space in uptown Charlotte Real estate.

The building is located at 440 South Church Street in uptown Charlotte.

According to the Charlotte Business Journal, the building will be applying to become a green building from an organization that certifies these things.

This is actually the building I just blogged about a few weeks ago. Duke Energy will be taking residence there when the building is fitted with what they need. It will keep a building full in this difficult commercial real estate market.

The building project was started several years ago when the economic outlook was much different.

The building is on the northwest side of Charlotte's uptown. It is only a few blocks from Bank of America stadium, the home of the Carolina Panthers. That means that it is visible from i-77, as you whiz past downtown Charlotte on the interstate. It's fun to know there will be a new building to peer out over Charlotte from.

New school bought land in Charlotte NC

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:13:53 -0600

Primrose School has bought a bunch of land in South West Charlotte, according to the Business Journal. It bought it from a developer who has started a mixed use project in the area. It highlights some of the great growth that has happened in Southwest Charlotte NC Real Estate over the past few years.

Primrose schools are an accredited early childhood development preschools. They already have a school near Park Crossing, which is very close to Quail Hollow Country Club. Quail Hollow will be the scene of the golf tournament that I just finished posting about.

Primrose says they are more than a daycare. It is an educational daycare, which they say is different. They try to prepare children for the rigors of school and life.

There are schools in 16 states. But that isn't the whole story. There are several schools in each metro area. There are schools in Raleigh and Greensboro, two metropolitan areas in North Carolina. They are smaller metropolitan areas than Charlotte.

The school is looking to expand its reach in the Charlotte market, which means more upscale daycare for Charlotte area residents. There are options here already, but this makes it an even bigger choice when looking for a preschool.

Duke power moves into Wachovia's building

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:10:59 -0600

Duke energy has decided that it wants to be a tennant in Wachovia's building. This is great news for Charlotte NC Real Estate. Not only will a building be full downtown, but Duke Energy, a major employer in town will now have more of a presence downtown. Wachovia was building a new building, but after it was bought by Wells Fargo, it was up in the air as to whether it would occupy it.

This is definitely a great thing for Charlotte. Because if the building had sat empty, it would have affected corporate real esate, which would have been a bad thing. It also gives Wachovia a source of revenue and a home if Wells Fargo decides to move people to Charlotte one day.

Charlotte has distinct advantages for executives who want to move their business to a suburban style of city with lower expenses. It's one of the reasons that many companies have been moving their operations to Charlotte over the past decade.

Although it is a little out of the way for some people who need to be connected to the northeast, the weather is a big motivator. There is ample transportation out of Charlotte and the fact that the Charlotte Douglas International Airport is a USAirways hub means that flights to just about anywhere are readily available.

Season 8 of the Biggest Loser casting to Charlotte

Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher (RE/MAX Metro Realty) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 23:55:45 -0600

The hit netowrk show is looking for contestants in Charlotte North Carolina this week. Five hundred people showed up to see if they had what it takes to be on the show. It happened on Saturday, and everyone had to wait out in the rain to see if they would make it to the next round.

As Charlotte NC grows into a larger city, there are more casting calls like this for big shows. I'm sure Americal Idol has been out here recently or will be soon if it hasn't been. I don't really keep an eye out for stuff like that.

But one of my other posts highlighted the fact that big stars like the Jonas Brothers seem to think Charlotte is important enough to stop by the cinema here to pay a visit. That says to me that Charlotte has gone from being a sleepy textile town to a major market.

I don't know if they will be filming The Real World Charlotte anytime soon, and I'm not sure it would be a good thing if they did, but it seems like it could happen if Charlotte keeps experiencing the growth that it has been seeing here recently.