Ballantyne (Charlotte neighborhood)


Ballantyne is a neighborhood and developing edge city on the southside of Charlotte, North Carolina, occupying a area of land adjacent to the South Carolina border. The neighborhood is home to St. Matthew Catholic Church.
In June 2013, Wingate University announced that it was moving its Matthews campus to Ballantyne.

History

Ballantyne was originally a large hunting tract owned by the Harris family, descendants of former North Carolina governor Cameron A. Morrison. In 1992, Johnny Harris and his brother-in-law, Smoky Bissell, started Ballantyne Corporate Park, which has become one of the most successful master-planned communities in the United States. Harris had the 2,000 acres rezoned, the largest in Mecklenburg County history. Another developer, Crescent Resources, had already purchased the 610 acres that would later become the Ballantyne Country Club and the accompanying residential development. In October 1995, Bissell bought out his brothers-in-law's shares for $20 million and established Ballantyne, named after his great-aunt. Bissell also developed and designed the Ballantyne Hotel, which opened in September 2001.
At the intersection of Johnston Road and Ballantyne Commons stand four 30-foot monuments representing transportation, technology, finance, and the human spirit of Charlotte. The art installation was commissioned by Yugoslavian artist Boris Tomic, who spent three years crafting them at a brick factory in Salisbury.

Proposed secession from Charlotte

On April 14, 2012, residents met to discuss an idea of breaking away from the city of Charlotte to form their own city. In the history of North Carolina, this has never been done before. If it is done, the residents will name the new city Providence. However, there is currently a North Carolina community that already carries this name and has its own zip code. Due to a layout that combines a variety of land uses and densities plus a reliance on vehicular journeys, traffic congestion in the area has been a consistent problem.

Demographics

As of 2011, Ballantyne had a population of 20,936. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 69.2% White American, 11.3% Asian American, 10.3% Black or African American, and 2.5% of some other race. Hispanic or Latino American of any race were 6.7% of the population. The median household income for the area was $96,435.

Cityscape

Ballantyne Corporate Park

Ballantyne Corporate Park is a business park. With over of Class A office space, the business park includes the headquarters of Dentsply Sirona, Babcock & Wilcox, Curtiss-Wright, Snyder's-Lance Inc, Premier Inc, Extended Stay America, Inc, SPX, RXO, and ESPN regional television. Brighthouse Financial, TIAA, and Wells Fargo also have a major corporate presence in Ballantyne.
In 2010, Ballantyne Corporate Park was recognized as International Office Park of the Year by the Building Owners and Managers Association International.
In 2017, Northwood Investors purchased the office park to redevelop it into a dense, walkable community, referred to as "Ballantyne Reimagined" from H.C. "Smoky" Bissell, who developed Ballantyne Corporate Park. At $1.2 billion, the sale became the largest transaction in Charlotte real estate history. The deal was also the third largest US office deal in the first half of 2017 according to data collected by Yardi Matrix. The deal was 41 separate transactions totaling $1.2 billion. The transactions ranged in size from the Woodward Building and Gragg Building for $165 million to The Goddard School at 13820 Ballantyne Corporate Place purchased for $1.7 million.
In October 2019, Northwood announced the area's first apartment tower, the 16-story Towerview Ballantyne. The building was part of the early stages of Ballantyne Reimagined.
In March 2021, the Overlook, a office building opened. Credit Karma leases in the Overlook building to establish an east coast headquarters in Charlotte.

The Bowl at Ballantyne

In an effort to transform Ballantyne from a corporate park into a walkable, dense community, Northwood announced plans to construct a 25-acre mixed-use development on the current site of The Golf Club at Ballantyne. Phase I of the development includes 1,200 multifamily units, of retail, a 3,5000-seat amphitheater, multiple parks, and a greenway. In May 2022 Northwood Investors gave more details about this phase, it will include of retail space and 350 apartments in a 26-story residential high rise. The retail space will be anchored by Olde Mecklenburg Brewery which will be a, this will be building with a patio. Ballantyne's first brewery. Phase II includes an additional 1,000 multifamily units, 300 townhomes, and of additional office space.

Ballantyne Village

Ballantyne Village is a 171,000 square foot mixed used development. It was purchased by American Realty Advisors and Stonemar Properties for $43.2 million in 2017. Previously it was purchased by Charlotte-based Vision Ventures and Mount Vernon Asset Management for $26 million in 2013. It includes a number of restaurants, personal care business, 25,000 square feet of office space with an additional 53,000 square of office being developed in place of the Regal Ballantyne Village that closed in 2020
, and outdoor gathering space. One of the most notable tenants is Blackfinn Ameripub which employees 125 people, occupies 7,500 square feet, and has a popular outdoor seating area. Blackfinn has been a tenant since 2016.

Printed media

  • Ballantyne magazine

Notable residents