TIME magazines talks up downtown Charlotte
TIME magazine article “Trains, cranes and megabanks transform the New South” talks up downtown Charlotte, adding appeal to attend CNU's Transportation Summit next month.
Author Michael Grunwald chronicles the evolution of Charlottes downtown from its humble beginnings as a small business district and partially cultural wasteland where all life left the city after the work day, a place you could not find a snickers bar after 5 pm the author explains, to its current spot as the nations number 2 financial center behind New York. Charlotte is home to 9 FORTUNE 500 companies whose investment has helped rejuvenate the urban core- both Bank of America and Wachovia have pledged $15 million to build new cultural centers downtown.
While the rest of the nations economy is suffering, Charlotte has been steadily growing, with 28 construction cranes currently downtown. It also has the nations least-battered metropolitan-housing market, lowest office-vacancy rates and fastest growing airport. Its new light-rail system is approaching its ridership goal of 2025, and its city-center population has doubled since 2000. Grunwald writes how the mix of climate, cheap, housing, new urban amenities are attracting a new generation of workers, one Charlotte resident says “If you have a solid resume and you’re willing to work hard, you’ll be rewarded here”.
A city like Charlotte, thats experiencing such a high level of investment and growth, has a bustling city center and brand new light-rail system will make a truly ideal location for the Transportation Summit, offering attendees a great opportunity to experience the downtown and learn from it both at the Summit and on their own!
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