Belmont...umm.... (Charlotte, Gastonia, Concord: condos, new home, established neighborhood)
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Visited Belmont for the 1st time since I've been in Charlotte. I went to shooters express to purchase some new firearms and sign up for a range membership. I drove around the town a little bit, and was very unimpressed at first. I accidentally stumbled across the Main Street area and all of a sudden I went from to . Those houses are insanely big and so out of place compared to the rest of the area that I drove around. I do, however, like the shops along mainstreet and the quaint feel it offers. I think that is pretty cool, and I wouldnt mind going to that steakhouse to see what its like for myself. I can tell by driving up and down a few streets that it will blow up soon and grow a lot, hopefully for the good. Looks like construction and new things will be popping up soon and often. Again I was just shocked to go from the small barren looking neighborhood by 1st street-11th street then all of a sudden ending up down the street looking at ginormous mansions. Who needs a house that big? Someone with 20 kids?
Belmont has already started to boom but seems to have their growth in check.
It is a popular choice for people commuting to Charlotte, South Carolina and Gastonia. There are new developments with McMansion homes but their are several established neighborhoods as well. It sounds like you only saw a very small part of the town. There are many nice, family neighborhoods. The small homes you saw are older houses from when mills where the primary source of work in the county. While there are some new homes right as you enter downtown, some of the big houses (mansions) you saw were built by the owners (or family members) of those mills.
When the industrial revolution made it possible for people to earn a living from work other than farming, mills were built along the rivers and towns grew around the mills. Belmont, Cramerton, Lowell, McAdenville, Mount Holly and Stanley all trace their origins to textiles, and the industry was good for the towns for many decades.
A few textile companies, such as Pharr Yarns, R.L. Stowe Mills, American & Efird and Parkdale Mills, continue to thrive, providing jobs for workers and supporting the communities where their plants still run. But the Information Age and the booming Charlotte metropolitan market are ushering in a new revolution, once again bringing change to the communities of eastern Gaston County.
Most of the formerly bustling textile mills are closed and many have been demolished. Mill villages that grew up around the plants also are disappearing. In their place upscale subdivisions are springing up, often with single homes costing nearly as much to build as an entire mill cost a century ago.
Belmont has already started to boom but seems to have their growth in check.
It is a popular choice for people commuting to Charlotte, South Carolina and Gastonia. There are new developments with McMansion homes but their are several established neighborhoods as well. It sounds like you only saw a very small part of the town. There are many nice, family neighborhoods. The small homes you saw are older houses from when mills where the primary source of work in the county. While there are some new homes right as you enter downtown, some of the big houses (mansions) you saw were built by the owners (or family members) of those mills.
I didnt mean to come off as I did not like what I saw. In fact its nice to see some regular homes for once, being that I'm from one of the biggest connecticut mill towns and most of the homes were built in the mid-1970's down to the 1700's. It was just the difference in housing size of these established homes, but like you said the wealthy mill owners built them for themselves. They must have been jerks and liked to rub their success in their fellow town members faces because those mansions are a sight to see. They stand out almost to the point where they're an eyesore. I'm not a fan of these developments where you can reach out and touch the house next door, or where every house looks the same, so thats definitely a plus for Belmont, although you say those do exist in places I did not look. I also like the way the deeper part of Concord is, with older established homes and big yards, although developments have also begun to creep their way into there as well
I hear ya jadedSOUL83. The downtown area is small so it's kind of like "woah, where did that come from?" I also really like those neighborhoods in Concord. They are very nice. Belmont has some expensive homes and some homes average(for the area) priced homes.
One project I think is neat is the transformation of an old mill into luxury condos. The original mill was owned by the Lineberger family who built this house. It's 6100 sq. ft with 6 bedrooms/6 baths.
Quote:
Visit a reminder of Belmont's textile past. Built in 1922 by The Lineberger Family, 312 North Main is located in the historic downtown area of Belmont just 15 minutes away from uptown Charlotte.
By contrast here are some nearbyhomesforsale. There certainly is a difference there due to the history of that part of town.
Last edited by NCgirl; 11-29-2007 at 06:55 AM..
Reason: Fix links
Belmont is awesome. I live quite near this little town, and do some of my grocery shopping or go to the nice little library with my daughter. It's kind of spotty in some areas, but since it's such a small area, you gotta build where you gotta build! Just depends on where you go.
Stowe park has a great parks and recreation department that puts on festivals/events during the warmer months. It's pretty cool to see that huge train go by each day!
Stowe Manor, I belive was owned by a textile family, so a lot of the homes around there, have similar architecture, where families have been living there for years, and have taken the time to refurbish everything.
They're doing construction now, so maybe they're adding more businesses and homes for a better economy for the town itself.
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to 
. Those houses are insanely big and so out of place compared to the rest of the area that I drove around. I do, however, like the shops along mainstreet and the quaint feel it offers. I think that is pretty cool, and I wouldnt mind going to that steakhouse to see what its like for myself. I can tell by driving up and down a few streets that it will blow up soon and grow a lot, hopefully for the good. Looks like construction and new things will be popping up soon and often. Again I was just shocked to go from the small barren looking neighborhood by 1st street-11th street then all of a sudden ending up down the street looking at ginormous mansions. Who needs a house that big? Someone with 20 kids?
The downtown area is small so it's kind of like "woah, where did that come from?" I also really like those neighborhoods in Concord. They are very nice. Belmont has some 
