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If somebody wants to visit Belk's they could also go to Statesville or Mooresville. A lot of people would feel like it's worth driving several miles the other direction if they think the mall has problems.
I used to take my son there when the bookstore was there. After it closed visits were less and less. I haven't been this year. I will do my shopping online or at Southpark.
.... So if you need to go to Belk, Macy's or Dillard's, then that is where I would most likely go. Unless you sometimes wanted to go to their flagship stores at SouthPark. Which is a bit inconvenient traffic wise, as there is no direct interstate of freeway access to that mall. ....
Well Northlake would certainly be a more convenient shopping destination than SouthPark or Carolina Place. And it is the closest nice mall near Lake Norman. So if you need to go to Belk, Macy's or Dillard's, then that is where I would most likely go. Unless you sometimes wanted to go to their flagship stores at SouthPark. Which is a bit inconvenient traffic wise, as there is no direct interstate of freeway access to that mall. I find Northlake to be a nice mall, but obviously the changing demographics nearby are concerning. You don't want to worry about being shot every time you go to the mall.
It is a nice mall and it's the usual suspects that have an extreme fear of diversity.
Yes, There is a universe of difference between these areas and Charlotte. But the point is Detroit didn't happen overnight. What was once the wealthiest per capita city in America slowly decayed, neighborhood by neighborhood, until where it is now.
Northlake is a fine mall, with a possible bright and prosperous future. But it is not impervious to the deleterious effects of say, Section 8 housing scaring off the retail dollars of suburban families. I guess the term de jour is "white flight". Any fantastic city, neighborhood, shopping center, or street can be destroyed by loss of confidence in safety and public order, just as if some horrible biological weapon was deployed upon it.
Although topic for another the forum/thread, it's really just the onset of white fear once any number of Black people move into any neighborhood, especially en masse no matter their class, profession or level of success. Some fear the possibility of home devaluation, the fear of there kids interacting with "these" people or God forbid dating a person of another race. I don't know why people are so "PC" these days, most white people just don't wanna leave in neighborhoods that have a lot of Black folk. It isn't about safety because hypothetically speaking, if it were a mall full of Carlton & Hillary characters from the Fresh Prince, white people would still not want to frequent that mall.
I don't think North Lake will go the way of Eastland though, that area will continue to be diverse, a good thing.
I go to South Park and Northlake quite often. Both malls have a diverse clientele with South Park attracting a higher Income (professional white collar) and Northlake is more of your middle income (working class ).Both malls have had criminal activity occur on their property and neither can prevent it from happening again. I would dare to say that the South Park Area has had more serious crime than the Northlake area simply because it is more populous and older than North Lake. Yet there has not been any indication that South Park mall has suffered because of this and no dire predictions of it sliding down hill because of the criminal activity that has occurred in the South park area.. Both malls and Carolina Place seems to be very similar in the racial makeup of their shoppers. Reading this thread you would think that the neighborhoods surrounding Northlake was a high crime area with nothing but section 8 housing and low rental units. You will find very few if any section 8 housing in this area "the rent is to damn HIGH". The mall is surrounding by upscale apartments and nice neighborhoods of hard working home owners. The African American neighborhoods of Northlake are not low income neighborhoods but are where the Black professionals of "old" charlotte resided. Today these affluent black neighborhoods have diversified as other races have moved into and become part of the community.
The Mall location less than a mile from 485 exits and I-77 exits makes it a very desirable location for retail, probably one of the best in Charlotte as can be witnessed by the commercial development around the mall, which includes hotels, office buildings as well as restaurants and national big box retailers. The Northlake area prediction of sliding down hill and reading this thread creates a perception that the mall is surrounded by low income neighborhoods with criminals ready to pounce on a defenseless shopper and take their money. The perpetuators of these crimes did not live in the Northlake Area nor are they representative of those that shop and live in the area. I think part of the phobia of Northlake maybe the fact that the Cats bus that goes to the mall must travel through a low income black neighborhood (five miles at least from the mall). Most of the people in that low income African American neighbor hood are not going to North Lake to shop or to cause problems they are commuting to work. Since Northlake has developed the NO 7 bus is no longer 100% African American ridership. You will now find people of all races commuting on the #7 bus without incident through the black neighborhood.
Although topic for another the forum/thread, it's really just the onset of white fear once any number of Black people move into any neighborhood, especially en masse no matter their class, profession or level of success.
You are right.
But this only applies to small percentage of whites...The attitude of most is "if it doesn't affect me, I don't care."
Most people don't have the time, or the inclination, to stew over what "xyz" is doing in such and such an area. Most people are too busy going to sporting events, concerts, having fun with friends and family, dining at restaurants, going to movies, working, boating...who has time to think about any of this? Why should anyone care?
The only time the majority of people show great attention to any aspect of societal life, is when they think that their well being is threatened.
As to Northlake itself, the higher crime areas around Northlake - as much as I know, and I could be wrong - are suburban (low density) at best. Are a couple of bad apples creating this much concern?
The developments adjacent to the mall are new ... but along WT Harris, Mallard Creek Rd, etc there are many older apartment complexes with bad reviews on the ratings sites. North Charlotte generally is where many starter home developments were built prior to the real estate bust, and these were bought up by investors and rented out after foreclosure.
I don't think the area has the dilapidated vibe of Albemarle/Central/Sharon Amity where Eastland used to be. But Eastland was a 1970s mall and it declined pretty quickly after the mid 1990s. I think people posting on this thread see the same neighborhood dynamics in motion, and question where Northlake is ultimately headed in another decade or two.
I think exaggerating how fearful one is, is some sort of American social competition. Has an innocent person ever been shot at Northlake Mall?
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