Living in Historic Wilmore & South End

10/30/2009

On a recent night around 8:30, while watching some inane show that I can’t recall, we decided to head out for a bit.  A couple of neighbors from Wilmore had sent messages saying they were out and about and invited us to join.  Though I was well aware of how much my neighborhood had changed since I first moved to this part of town more than a decade ago, this particular night was a eye-opener for just how much change had come.  We met at Carrabba’s on South for a quick appetizer and a glass of wine.  We moved over to Common Market off Camden and hung out in the courtyard with neighbors for an hour or so, then moved across Tryon to see a couple Dj’s that were spinning at Dharma, the new lounge in the district.  It was a beautiful night and each place was pretty full – mostly with friends and neighbors that all live in, or adjacent to, the district.

I moved to Dilworth in 1998.  At that time I started doing a lot of work in both Dilworth and the nearby district of South End.  South End was in the early stages of revitalization and not many people had heard or paid much attention to the area.  A number of design and creative oriented businesses had located in renovated buildings and spaces.  A handful of restaurants were located on the blocks of South Boulevard near East Boulevard and the Atherton Mill complex had been converted into shops and live/work condominiums.  The light-rail system was a plan far enough in the future that it hadn’t had much of an impact outside the offices of the planning department or in those of a few visionary developers.  All in all the South Boulevard corridor and surrounding blocks was still much of what it had been for a few decades:  a semi-industrial area with boarded up buildings used more for warehousing than production.  An area with a high crime rate and a place you generally wouldn’t want to be after dark.  Inside the uptown loop wasn’t much better and was still primarily a bustling daytime office park with not much else.

The branding of the area as “South End”, the creation of a special tax-district to bring in revenue to help woo business and development, and finally the pending rail system getting nearer to reality, brought about big change.  Back in 1998 and the early 2000’s you could find some activity and nightlife in the area but not a lot.  Tutto Mundo and Pewter Rose have occupied their spaces on South since that time and Sullivan’s has been serving up high-end steaks and heavy cocktails as well.  La Paz Mexican’s outdoor patio has been a long favorite and Vinnie’s Southside Sardine has been cramming folks in for years.  What we didn’t have a lot of at that time were residents.  We had Dilworth to the east and Wilmore to the west, with bungalow lined streets and a scattering of small multifamily properties, but directly inside South End there were few places to live.  Small projects were beginning to take shape and break ground in the area.  Tentative steps were being taken by developer pioneers who took the risk that people would be willing to live near the

South Boulevard corridor – an area considered less than desirable at the time.  Factory South, a former Lance cracker mill, was a pretty bold move in a city more oriented towards outward development than inward.  People living in a factory?  That wasn’t Charlotte

at the time.  That was how friends lived who moved away to Atlanta, DC, or New York, but not Charlotte. Park Avenue Condominiums, on Park Avenue between South and Camden were completed and the adjoining office building was finished.  The small mixed use building The Kingston was built on Camden as were the row of storefront business condos further down at the corner of West Boulevard. Atherton Heights, Latta Heights, and Village of South End were all erected on the Dilworth side and the construction of housing options seemed to gain momentum and were becoming the norm. The Arlington , now widely known as The Pink Building, boldly showed up on the skyline, quite a different hue from the blue/green renderings that were originally part of the plan.  This seemed to be a brash flashing light drawing eyes to Southend and effectively announcing that things had begun to change in earnest.  Light rail was no longer a distant dream and as its’ completion got nearer and nearer developers and investors began pouring into the area.  Land was snapped up, prices began to rise, and new projects were announced every other month.  What did seem to be lacking was a significant new number of businesses, shops, and dining options to satisfy the impending wave of new residents, but building and selling condos was the call of the day and the system was working overtime to build them.  By the time the light-rail blue line opened and began moving us north and south from Uptown to Pineville and right through Southend it was no longer unusual to hear someone say they lived in Southend or Wilmore.

For the next year or two those that lived in the area still ventured elsewhere for much of their entertainment and dining.  The restaurant row of East Boulevard , the new digs in uptown, and the few spots along South Boulevard filled the need.  But the area today is much different than it was just those few years ago.  The economy and housing slump has slowed and stopped most new condo developments, but in their place 5 new apartment projects have either just been finished or are about to be, bringing in over 2000 new folks to a 5 or 6 block area.  Camden Road now boasts numerous shops, cafes, galleries, and small businesses.  An entertainment district that rivals any other part of town including uptown can now be found along a 2 – 3 block stretch of Tryon Street including large live music venues, a couple martini bars, 3 sports bars, a nightclub, and dining options from Greek to Sushi to burritos. 

For those of us that live in the neighborhood it finally feels “urban” and nearly complete.  On any given weekend we don’t have to leave the area at all and can walk or bike to everything we need.  We can switch gears from a night at home to an evening out with friends by simply putting on a coat and stepping out the door.  Just a short 2 block walk away and we are in the midst of a thriving and lively collection of restaurants and bars.  If this was the vision that those who saw the potential in the area and worked to create what we now know as Southend I say “great job”.  Myself and my neighbors really appreciate what you’ve done.  All this in the midst of arguably the worst economic climate in decades makes me wonder just what we’ll see when things are actually good – because right now, in this area, for this resident, things seem just fine.