In west Charlotte, you’ll find some of the most reasonable housing prices in the city. And as you travel farther into the northwestern portion of the county, you’ll find some of the most unspoiled beauty in the entire Charlotte area.
The west and northwest regions encompass urban areas near Charlotte’s Uptown and extend west to the Gaston County line, northwest to Mountain Island Lake and north to Lake Norman.
In town, this area offers easy access to Uptown, interstates and other major thoroughfares, including Wilkinson Boulevard, West Trade Street, Beatties Ford Road and Statesville Road. You’ll find reasonably priced bungalow-style homes in some quaint, older neighborhoods near downtown.
Wesley Heights, just across I-77 from Uptown, is one of Charlotte’s earliest streetcar suburbs. Named a National Register Historic District, Wesley Heights is characterized by tree-lined streets and bungalows as well as Tudor and Colonial Revival homes, similar to those in Dilworth. Although home prices in Wesley Heights are nearing those of other urban neighborhoods like Dilworth and Plaza-Midwood, you can still find a fixer-upper in the low $200s.
The area is quickly attracting new urban developers. Lela Court, a Beazer Homes development in Wesley Heights, includes 83 new townhomes priced in the low- to mid-$200s. Right down the street Bungalows at Lela, starting at $250,000, will borrow an architectural style from the 1920s.
Nearby, the Irwin Creek and Stewart Creek greenways compose a two-mile trail that winds through the Wesley Heights neighborhood to Uptown, linking Bruns Avenue Elementary to Ray’s Splash Planet and Frazier Park.
Also near the center of town is Johnson C. Smith University off West Trade Street. The university is a private, historically black, four-year liberal arts institution located on a 100-acre campus within blocks of Uptown Charlotte. The school is hailed by U.S. News and World Report as one of the best comprehensive colleges in the South. JCSU offers 1,500 students academically progressive programs in 27 different majors.
The school recently completed a $6.6-million restoration of Biddle Memorial Hall, a 120-year-old administration building that has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
The Beatties Ford Road Library is equipped with a community meeting room, computers and a significant collection of print, media and electronic materials on African-American history and culture.
City services are brought closer to the west Charlotte community at the Adam Service Area Center on Wilkinson Boulevard. This mini-city hall is an outpost for police, but also is staffed to provide a number of city services, including a place to pay water bills or purchase a dog license. |
