Ballantyne is an affluent neighborhood in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, occupying a 2,000-acre (8.1Â km2) area of land adjacent to the South Carolina border.
In June 2013, Wingate University announced that it was moving its Matthews campus to Ballantyne.
History
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Ballantyne was originally a large hunting tract owned by the Harris family, descendants of former North Carolina Governor Cameron A. Morrison. In 1992, Johnny Harris and his brother-in-law, Smoky Bissell, started Ballantyne Corporate Park, which has become one of the most successful master-planned communities in the United States. Harris had the 2,000 acres rezoned, the largest in Mecklenburg county history. Another developer, Crescent Resources, had already purchased the 610 acres that would later become the Ballantyne Country Club and the accompanying residential development. In October 1995, Bissell bought out his brothers-in-law’s shares for $20 million and established Ballantyne, named after his great aunt. Bissell also developed and designed The Ballantyne Hotel, which opened in September 2001.
At the intersection of Johnston Road and Ballantyne Commons stand four 30-foot monuments representing transportation, technology, finance, and the human spirit of Charlotte. The art installation was commissioned by Yugoslavian artist Boris Tomic, who spent three years crafting them at a brick factory in Salisbury.
Ballantyne Corporate Park was recognized as International Office Park of the Year by the Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA) in 2010.
In 2017, H.C. "Smoky" Bissell, who developed Ballantyne Corporate Park, sold the development for $1.2 billion.
Demographics
As of 2011, Ballantyne had a population of 20,936. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 69.2% White American, 11.3% Asian American, 10.3% Black or African American, and 2.5% of some other race. Hispanic or Latino American of any race were 6.7% of the population. The median household income for the area was $96,435.
Economy
The 535 acre Ballantyne Corporate Park has over 4,000,000 sq feet of Class A office space and includes the headquarters of Babcock & Wilcox, Curtiss-Wright, Tree.com Inc, Snyder's-Lance Inc, Premier Inc, Extended Stay America, Inc, Fortune 500 company SPX and ESPN regional television.
In April 2013, MetLife (now Brighthouse Financial) announced that it was establishing its U.S. Retail Business Headquarters in Ballantyne.
Controversies
On April 14, 2012, residents met to discuss an idea of breaking away from the city of Charlotte to form their own city. In the history of North Carolina, this has never been done before. If it is done, the residents will name the new city Providence. However, there is currently a North Carolina community that already carries this name and has its own zip code.
Printed media
- Ballantyne magazine
References
External links
- Ballantyne travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Ballantyne magazine
