Charming. Quaint. Delightful. These reactions are typical of a first-time visitor's stroll through Fourth Ward. This predominantly residential neighborhood artfully blends restored 100-plus-year-old homes with newer construction designed to be compatible with its surroundings.

Along the edges of the neighborhood, features include the vitality of the North Tryon arts and entertainment district and as well as pricey new condominiums. In fact, one hallmark of much of the recent development has been combining retail - offices, restaurants and galleries - on the Tryon Street side with residential on the Church Street side. And although high-rise structures characterize much of this, the scale has been monitored carefully so as not to overwhelm adjacent single family homes.

The McColl Center for Visual Art, which has become the northern terminus for the arts district at 11th Street, is a beacon that attracts notice from passersby, whether they be driving on the Brookshire Freeway or strolling through the Center City. The structure is a dramatic restoration of a one-time church that for years loomed as a burned-out shell.

The arts/culture/entertainment venues will be prominent in the further development of Fourth Ward. The neighborhood already houses a children's science and technology center, which is contemplating a significant expansion.

The gentility, the solidity, the obvious prosperity that radiates throughout Fourth Ward stands in stark contrast to the urban wasteland that correctly characterized the area as recently as the late 1960s. At that time, relatively few structures were dilapidated and largely abandoned. Vacant weed-choked lots abounded, the overgrowth giving cover to drug dealing, prostitution and violence.

In the early 1970s, Bank of America Chairman and CEO Hugh McColl Jr., and neighborhood activist, Dennis Rash, began discussing cities they enjoyed around the world and quickly determined that the hallmark of these cities was their urban neighborhoods. They set about to create something comparable in Charlotte. What grew from those conversations was a joint venture between Charlotte city government and the then North Carolina National Bank. The bank funded a special city program where urban pioneers could obtain mortgages at very favorable rates to buy and restore properties in Fourth Ward.

The payoff for the risk, imagination and creativity was the re-establishment of a viable, thriving Center City neighborhood. It is also a prime example of a Charlotte tradition that has been one of the secrets of its success. Time after time in the city's history, needs have been identified. Public officials and business leaders have worked together to address those needs. This heritage of successful public-private partnerships has been the envy of many other communities. One needs look no further than Fourth Ward today to understand why.

Helpful links:
Check our Fourth Ward's web site!