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There's no way Cary will catch Raleigh or Durham. It will never not be a suburban town first and foremost.
But getting away from the obvious, theres certainly a lot to like about Cary recently, in particular the downtown. Plenty of suburban towns across the country have made an effort in recent years to spruce up their downtown areas and good on Cary for getting on that bandwagon. It's always had the potential, it was only a matter of time before someone did something to breathe life into the place. The park is a cool touch and the revival of the old theater has been a nice success story.
I would like to see Cary grow "up" instead of continuing to sprawl out. Downtown Cary could be the place for that if the people there have some vision. For a city of its size, Cary barely has a downtown, no reason why there can't be some skyscrapers there one day
I would like to see Cary grow "up" instead of continuing to sprawl out. Downtown Cary could be the place for that if the people there have some vision. For a city of its size, Cary barely has a downtown, no reason why there can't be some skyscrapers there one day
I feel like that could work if Cary created sort of a newer downtown district around the Maynard Rd and E Chatham St (or maybe Chapel Hill Rd) intersection. I can't imagine any skyscrapers gaining any sort of traction in old downtown though.
I pick Concord population 2018 at 94,387. It is has a growth rate of 13.4%. Cabarrus county is 178,011.
It has pass Asheville and Greenville for 10 place in large cities in NC in 2018. IT has a regional airport service by Allegiant Airlines. It has I-Max Drag Strip with 4 lanes and Charlotte Motor Speedway.
I also is big in warehousing for large companies. It also so has wholesale companies and Concord Mills Shopping Center
(the most visited shopping center in the state.)
Concord has been hot for decades. I pick Wingate, Marshville, and Peachland/Polkton, small towns that are in exurban Charlotte and may pop with the completion of the Monroe Expressway.
By the way, Cabarrus County had an estimated 206,872 people in July 2017, and is adding about 5,000 folks per year. At this rate, it will have about 250,000 people in 2030.
It's hard for me to think of the immediate Raleigh suburbs, like Cary, as being the next "hot" city. To me, they're all just lumped in to the greater Raleigh area. As a recent post mentioned, downtown Cary is surprisingly small. Seems more like an upper-class suburbia type place.
My nominations are:
Kinston - Tons of money being poured into downtown, mostly through the Mother Earth/Chef & Farmer groups. Lots of work needed to address crime. No interstate, but 70 is fine. Hoping for future development and utilization of Kinston Jetport.
Pittsboro - Reminds me of a much smaller version of Asheville. Artsy and some cool things to see/do.
Greensboro - Underappreciated for what it has to offer.
Greenville - HUGE progress in past 5 years and only getting better. If you haven't been here in a few years, I suggest revisiting. 64/264 will be interstate soon, but has always been a quality uncrowded state road anyway for easy access to the city. Airport could use improvement, but easy to get anywhere connecting through Charlotte. Hoping for more routes soon.
Kinston - Tons of money being poured into downtown, mostly through the Mother Earth/Chef & Farmer groups. Lots of work needed to address crime. No interstate, but 70 is fine. Hoping for future development and utilization of Kinston Jetport.
US-70 between I-40 and Morehead City was designated as Future I-42 back in 2016, so interstate access won’t be an issue for Kinston.
I guess “hot” is subjective, but I think Kinston is too isolated and in a depressed region to be hot anytime soon. Lenoir County has lost over 3,000 people since 2010!
I think the established cities outside of Charlotte will be the next ones to start heating up. The QC isn't getting any less expensive, and Gastonia, Monroe, and Rock Hill are all convenient to Charlotte and are becoming much more affordable to live in. Gastonia in particular has a well-preserved main street that is surrounded by ton of dilapidated/abandoned lots, and with the Loray Mill renovation and upcoming ballpark/entertainment complex, there seems to actually be some semblance of momentum in Gastonia for the first time in ages.
I guess “hot” is subjective, but I think Kinston is too isolated and in a depressed region to be hot anytime soon. Lenoir County has lost over 3,000 people since 2010!
It can be, but in this case, the OP has defined "hot" as: "A city that morphs into something of a destination for it's restaurant scene and arts/culture."
No mention of population growth, which is how many on this thread are responding.
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