Work in nearing completion on Legacy Cornelius, off Westmoreland Road. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

CORNELIUS – The Cornelius Town Board on Monday voted 5-0 to annex Legacy Cornelius, a development of 168 condos and 77 townhouses off Westmoreland Road. At the meeting, commissioners also approved new rules governing fences, garden walls and retaining walls, and they approved contracts for design work on Phase 2 of Robbins Park and for the proposed Caldwell Station Greenway. Read the full story

Map shows location of the two new buildings. (Davidson United Methodist Church)

Architect’s concept for a proposed addition at Davidson United Methodist Church. (Davidson United Methodist/ADW Architects)

DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Davidson United Methodist Church plans to build two new buildings on its South Main Street campus to fill a need for more office, classrooms and meeting space. Church members approved the $7 million expansion plan at a congregation meeting last month. Now the church is turning its attention to raising money, refining its plans and seeking approval from the regional Methodist Church conference.

A study committee worked with ADW Architects over the past couple of years and came up with a plan for two new buildings: one an extension of the current building at 233 S. Main St. that would take over part of the church parking lot along South Main, and another behind the McKay Youth House, across South Main Street. Read the full story

Roberta Mundy sat on the porch of her mother’s home as volunteers began work Tuesday renovating the home of her mother, Matty Mundy. (Bill Giduz/DavidsonNews.net)

Speaking over the din of construction work, Saussy Burbank/JCB Urban service manager Robert Hoffman said, “We just want to give something back to the community. Times are tight, but it’s the right thing to do.”

Mr. Hoffman and up to 10 other builders from Saussy Burbank and JCB Urban are working this week to present 84-year-old Matty Mundy with a much needed holiday gift. Ms. Mundy has lived in her home on Westside Terrace in Davidson for 20 years, but not been financially able to properly maintain it. Read the full story

Davidson’s downtown zoning encourages density to support retail shops along Main Street, and allows multistory buildings. That’s Stowe’s Corner at right, the CVS pharmacy and offices center, and the Mooney’s Corner office building under construction on the left. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By MARY NEWSOM
Citiwire.net

Mary Newsom

It’s a common story around the Sun Belt: Rural hamlet near larger town blinks and finds it’s now a booming suburb in the orbit of a much larger, sprawling city. Years of attracting people looking for a small town and a private getaway have built a fabric of large lawns and scattered houses, and more lawns and more houses. Where does it go from here?

When I moved to Charlotte more than 30 years ago, Matthews was the suburb. It lay directly in the path of the major growth trajectory – southeast. The drive to central Charlotte was a reasonable 25-30 minutes. The cute, but miniature, downtown Matthews and a few surrounding blocks of turn-of-the-century houses gave a historic feel and sense of small-town identity to a place that, in fact, was accumulating mostly standard subdivisions and strip shopping centers. Read the full story

Home sales in the Charlotte region were “robust” in November, rising 35 percent from a year ago even as the real estate market enters the traditional slow season, according to Charlotte Regional Realtor Association. Selling prices also are rising, according to data from Carolina Multiple Listing Services Inc. (CMLS).

“We’re actually in the historically weakest part of the selling season, but home prices are continuing to rise, largely due to decrease supply and solid demand. This is good for sellers,” Association/CarolinaMLS President Jennifer Frontera said in a press release. Read the full story

A recent project called for centerpieces for a holiday gala.

As my mother said, I was creative beginning as a small child. I was always busy with some project,  from artworks that evolved to include such things as decorating solid colored Christmas balls. To me, a single solid color was just too plain. While not as beautiful as Faberge’s enameled eggs, mine were detailed, with miniature flowers and delicate lines of silver glitter. Many fell victim each year when they crashed to the floor as I used them in decorations. But these forays into the world of decorating gave me the platform to easily create in a variety of media. Read the full story