opening Tuesday, May 11th, just  a few weeks before Charlotte Motor Speedway’s biggest race event of the year, Memorial Day’s Coca-Cola 600.  The museum and office building is expected to attract  more than 600,000 visitors per year.

Charlotte welcomes The NRA this weekend, as their annual convention  unfolds at the Charlotte Convention Center  Friday.

Alive at 5 is back at the Epicenter, Thursday evenings.

On top of the recent positive numbers in national job growth, Charlotte unemployment went down from 12.8% to 11.9%, a hefty one month drop, still with a long ways to go for a city used to being below the national unemployment averages.

Anecdotaly, I’ve a client who is a mid-level finance  manager, who came to Charlotte looking for work in the finance industry about 60 days ago. As of Saturday, she had 5 job offers.  Congratulations to Paulette and congratulations to the Denneberg’s! Good news, but I like to see more numbers from the city!

New to Charlotte in the past  6 months

The Nascar Hall Of Fame

The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art

The Harvey Gantt African-American Musuem

The Knight Theater

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel

Relocation- Electrolux- North American Headquarters

Relocation-Husqvarna- North American Headquarters

New Runway at Charlotte International Airport AND expanded daily flights- almost 600/day!  Non-Stop Cities

Worth Mentioning

I’ve a new Frequently Asked Question page for Charlotte Real estate and a free no obligation, no sign up required,  search for South Charlotte homes

Do you need a good day trip?  Children home from school looking a little bored? Or even an afternoon? Cane Creek is about 15 minutes south of Waxhaw, making it easily accessible for an afternoon trip from Union County or South Charlotte- leave a little more time if you are coming from the north… but if you have children acting like they’ve been cooped up, looking a bit crazed from being indoors,  you’ll find it worth the drive. (From personal experience!)

Cane Creek State park, in southern Union County is the perfect day tip- or long afternoon.  The northern side of the lake is for day use, the southern side is for overnight/camping. Directions

a trail map of Cane Creek, link to actual site

Cane Creek was packed Easter Sunday afternoon. A beautiful day to be outside, families were barbecuing, fishing, playing beach volleyball,  horseback riding, and jus having a good time. There is plenty of shade, and covered shelters for picnics.  Canoes are available, a small climbing wall, snack bar (hours?),and shaded playgrounds for the little guys and girls. The lake had a few boats out on it, but mostly it was shore fun that caught my eye.

Pictures

Call 704-843-3919 for Park hours, there is a $4.00 vehicle entry fee  , swimming and miniature golf opens Memorial Day Weekend.

Charlotte Homes for sale with market reports, home prices and homes sold at Charlotte Real Estate. Compare popular Fort Mill, Huntersville and Waxhaw… three popular areas in the Charlotte suburbs.

While Case-Shiller shows January home prices down 3% from the January before in Charlotte, I have first quarter Charlotte home prices rising, based on the records of the Carolina MLS

President Obama visited the battery producer CelGuard in Charlotte Friday, Celguard used a  49M stimulus grant to add 495 jobs here in Charlotte. Did you know Vice-President Biden was in Durham Thursday, visiting Cree, a manufacturer of LED lights… big week for our state.

Duke Energy bought an interest ina Chinese smart electric grid company, details not disclosed.

Good news on the Charlotte Library front- no closings, more limited hours, and volunteers fill the gap.

The Arts And Science Council, Charlotte’s non-profit fun raising entity, reached its goal at the last minute this past week.

Wells Fargo began replacing the Wachovia signs uptown this week.

As many of you know, Michael Jordan became the official owner of the Charlotte Bobcats last week, and the franchise has responded. They are playoff bound.  Playing well before the ownership change, they won a gritty overtime game against Milwaukee last night.

Great news on jobs Friday-162,000 new jobs, the most created since December 2007, a sign that the economy has turned… now we just need more here.

Fascinating- The 18 month investment in Citi Bank (Tarp) has turned out nicely for US (us) taxpayers, paying $7.5B in interest. Yeah, looking for my cut next week.

We needs some of that money here for schools and libraries.

Hendrick Construction completed work on Carowinds latest roller coaster, and 80 mph billed as the fastest, tallest and longest roller coaster in the Southeast.

We are excited by the year 2010 so far– we saw the Bechtler museum open January 1 (did you see the recent NY Times write up?), we have seen Relo’s return to the Charlotte market and the new UNCC MBA building is underway Uptown. At some point folks will move into the new Duke corporate headquarters- the largest building in Charlotte, next to the Bechtler and the new Mint Museum of Craft and Design which opens this fall.

Two new major discount firms are coming to Charlotte.  Nordstrom Rack is taking over  an old Circuit City location on South Blvd- this will make ladies venture out on South Blvd I am sure!

Not to be outdone, Ollie’s Bargain outlet announced plans to open in big boxes stores on a temporary basis as Close Out stock permits. This chain store recently bought 350,000 pair of Crocs- and are selling the $30 shoes  at $9.95/pr. Stores will open in Matthews and Mooresville.

The New York Times reports fewer 4th quarter mortgage delinquencies and B of A announced that late credit card payments declined 7.35%in January.

Charlotte was the major statewide winner in the high speed train sweepstakes last month, landing a $152,000,000 to build an expanded train station in 3rd Ward, out of a total of $400m or so awarded the state to improve the rail speed between Raleigh and Charlotte.

White Water Center lenders have forgiven (written-off) 2/3’s of the $38M loan offering the center a chance at the future. This is good news. While I feel for the lenders (not really that much) I like even more the resource this provides the Charlotte Community. They make money from operations- there just wasn’t enough to pay a $38M note.  Very good.

On the bad…

the NY Attorney General has something about us Charlotte folks and can’t let the B of A matter rest. Obama administration regulators thought a fine sufficient, but he thinks it’s criminal. What are we talking about?  The shotgun wedding between Merrill Lynch and B of A , orchestrated by the Treasury Department, that Bof A may not have disclosed all the bonuses agreed to be paid… yes I know I hate bonuses too-but this is 2nd guessing after the fire. Or it is suing the good Samaritan who stops at the accident because you don’t think he did enough.  Merrill Lynch would have been dead if B of A doesn’t do the deal- dead like Lehman within 48 hours.  At the request of the Treasury, they did the deal.  Maybe they didn’t disclose everything, maybe in the rush of the weekend, they didn’t have time. To hold them criminally liable?

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Three Big Wins for The City

Charlotte Updates-Fall 2009

Friends School of Charlotte

The Friends School Of Charlotte- Next Open House February 4, 9:30-10:30 am

The Friends School of Charlotte is a  K-3 learning community in southeast Charlotte, an independent private school within the Friend’s tradition, a tradition established by the Quakers more than 300 years ago.

Friends Schools have a tradition of excellence, and are recognized around the country as providing some of the  the very best independent education in the world.  Friend’s Schools believe in the dignity of each person, that literally there is a “spark of God” within each student, and believe in experiential learning, learning by doing. Students of all faiths and no faith are accepted. Tolerance is another key virtue. All Friends Schools are based on the Quaker values of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality and service.

The most recognized Friends School is Sidwell Friends in Washington DC, where many of Washington’s elites send their children… past -Presidents and the current one, President Obama, chose a Friends School, from the many quality private and public schools available.  A Friend’s education is  recognized as offering much more than just small “e” education, it educates the total child.

What is a Friends School?  What is their “model” of education?

Why would you be interested in a Friends School of Charlotte for your TK to early elementary child?

To me the answer has many layers, but it begins with the Quaker philosophy. The Quaker school of Charlotte  then borrows effective precepts from various teaching models. It is guided by  the Quaker belief there is God in everyone, and that means each child will be a treasured part of the learning community. There is a culture of respect and caring.  If you want your child’s mind cultivated, his/her freedom to express her views celebrated, and want him/her to be a lifelong learner, this may be the place.

The school uses the North Carolina Standard Course of Study as it’s core curricula, a “roadmap of learning goals and objective… but not just a surface understanding, students will be encouraged to to seek, dig deep, analyze and interpret.”

Your childs’ education at Friends School of Charlotte will be inquiry based, experiential learning. There is a strong consensus that children learn best by doing, questioning, analyzing and interpreting their learning.  Educators call it “constructivist”, learners “construct” their own learning, facilitated and guided by the teacher.  Inquiry is the base mode of learning, the interdisciplinary nature makes it relevant to their lives. Studies have repeatedly confirmed students learn best when the construct their learning- they learn if for themselves, and the  learning is relevant.

Your kids won’t be learning tons of little factoids, and tested and tested… they will be loved, inspired and treated with dignity they deserve.

Go meet the wonderful teachers and Head of School at the Friends School of Charlotte.

Electrolux, USA  is relocating to Charlotte.

Governor Bev Perdue announced  Electrolux would be moving its North American headquarters in the first quarter of 2010,and more than 700 jobs (over several years)  to Charlotte from Augusta, Georgia. The Swedish home appliance firm is consolidating their North American operations at the former First Charter facility in the University City area, and will be home to more than 700 employees, most of whom will be relocated from around the US to Charlotte. Governor Perdue cited North Carolina’s well trained work force and pro-business climate. We in Charlotte real estate like the sound of 700 families moving here!

Charlotte had two big advantages, Charlotte’s airport has given Charlotte an advantage among international companies seeking to locate in the south for a decade. Then last August, another Swedish firm Husquavarna, a former Electorlux division, now independent, relocated here…   That and over $10 Million in incentives from city, county and state resources didn’t hurt either.

Still, the incentive package was small by most regional comparisons- they wanted to be here. All good. Then late in the day,  it was announced that

Bank of America had named Brian Moynihan as the bank’s new CEO replacing the retiring Ken Lewis.

Moynihan was quick to point out he will be based in Charlotte and that the bank’s headquarters would remain in Charlotte.  This settles a few months of uncertainty since Ken Lewis made his announcement. Combined with the early re-payment of the TARP money, this offers Bank of America a new start in  a nee decade and can begin the work of  rebuilding its reputation.

A number of Bank of America’s Board sought a business relocation to NYC, making many around here, lets say,  uncomfortable. Fifth 3rd Bank announced as part of the Electrolux deal they’ll move their headquarters uptown, GMAC  has expanded their operations and are moving uptown, US Bank established their Southeast office here in July, all seeking to capitalize on the talent let go by the old Wachovia.

Kudos to our excellent Chamber and city government for putting together the package that made this work.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools placed two high schools in the top 200, and an additional 9 high schools in the survey of Top 1500 Public High Schools conducted annually  by Newsweek Magazine Online.  The Top 1500 represent the top 6% of US High Schools, and the CMS 11 pl;us 1 from Union- Weddington HS,  represent 23% of North Carolina’s total of 53 high schools that made the Top 1500.

Jay Matthew’s at the Washington Post and Newsweek devised a simple formula, not without its critics, a few years back: Rank them by “the number of Advanced Placement, Intl. Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2008 divided by the number of graduating seniors. All of the schools on the list have an index of at least 1.000; they are in the top 6 percent of public schools measured this way.”

So it is the number of AP or IB tests taken per graduating senior for each school, (not passed) with a minimum “score” of 1.0, so to get on the list- if you had 400 graduates  then a minimum of 400 tests take (seniors and juniors) would equal a score of 1.0, likewise 600 tests taken for 400 students 1.5 etc. While not a perfect measure, it is a measure of how many of the schools’ children are actively engaged in college preperatory classes, it is relatively easy to calculate, allows small schools to compete with large schools, and I suspect most high school Principals would be glad to see their school on the list. It is also a modest measure- yet only 6% of the nations’ high schools make the list.

The List does not include many terrific magnet and charter schools- those schools are purposeful in their attraction of elite students, and so, they’d need to be evaluated using a different standard, paraphrasing  Matthew’s. Do you have a question on why or how he did the work? Here is his FAQ page for details.

Myers Park led Mecklenburg County at #44 on the list with each graduating senior taking an average of 5 AP/IB tests. Providence was # 189 on the list, with each senior taking an average of 3 AP Tests… but do not forget the other 10!  These can be seen at the bottom of the post.

If you’re school is on the list,  it means they believe in the power of  AP and IB,  and the administration is encouraging the  course work and test taking– a very imortant indicator of future success in college.

So 1500 schools represent the top 6% of public high schools in America, according to this formula.  Mecklenburg County has by my count, 12 schools on the list.  Interestingly, many of these CMS schools (5) had 40% or more of their students n Free and Reduced lunches, that is good work at those tough schools, promoting a culture of excellence. Check out the vide in the Newsweek link below, and hear about inner city children being offered plane tickets to interview at MIT and Standford.

Here is the Newsweek link, indexed by State, but a handful of results are below:

Wake County- someone from that region should check me but I’m counting 4.

Lets compare Charlotte area’s 12  High Schools, NC’s 53 high Schools to a few… states.

North Carolina had 53 high schools make the list- so CMS had  23% of those.

New Jersey has 53 High Schools make the list.

Tennesee had 12 high schools make the list

Conneticut had 17 high schools on the list.

Delaware had 6 high schools on the list.

South Carolina had 20 High Schools make the list, somewhat surprisingly none in the Upstate region near Charlotte, 3 each in Greenville, Columbia and Charleston.

The South in general, outside of NC, SC and Georgia, didn’t fare too well.

Alabama-9

Arkansaw- 10

Missisippi-2

Louisiana-2

So- 11 of CMS’s 31 High Schools fall into this top 6% national category, the same system that recently announced it has 51% of its student’s living in poverty. Obviously this fact doesn’t mean all is well in CMS- it just means CMS is doing better than a lot of people think, a message often lost if all the “clutter” we call conversation about Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Ane for all that talk about great nearby South Carolina Schools and Union County Schools? One school made the list between them- one school emphasizes AP on the high school level. Wow.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Union County on Newsweek’s Top Public High Schools

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As most readers know I make my living in real estate, but I have a passion for education, and  a passion for educating every child in the US. It is the promise of America, and it is in our national interest to educate every child to compete in this inter-connected world.  For those of you who don’t know, I’m also a father of 4, my grown children were educated in private primary schools,  and graduated from a public high school on this list here in Charlotte.  I’m married to a longtime teacher who is now a Professor of Education at a local college.   I’ll be writing more on schools that “Get it” in the Charlotte area in the coming months.

We can of course check the actual taxes paid on any given home. But this should help get you started.

South Carolina uses a completely different formula, but is quite low, running .55 to .7% overall.

I really think spring is Charlotte’s best time of year- the city is so greeeen,  it is lush and verdant… but some prefer fall and it is easy to see why. The colors have been great the last 2 years, these photos taken from Dilworth, Myers Park and across South Charlotte, and a pic from Lake Norman too… do you have one to add?

Charlotte, The Queen City,  The Heart of the New South

a Dilworth street Charlotte NC

Brilliant Colors South Charlotte

Sanctuary Estate Homes at lake Wylie

Beverly Crest Blvd south Charlotte

Sanctuary Street-estate homes 20 minutes to Charlotte

Lake Norman NC Fall day

All the above photos were personally taken and are available free of charge with attribution

©Terry McDonald 2008-2009

The US economy in 2009- 1st Quarter 6.4% loss, 2nd Quarter 0.7% loss, 3rd Quarter 3.5% gain

Inflation was annualized 1.6%. that is outstanding as well.

What’s left, we are done on the economy, right?

No, not done, not even close with more than 10M jobs lost, and over 12 M unemployed, and a Still shaky financial system.

It is ALL about Creating new jobs. Obama said it, and I couldn’t agree more. Waiting on those unemployment numbers to trend DOWN.  Details here at the New York Times

But in Charlotte we are making progress:

If you saw my last post you know Charlotte IS creating new jobs, 20% ahead of the pace in 2008, and unemployment is falling in Charlotte and Charlotte real estate prices have risen in 4 of the last 6 months, and homes sold were up 23% in August over a year before…

Still, if we want the good times rolling here in Charlotte, we have to create jobs- jobs for May grad’s, for mid-level managers, in finance, in manufacturing, in the service sector…

Question of the day? How can Charlotte, and North Carolina Grow more jobs here? Without the cross-state bribery going on in South Carolina?

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Buying or Selling your home, we are here to help. Visit us online at Charlotte Real Estate or “meet me” online at the  #1 Video on You Tube for Charlotte NC. More urgent? Call me direct at 704-351-1519

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