Harrisburg, NC
Harrisburg, North Carolina is a northeastern Charlotte suburb located in Cabarrus County. The town of Harrisburg was incorporated in 1973. More than 40% of the households in Harrisburg are over the age of 55.
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Point of Change: 2015
2015 had a profound impact on the growth of Harrisburg. On June 05 the last missing piece of I-485 was opened to the public (gold segment in image). With a complete 67-mile outer loop around the city of Charlotte, growth came to the northern part of Charlotte. On August 12, 2015, Harrisburg appeared 41st on Time Money's 2015 Best Places to Live. Harrisburg was praised for its great schools, high home ownership rate, 10.6% projected job growth rate and proximity to Charlotte.
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Interesting Dilemma
According to Harrisburg's Area Land use Plan (2018), Harrisburg has a current population of 25, 257. This is a 219% increased form the population in the 2010 U.S. Census (11,526). In 2025 Harrisburg's population is expected to reach 34,425 and in 2035 reach 47,451. With the exception of farmland, 100% of Harrisburg's residents and institutions reside in 44% of Harrisburg's 17,000 acres of space.The figures above makes Harrisburg a prime place for growth, however, the current state of Harrisburg is not attractive for Millennials . Therefore the town of Harrisburg is in the interesting dilemma of trying to make Harrisburg appealable to Millennials without phasing out the mature population.
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Case Study: Stallings Rd. Rezoning
On October 9, 2018 the Harrisburg Town Council voted, 4-3, to rezone existing land on Stallings Rd. to become an area of "High Density" (see image on the right). This means that a 190-home development will be built between the existing neighborhoods of Stallings Farm and Flowers Farm. Stallings Rd. is a main road in Harrisburg. Many residents expressed concerns about the lack of sidewalks on Stallings Rd., increased road congestion, increased overcrowding of already overcrowded schools and lowering of property value.
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What's Next
"What is a small town? That's the million dollar interpretation that council's going to have to decide what does that actually look like going forward." |
The Stallings Rd. high density rezoning case study is just one of many ongoing projects. In conclusion, the Town of Harrisburg is trying to position itself so it can appeal to Millennials. See the links below for more information about ongoing projects.
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