By Jonathan Cox (Charlotte Magazine)

Home sales are down, rental prices are up, and everywhere you look in South End, a new apartment complex is rising. Charlotte is finally attracting legions of young professionals to its urban center, but that means some families are fleeing to the outskirts of town. The latest real estate boom raises an old question: Will we grow up, or out?...

Shannon Binns, head of the nonprofit group Sustain Charlotte, says that retail often follows residential. But he cautions that the city and developers need to make smart choices now to ensure there is enough space for stores once the apartments are built. “Once the densities are up and retail wants to enter the market,” he says, “it will be tough for them to find a place if our buildings don’t accommodate it.”

Read the full article here.