Mooresville’s Smart Growth Keeps Ahead of Population Boom
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If the past 10 years is any indication of what the future holds for Mooresville and South Iredell County‚ the area should expect extraordinary growth.
“By the year 2020‚ we should have a population of over 100‚000‚ according to a recent study‚” says Wayne Frick‚ director of the Mooresville Downtown Commission. “In the last 10 years‚ we have doubled our population‚ from 10‚000 to about 23‚000.”
The population boom is credited to a variety of factors‚ including an excellent quality of life‚ a close proximity to Charlotte and the fact that Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse recently moved its corporate headquarters to Mooresville.
“Lowe’s corporate headquarters came about two years ago‚ and they have between 1‚000 and 1‚200 employees on their campus now‚” Frick says. “They expect to raise that number to 12‚000‚ so it will be like a town within a town. They’re bringing in people from all over the country and the world to fill positions.”
The influx of Lowe’s and other businesses has created a bundle of new jobs‚ which Frick says are bringing young families as well as retirees.
“There’s a fair amount of retirees moving here who are following their children here‚” he says. “There are also many people who work in Charlotte and use Mooresville as a bedroom community.”
Frick also says the same things that attract a host of tourists to the area‚ such as ideal weather and access to one of the largest manmade lakes in North Carolina (Lake Norman)‚ also attract prospective residents. And that’s just one of a long list of amenities that mark Mooresville’s excellent quality of life.
“Both of our school systems are ranked nationally for academics and we sit between three major interstates‚” Frick says. “We’re three hours from the mountains and four hours from the coast. All those things rolled into one are what people are looking for.”
The population increase has prompted the need for additional schools in Mooresville and Iredell County.
“We’re having to build about one school each year to keep up with growth‚” says Joel Mashburn‚ Iredell County manager. “Most are on the south end of the county. There has also been a demand for new roads – it’s certainly not the same county it was 10 years ago.”
Residential developments are also making a splash.
“We’ve got multimillion dollar homes all the way to typical housing developments‚” Frick says. “And several developments have been approved‚ but not built yet.”
Gwen Fenninger‚ broker-in-charge for the Mooresville branch of Allen Tate Real Estate Co.‚ says there has been a steady increase in the number of residential units sold each year.
“It amazes me how fast Mooresville is growing‚” Fenninger says. “For the last three years‚ the number of housing units sold has nearly doubled each year‚ with the same number of agents.”
Fenninger says the growth has caused many “exciting changes” in areas of life and business.
“Now‚ we have so many choices‚” she says. “Choices of grocery stores‚ choices of schools. A wonderful Y is opening shortly‚ as well as a new library. We’re a thriving community.”
Mashburn expects the growth trend to continue.
“Iredell County will continue to be a desirable place to live‚ work and operate a business‚” he says.
Story by Jessica Mozo
Photo by Stephen Cherry
