Gaston County

Hoping to rebuild their downtowns, more NC cities are turning to baseball

Smaller cities and towns across North Carolina are hoping an old, familiar sound will spark new life in their downtowns: The crack of a bat. Four new downtown ballparks with capacity for about 5,000 fans are popping up in the state, and officials are counting on them to draw new residents, breweries, restaurants and vitality. 

Regional transit gets another ‘symbolic’ boost near Charlotte

Three counties outside Mecklenburg have now expressed formal - though nonbinding - support for bringing a regional rail system of some kind across the border. That would be a first for Charlotte, where rail-based mass transit has so far been confined to within the city limits.

Charlotte is ‘on the cusp’ of its first true regional transit plan

The Charlotte region is taking concrete steps towards building a regional transit system, and, in a local first, the proposed Silver Line could run through three counties. But plenty of big questions remain. Chief among them: Who will pay?

Is the future of cities in the suburbs?

As cities continue to grow and thrive, with downtowns reviving and old neighborhoods being redeveloped, is their future still really in the suburbs? That's what one advocate said this week at a real estate forum, provoking debate about growth, transit and sprawl.

He’s (almost) winning a war with invasives

On a preserved tract in Gaston County, one determined man is fighting a long-term war to remove the invasive plant species that choke out native plants and wildlife.

Study: Charlotte region lags in food economy, farmers markets

A new report finds Charlotte and its region are underperforming in many measurements of its local food economy. 

UNCC researchers launch long-term study at Gaston preserve

As the Charlotte region urbanizes, scientists from UNC Charlotte describe how they’ll use a Gaston County site as a long-term observatory to monitor natural systems.

Feds want metro transportation planning less fractured. Good luck with that.

Transportation planning in the greater Charlotte region is split among five planning groups. Will a federal push to consolidate make a difference?

With mill preserved, new effort saves Loray’s village

Gastonia’s huge Loray Mill held its grand opening in March 2015, showing off the adaptive reuse of the building. Now the nonprofit Preservation North Carolina aims to restore many of the houses in the nearby mill village.

George E. Davis – Rosenwald agent extraordinaire

Charlotte's George E. Davis, a tireless advocate for education and one of the leading advocates for the building of Rosenwald schools, was a major reason that a number of these schools were built in North Carolina.