Barbara Callaway - Charlotte, NC Real Estate

Boomtown USA. Fifteen years ago, this was cow pasture and rural byways, with UNC Charlotte (chartered in 1960) plunked in the middle. Today, helped by government money to encourage growth. UNCC is spreading, subdivisions and shopping centers open monthly and the western slice of Cabarrus County has become a fast-growing exurban area. University City was born and grew with the ’80s and ’90s economic boom. Infrastructure is still catching up with the droves of new residents - roads, movie theaters and libraries are largely new or under construction.

Highlights: Lowe’s Motor Speedway and the just-opened Concord Mills mall, just across the Cabarrus line; Blockbuster amphitheater; Reedy Creek Park, Mecklenburg’s largest nature preserve.

Look for: A bit of the old in Derita (Mallard Creek and West Sugar Creek roads) and Newell (Old Concord and Newell-Hickory Grove roads) - rural communities hard by the railroad tracks that were here before the minivans.