Ballantyne was originally a large hunting tract owned by the Harris family, descendants of former North Carolina governor Cameron A. Morrison. In 1992, Johnny Harris and his brother-in-law, Smoky Bissell, started Ballantyne Corporate Park, which has become one of the most successful master-planned communities in the United States. Harris had the 2,000 acres rezoned, the largest in Mecklenburg county history. Another developer, Crescent Resources, had already purchased the 610 acres that would later become the Ballantyne Country Club and the accompanying residential development. In October 1995, Bissell bought out his brothers-in-law’s shares for $20 million and established Ballantyne, named after his great aunt. Bissell also developed and designed the Ballantyne Hotel, which opened in September 2001. At the intersection of Johnston Road and Ballantyne Commons stand four 30-foot monuments representing transportation, technology, finance, and the human spirit of Charlotte. The art installation was commissioned by Yugoslavian artist Boris Tomic, who spent three years crafting them at a brick factory in Salisbury.
Ballantyne Corporate Park
Ballantyne Corporate Park is a acre business park. With over of Class A office space, the business park includes the headquarters of Dentsply Sirona, Babcock & Wilcox, Curtiss-Wright, Tree.com Inc, Snyder's-Lance Inc, Premier Inc, Extended Stay America, Inc, SPX, and ESPN regional television. Brighthouse Financial, TIAA, and Wells Fargo also have a major corporate presence in Ballantyne. In 2010, Ballantyne Corporate Park was recognized as International Office Park of the Year by the Building Owners and Managers Association International. In 2017, H.C. "Smoky" Bissell, who developed Ballantyne Corporate Park, sold the development for $1.2 billion to Northwood Investors, becoming the largest transaction in Charlotte real estate history. In an effort to transform Ballantyne from a corporate park into a walk-able, dense community, Northwood announced plans to construct a 25 acre mixed-use development on the current site of The Golf Club at Ballantyne. Phase I of the development includes 1,200 multifamily units, 300,000 square feet of retail, an amphitheater, multiple parks, and a greenway. Phase II includes an additional 1,000 multifamily units, 300 townhomes, and 400,000 square feet of additional office space.
On April 14, 2012, residents met to discuss an idea of breaking away from the city of Charlotte to form their own city. In the history of North Carolina, this has never been done before. If it is done, the residents will name the new city Providence. However, there is currently a North Carolina community that already carries this name and has its own zip code. Due to a layout that combines a variety of land uses and densities plus a reliance on vehicular journeys, traffic congestion in the area has been a consistent problem.
