The Steele Creek Community dates back to the 1740's and currently is one of the fastest growing residential areas of Mecklenburg County. It also contains one of the highest employment concentrations in the county and is home to several recreation sites. The character of Steele Creek continues to change due to rapid residential, commercial, and other growth in the area(click for reference).
But this former farming community is growing. Its population has jumped more than 70 percent since 2000. And new developments such as The Palisades, The Sanctuary, The Vineyards and Berewick are bringing about 5,000 more houses to the area.
Business owners and developers are catching on. Now, Steele Creek is home to the $50 million, 600,000-square-foot RiverGate shopping center, the $720 million, 180-acre Ayrsley and a slew of other shops, restaurants and offices. Additionally, the Carolinas HealthCare System plans to build a 22,500 square foot emergency care unit valued at $20 million at the intersection of N.C. highways 49 and 160(click for reference).
In 1940, the U.S. Government bought 2266 acres in Steele Creek to build an ammunition assembly plant. It employed over 12,000 people at one time. Renamed in 1946 to the U.S. Naval Ammunition Depot, the depot was phased out in 1951 and later auctioned to private industry(click for reference). Arrowood is now a concentrated industrial area in Southwestern Mecklenburg County and Northern York County. It is home to over 2,200 businesses with over 60,000 employees in the Westinghouse Boulevard, Arrowood Road, and Carowinds Boulevard industrial corridors(click for reference).
In addition to the opening of I485 west of I77 in recent years, infrastructure improvements include the widening of N.C./S.C. 49 and the Buster Boyd Bridge. The commute from Lake Wylie to Charlotte along N.C. 49 has long been a popular but congested route, and residents celebrated the opening of the four-lane thoroughfare in 2005(click for reference).
The Steele Creek area is rounded out with numerous leisure options. Lake Wylie provides many opportunities to fish, boat, swim or just enjoy the temperate climate. The McDowell Nature Center and Preserve has been left 90% undeveloped and protects mostly forested, rolling terrain along the banks of Lake Wylie and is the oldest preserve in Mecklenburg County(click for reference). YMCA’s Camp Thunderbird(click for reference) and The Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden(click for reference) highlight the variety of leisure activities available in the Steel Creek area. Finally, an extensive network of walking trails is being developed that will eventually traverse the Steel Creek area and connect to neighboring cities such as Tega Cay, Fort Mill and eventually Rock Hill(click for reference).
