- [Announcer] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

- Just ahead on the Carolina IMPACT... - Turning an old school into new homes.

I'm Jeff Sonier, stick around.

We'll show you how the past and the present are coming together, at Habitat Charlotte's Plato Price Neighborhood.

- Plus, we'll take you to one of the busiest and fastest growing areas in our region, to check out the latest development.

And we'll tag along on a trip with a group of inner city teens enjoying their first camping adventure.

Carolina IMPACT starts right now.

(bright uplifting music plays) Good evening, thanks so much for joining us.

I'm Amy Burkett.

The Affordable Housing Spotlight shines on Charlotte next week, as Habitat's Carter Work Project comes to town.

It was founded by former President Jimmy Carter.

And this year, singing stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood are hosting.

Volunteers nationwide will be coming to the Plato Price neighborhood, helping the new neighbors build new homes.

CarolinaIMPACT's Jeff Sonier, and videographer Doug Stacker are at Plato Price in West Charlotte, with more details.

- Yeah there's a saying that if you make a front porch part of your home, well it'll make you and your home part of the world around you.

And if that's true, well these 39 new homes and their 39 new front porches will make a world of difference, here in Habitat Charlotte's biggest and newest neighborhood.

- We're here now.

And I can't wait to turn this key in the door and call it home.

- [Jeff Sonier] For Lapri Holmes, her new Habitat home here in Plato Price, at a price she can afford... - A half bath over here and this is a closet- - [Jeff Sonier] Is what she and her teenage daughter have been waiting for and dreaming of for years.

- They have made so many families in this neighborhood dreams come true.

And without them, most of us wouldn't have this opportunity to be a homeowner.

- [Jeff Sonier] Lapri's talking about the Charlotte Habitat volunteers who spent the last few months side by side with her and the other new neighbors, working on this first block of houses here on Plato Circle.

- When we leave, we're covered in paint, we're covered in drywall, we're covered in dirt, because we have been in here working so hard.

♪ My heart well it skips ♪ - [Jeff Sonier] And now country music star Garth Brooks is coming to Plato Price too.

- Oh, you better believe it.

(crowd cheering) - [Jeff Sonier] Not to sing his hits, but to swing his hammer.

(uplifting music) (hammer thumping) Garth trading in his cowboy hat for a hard hat, leading hundreds of other Habitat volunteers from all over the country, building dozens more of these homes here at Plato Price in a single week.

- It's really a day of celebration.

Yeah!

(crowd applauding) This neighborhood took a long time to come to reality.

And so that makes this celebration all that much sweeter and all that much more precious.

We are excited for what this day represents, the families that we celebrate with, the houses that are built, and the families yet to come.

- [Jeff Sonier] But Habitat's Meadows at Plato Price isn't just a neighborhood with a future.

It's also got a history.

♪ My alma mater ♪ ♪ Hats off to you ♪ ♪ Ever you'll find us ♪ ♪ Loyal and true ♪ These are all former students at Plato Price School, singing their alma mater, decades after the school itself closed and was torn down.

♪ And Plato Price we love ♪ ♪ Here's a toast to you ♪ (group cheering) And while the old school buildings are long gone... (gentle music) - Plato Price existed from 1915 to 1966.

- [Jeff Sonier] these Plato Price memories live on.

- What those teachers at Plato Price meant then and what they did for us.

- This would have been the shop that was on that area, of Plato Price.

- [Jeff Sonier] Artist Nellie Ashford, Plato Price class of 1961, captures in color on her canvas what other grads remember, from these old black and whites.

- And that little school that was the small one where the elementary children were, that would've been that little white building, down the walkway.

- Yes, all right.

- We didn't have a lab at all.

We did not have a gymnasium, - No.

- at all.

- At all.

- We had lights that hung from the ceiling.

- Right.

- And we studied diligently in the auditorium.

- [Audience Member] Yes.

- While the band played.

(attendees laughing) It means a lot, to have a village being built in honor of some of us, (attendees clapping) who have gone before, those- - [Jeff Sonier] Today they're surrounded by the photos of that new Plato Price Village, these old Plato Price graduates sharing a meal in the church Fellowship Hall next door.

And looking forward to what's next.

(gentle music continues) - So these are seven more homes.

This is the second phase.

So, it'll be a total of about 14 homes that will be built on this side over here.

- [Jeff Sonier] This Plato Price neighborhood, with streets named after their former Plato Price Teachers.

A new legacy for an old school, not forgotten.

- Waiting for its rebirth, waiting for that opportunity to come back to life.

And that is happening now, with these homes.

(crowd applauding) - Woo!

- With 39 families, that's more than a hundred kids who will grow here, and they will have an anchor for their lives and their places to grow up.

And they will call this home.

- [Jeff Sonier] 39 new neighbors with backyards, and front porches, places where they can meet new friends and greet old friends.

- Hey Miss Melanie, - Oh my gosh.

- how you doin'?

- [Jeff Sonier] Every New Habitat homeowner getting their own hand-painted welcome mat.

And best of all these new keys, for their new home.

(crowd clapping) - I love it, I'm gonna love this house.

- Habitat Charlotte adds that all of the new homes here in their Meadows at Plato Price Neighborhood will be fully finished by 2025.

But with the Carter Work projects track record of getting so much done, so quickly, on so many new houses, well it's no surprise that the neighbors here in Plato Price already think of this construction zone as home sweet home.

Amy?

- Thank you so much, Jeff.

This is the second visit to Charlotte for the Carter Work project.

Back in 1987, they built 14 new Habitat homes in Optimist Park.

You can find more on this year's Carter Project at Plato Price by heading to pbscharlotte.org.

Well, we switch from building new homes to exploring another bustling part of our region.

30 years ago there was practically nothing there, just a few homes and a large hunting area.

Today, Ballantyne is one of the busiest and fastest growing areas around.

It's also one of the most successful master planned communities in the entire country.

But as CarolinaIMPACT's Jason Terzis shows us, the growth of Ballantyne is far from over.

- [Jason Terzis] Time to strike up the band.

Charlotte's newest music venue is officially open.

♪ I got a friend with a boat ♪ The Amp, opening up in Ballantyne.

- This is a fantastic new amenity for Charlotte.

- It's really something for everyone.

It's gonna be really special.

- [Jason Terzis] Located behind the Ballantyne Hotel, just off Johnston Road and I485, The Amp can hold up to 3,500 people.

And will host a variety of scheduled musical acts, with plenty of tables, chairs, and lawn seating.

- But it's all family friendly, you know?

It's all good reason to pack up the car, bring the kids out, spend the day.

- [Jason Terzis] Among the scheduled acts at The Amp will be performances by the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center.

- People need a healthy variety of things.

They're gonna continue to come to our uptown facilities for the big, flagship events.

But increasingly, people want these amenities close to home.

They want to have their kids have ready access to it.

So what they're doing here, to create these very publicly accessible assets is a major win for Charlotte.

- [Jason Terzis] It's all part of a massive redevelopment plan.

Transforming what used to be the golf club at Ballantyne into what you might call a downtown Ballantyne of sorts.

Or as they're officially calling it, Ballantyne Reimagined.

- It was just perfect to fill it in, have features like the amphitheater, the new stream park, the child play area, the little pavilions.

But to really activate it with great food and beverage, retail, and things that frankly don't exist in South Charlotte.

And to bring the type of quality that we're bringing in in terms of the best of class, local, regional, national, we're really excited about it.

- To be able to fill that void and really create a special place for people to come and congregate, enjoy live shows, support the local community through organizations and partnerships like Blumenthal Performing Arts, Art Pop, Charlotte Is Creative.

There's really going to be a wide array of programming.

And it's just, it's amazing to be a part of.

- [Jason Terzis] The Amp is just one of many new features recently opening as part of the project, joining Tower View Apartments and the six acre stream park, which sits directly behind the Ballantyne Hotel.

And under construction now, the Bowl at Ballantyne, featuring shops, restaurants, and anchor tenant, Old Mecklenburg Brewery.

It's all set to open in the first half of 2024.

- The brick is actually going up on OMB, so they'll have a two level brewery with a one acre beer garden.

That's really exciting.

So Ballantyne's first brewery.

- When you look at the job impact, here alone today and every day are 400 people working every day.

his was estimated to create anywhere from five to 7,000 jobs.

- [Jason Terzis] Sitting in the middle (crane sputtering) of it all, what will eventually become a 26 story residential tower.

And tying it all together are six new roads.

- Such a collaborative effort with the city, the county.

Had we not worked together, this simply would not have happened.

- [Jason Terzis] Seeing the scope of the project, as well as the area as a whole, it's kind of hard to believe that just 30 years ago, Ballantyne didn't even exist.

But once plans for the I45 outer loop were announced in the early '90s, Johnny Harris and Smoky Bissell set out to create a new area, one that included a corporate park, housing, and restaurants.

Ballantyne, as it would become known, would quickly grow to become one of the most successfully master planned communities in the United States.

In 2017, Bissell sold the development to Northwood Investors, for over $1 billion.

- And in terms of capital investment, right now we're currently underway.

We have over $350 million underway right now.

And for context, we paid 1.2 billion for it back in March of '17.

We love Charlotte as a firm.

- [Jason Terzis] Shortly after the purchase, Northwood announced plans for Ballantyne Reimagined.

The goal?

To transform the area into a more livable, walkable part of town.

- We started the process with an international master planning firm called Sasaki, out of Boston.

They did the Beijing Winter Olympics.

And then we hired Land Design locally in Charlotte.

They did the original rezonings for Mr. Bissell, back in the '90s.

We worked together, to formulate the master plan.

- [Jason Terzis] Getting the area rezoned proved to be challenging, with the city finally signing off on the project during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

- Literally thousands of hours of work went into it.

And our Ballantyne Reimagined team achieved one of the most complicated and largest rezonings in Charlotte history.

As I said on the stage, thousands and thousands of hours of work to get it approved.

Ultimately, in June of 2020, the City Council approved it over Zoom, which was pretty tough.

- [Jason Terzis] City leaders, including Charlotte Mayor, Vi Lyles, (crowd applauding) - Hey everybody, how are we all doing?

- [Jason Terzis] were recently on hand, as The Amp hosted its first ever musical act.

♪ Shot a ball of fire ♪ - Today was a big deal for our team.

Obviously, a lot of time, effort, resources have gone into making today happen.

And that's just the beginning.

- [Jason Terzis] Just the latest project, as the Queen City continues to grow and evolve.

For Carolina Impact, I'm Jason Terzis reporting.

- Such exciting growth and more is on the way.

Thanks so much, Jason.

Also in the works is to connect the new project to lower MacAlpine Creek, McMullin Creek, and Four Mile Creek Greenways.

This will give people access to more than 20 miles of walking paths and bike lanes.

Well, in urban areas like ours preserving outdoor space remains critically important.

A lot of young people growing up in Charlotte have never experienced camping and hiking.

Producer John Branscum introduces us to the group Camping with Cradle, which gives local teens access to nature's beauty.

(bright whimsical music begins) - How's everybody doing?

We're at Morrow Mountain State Park.

Welcome, welcome to our Camping with Cradle experience this weekend.

I'm Keith Cradle, of course.

Camping with Cradle is a program built around taking young minorities camping for the first time.

So we specialize in backpacking, camping, and hiking.

Have you ever slept outside before?

Our demographics for us are 12 to 17, and primarily African American male.

- [John Branscum] Is this something you don't normally get to do?

- Nah.

Hiking, yeah.

But camping outside, sleeping outside, no.

(tarp crinkling) - First night is always camp set up, you know putting up a tent, so Tenting 101.

You gotta turn this thing over.

Y'all got it upside down.

Many of them probably haven't put up a tent before.

Find nature's hammer, a rock with your foot.

Then that goes in here, pull out the other one.

- I like it.

I ain't gonna lie, it's a good experience so far.

Putting up the tent was hard for me a little bit.

I ain't gonna lie, I gotta practice that a little bit more.

But other than that, I'm having a good time so far.

That's it.

(zipper scraping) - Secondly, learning about the park that they're in.

And so they have a lot of internal knowledge about where they are, where the park came from, how it was formed, when it started, what's inside the park.

Everyone has a headlamp, it's gonna get super dark.

If you haven't been out in the outdoors before, it's gonna get dark.

They learn about the environment, they learn about the trees, they learn about fauna, flora, things like that.

And also, no trace.

So how they can continue to keep our park system clean for the people that come after them.

We strive to make sure that one, that they recognize that the outdoors is for everybody.

So we do that through diversity and diversity conversations, and knowing what the outdoors is, how it can be therapeutic for them.

And that they belong on trails and campsites around North Carolina.

(meat sizzling) You definitely need the money, to pay for all the gear, the equipment, and the food.

We understand that to get outside can cost people a little bit of money.

And we bridge that gap by paying for all the outings for these kids.

So they can come out here free of charge.

And just have an opportunity to sleep under the stars, in the outdoors, for the first time.

- [Program Attendee] That was my first time making s'mores in like a good three years.

- I slept good.

I didn't go to sleep 'till about like two in the morning.

- Typically, you know, it's a morning hike.

All right, we're staying on the one way, 2.5 mile track, blue blazes.

Make sure you follow 'em on the tree.

Headlamps of course, for now, make sure you can see 'em.

- [Keith Cradle] We average maybe two to three miles on the hike.

So depending on where we are, which park we're in that could be a very uphill steep climb.

- [John Branscum] Man, how you feeling right now?

- Tired.

But we got a long way to go.

- Yeah, it's personal for us.

And for me.

Because you know we recognize that the outdoors in and of itself is therapeutic.

It can be life changing, you learn a lot of life skills.

And so, every kid should have an opportunity to experience this.

So when we think about, again, cost barriers, we think about access barriers.

Where are some of the parks located?

Some of the best parks might be two to three hours from where they live.

And if they don't have a car, if they don't have transportation, then this is a way to get them up here to enjoy that, to see it.

And then, when we know the numbers, we have to fix 'em.

- I'm like, I like that it's a Black organization.

My uncle had told me it was, he was like Hey, we're gonna go camping.

And then I was like, who all gonna be there?

And he was like oh it's a Black organization.

I was like yep, I wanna go.

You feel me?

Because I want to be more connected with my people about this stuff, not just like on the phones, not just like playing a game.

But like out in nature and all that.

Give you a different vibe out here.

Different taste of life.

- There they go, the champs are here.

That Camping with Cradle team.

- Hey Ma.

We just, I think finished the hike.

We at the top.

- How y'all feel?

Y'all did good.

And it's only 6:40, look at that view.

Everybody else still sleeping.

- That's beautiful.

- Yeah.

- Thanks so much John.

It looks like those kids had a great time.

The program has had some national attention too.

Last spring, The Kelly Clarkson show spotlighted it.

Well finally tonight, we'll introduce you to another very special person.

Some artists work with clay, others paints or stones.

But what about light?

Tonight, producer Russ Hunsinger gives us a closer look at one prolific multimedia artist, who creates art in many different mediums.

Sometimes combining them all, to make exceptional pieces here in Charlotte.

(whimsical music) (camera shutter clicking) - I like to call this illuminated sculpture.

It can be in lantern form.

So lantern is a common term that you might hear.

In general with my art, I am inspired by nature.

(bright music continues) Well I'm a visual artist, and I paint.

(paper rustling) And I make illuminated sculptures.

I like to paint things that move me.

I like painting landscapes, I like painting flowers, plants, just anything nature.

I love animals, I love birds the most.

Things that stir my heart.

I'm standing in my gallery, that I have at the VAPA Center.

And I'm surrounded by different pendant lights and lanterns that I have made.

I use either wire or basketry reed for the armature of these things.

And then I cover it with a special paper called Wet Strength tissue paper.

It is just like regular tissue paper but it has an extra coating on it, to keep it from disintegrating (paper rustling) the minute it gets wet.

(bright jazz music) My first lantern was for Mount Holly's lantern parade.

That's what got me into this whole thing.

This snake is actually the first piece that I did.

He won second place that year.

The next year, I did a dragon.

And the dragon was a giant puppet.

In his full form, he's nine foot tall, 19 feet long.

And he has a wingspan of 12 feet when they're wide open and flapping.

His eyes open and shut, and his mouth opens and shuts, and he actually can breathe out.

(material crinkling) So he breathes ice.

(bright whimsical music) I was blessed to be a resident artist for seven weeks, at the Immersive Van Gogh when it was in Charlotte.

And one of the main things I did while I was there was I took the photos of his portraits and I made a pendant light, with that.

And then I also used that light as a collaborative project with everybody who came.

I came up with different color schemes of paper that they could each take a little piece of paper to contribute to the piece.

And that was a lot of fun, to interact with everybody, to see the excitement with that, and to experience people that love art.

I like working with my hands.

And I think I would get bored if I did any one thing.

You know, part of what I really like to do is to learn about things and to problem solve and figure things out.

So, with the lanterns, with the problem solving it's been how can I make it move?

So the dragon moves, the crystal ball moves, the avatar moves.

So I like to paint, I like to do the illuminated sculptures.

They inspire me in different ways.

They present different problem solving issues for me, that give me the opportunity to work out and expand myself, and just grow from it.

I just have a desire to try to share the feelings that I have, and to be able to share the joy or the feelings, the excitement or the calmness or whatever it is that I'm feeling about a thing.

To be able to express that and hopefully share that in a meaningful way, with whoever is seeing the art.

- Thanks so much Russ.

If you'd like to view some of Nancy's latest work, you can visit her studio the first Sunday of each month at the VAPA Center, located at 700 North Tryon Street.

Well our region is filled with amazing people and places.

We need your help, to find some more great folks to spotlight here on CarolinaIMPACT.

Please, email your story ideas to stories@wtvi.org.

Well, that's all the time we have this evening.

Thanks so much for joining us.

We always appreciate your time.

And look forward to seeing you back here again next time on Carolina Impact.

Goodnight, my friends.

(bright upbeat music resumes) (bright music fades out) - [Announcer] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.