Steele Creek is primarily considered to be a community and neighborhood in the southwestern part of Mecklenburg County in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. It is generally defined geographically by the original boundaries of Steele Creek Township. Most of Steele Creek is within the city limits of

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

but the areas that have not yet been

annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

are also recognized as a

Township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

of North Carolina.

Population

The population of the Steele Creek community was 52,014 as of 2010, roughly two-thirds of which is now located within the City of

History

Early

The Steele Creek community derives its name from the small

creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: People * Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans ...

bearing the same name. It is believed that name "Steele" was the family

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

of Scotch-Irish immigrants who settled in the area in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The region was eventually designated as Steele Creek Township, one of the original 15

Townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

of Mecklenburg County.

Modern

In 1959, the

North Carolina State Legislature The North Carolina General Assembly is the bicameral legislature of the State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets in the North Carolina ...

revised laws that govern how cities may annex adjacent areas, allowing municipalities to annex unincorporated lands without permission of those residents. This change in North Carolina law led to adoption of an aggressive annexation policy by the City of Charlotte, which repeatedly expanded its borders by annexing land within Steele Creek Township, which had never been formally incorporated. Despite nearly two-thirds of Steele Creek being annexed by Charlotte, the region remained primarily rural farmland until the 2000s, when significant infrastructure improvements greatly accelerated the effects of

suburban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

. The widening of

NC 49 North Carolina Highway 49 (NC 49) is a 177.8-mile (286.1 km) primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It traverses much of the Piedmont region, connecting the cities of Charlotte, Asheboro, and Burlington. Route descr ...

, the replacement of the old

Buster Boyd Bridge The Buster Boyd Bridge is a four-lane automobile bridge spanning the Catawba River/Lake Wylie between Lake Wylie, York County, South Carolina and Steele Creek, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. The bridge carries/connects SC 49 and N ...

, and the opening of I-485, spurred tremendous growth in both residential and commercial development. Today Steele Creek is the fastest growing region of Charlotte/Mecklenburg County, with more than a 70% population boom between 2000 and 2007.

Subdivisions

Steele Creek has several subdivisions within its area, most of which are residential. Listed here are the most notable subdivisions: * Arrowood, a corridor of mostly commercial businesses and apartment complexes along Arrowood Road. * Ayrsley is a

mixed-use development Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...

between Westinghouse Boulevard and Interstate 485. * Berewick, developed by Pappas Properties, is a mixed-use development between Shopton Road and Dixie River Road. * Olde Whitehall, a corridor of mostly commercial and retail businesses along Interstate 485, between South Tryon Street and Arrowood Road. * Palisades, a

golf course community A golf course community is a type of residential housing development built around a golf course. History Temple Terrace, Florida is often described as the first planned golf-course community in the United States, dating from the 1920s.Morgan, P ...

in the most southwestern part of Steele Creek, centered around the Palisades Country Club. * Shopton, centered at intersection of Steele Creek Road and Shopton Road, is a mostly industrial zoned area. * Yorkshire is a large residential subdivision between Choate Circle and Carowinds Boulevard.

Schools and libraries

School system

The first school in Steele Creek was founded in the 1780s. Today, Steele Creek is served by the

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (abbreviated CMS) is a local education agency headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and is the public school system for Mecklenburg County. With over 147,000 students enrolled, it is the second-largest school ...

(CMS) district. These include Olympic High, Kennedy Middle, Southwest Middle, Lake Wylie Elementary, Steele Creek Elementary, Winget Park Elementary, River Gate Elementary, Berewick Elementary and Palisades Park Elementary.

Libraries

Steele Creek is served by a branch of the

Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (previously the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County) is the public library system of the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County in North Carolina. About Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is one of ...

. The library is located on Steele Creek Road in front of Southwest Middle School.

Infrastructure

Main thoroughfares

* Carowinds Boulevard * General Paul R. Younts Expressway (

I-77 Interstate 77 (I-77) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the ...

US 21 U.S. Route 21 or U.S. Highway 21 (US 21) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway in the Southeastern United States that travels . The southern terminus is in Hunting Island Sta ...

) * Seddon Rusty Goode Freeway ( I-485) * Shopton Road West * South Tryon Street/York Road (

) * Steele Creek Road ( NC 160) * Westinghouse Boulevard

Mass transit

The

Charlotte Area Transit System The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) is the agency responsible for public transportation in the Charlotte metropolitan area. CATS operates bus and rail transit services in Mecklenburg County and surrounding areas. Established in 1999, CATS' b ...

(CATS) offers local and express bus service in the area. Current routes: * 16 - South Tryon: Connects between Rivergate Shopping Center and Center City. * 41X - Steele Creek Express: Connects between Rivergate Shopping Center and Center City. * 42 - Carowinds: Connects between Southpoint Business Park and I-485/South Boulevard (LYNX station). * 55 - Westinghouse: Connects between Charlotte Premium Outlets and Sharon Road West (LYNX station). * 56 - Arrowood: Connects between Charlotte Premium Outlets and Arrowood (LYNX station).

Utilities

Water and Trash pick-up is mostly serviced by the city of Charlotte, though third-party companies do service some developments in the area. Electricity is provided by

Duke Energy Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Overview Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Duke Energy owns 58,200 megawatts of base-load and peak generation in ...

, which holds a monopoly. Natural gas is provided by

Piedmont Natural Gas Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Duke Energy. Piedmont is an energy services company whose principal business is the distribution of natural gas to over one million residential, commercial, industrial and power gen ...

, which holds a monopoly. Data/Telephone/Television service is all offered by

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

Charter Communications Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers, ...

Windstream Communications Windstream Holdings, Inc., also doing business as Windstream Communications or Windstream, is a provider of voice and data network communications (broadband, VoIP, MPLS), and managed services ( virtual servers, managed firewall, data storage, clou ...

, and Comporium (Ayrsley area only).

Health care

Carolinas HealthCare System Steele Creek is a healthcare pavilion that includes a 24-hour emergency department. Patients that require long-term care are transferred to another hospital, such as

Carolinas HealthCare System Pineville Atrium Health Pineville (Formerly Mercy Hospital South, later Carolinas Medical Center-Pineville) is a 235 bed acute care facility located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The hospital was opened in 1987 by the Sisters of Mercy to serve the rapidly g ...

Carolinas Medical Center Carolinas Medical Center (CMC) is an 874-bed non-profit, Tertiary care, tertiary, research and Teaching hospital, academic medical center located in Charlotte, North Carolina, servicing the southern North Carolina, northern South Carolina, and t ...

. Outpatient services is also available at two Urgent Care centers (Presbyterian Medical Plaza and Carolinas HealthCare Urgent Care-Steele Creek).
Compleat Rehab & Sports Therapy
in the Berewick Town Center of Steele Creek offers the community access to expert physical therapists with services including physical therapy, dry needling, sports therapy and performance, and work injury recovery and prevention.

Notable residents

Mel Watt Melvin Luther Watt (born August 26, 1945) is an American politician who served as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency from 2014 to 2019. He was appointed by President Barack Obama. He is a former United States Representative for , from ...

- Member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, representing the .

Notes

References

External links

*
An Interactive Google Map of Steele Creek

Steele Creek Residents Association

Steele Creek branch of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County
{{authority control Neighborhoods in Charlotte, North Carolina Annexed places in North Carolina