NCISAA state championship winners
First Christian Church celebrates 100th birthday
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Volume 15, Number 20 • May 22 to 28, 2015
Brightmore of South Charlotte opens, wins national award
Photo courtesy of Jerry Cooper
New senior living center to hold grand opening in June by Hannah Chronis scweditor@thecharlotteweekly.com
Liberty Senior Living’s Brightmore of South Charlotte will open its doors to prospective residents during a grand opening celebration on June 9, a Tuesday, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. The senior living center, located at 10225 Old Ardrey Kell Road in south Charlotte, is Ballantyne’s only full service retirement community. The community features 148 units rented on a month-to-month basis, four dining options, an indoor heated swimming pool and wellness center with workout equipment.
The completion of the highly-anticipated Brightmore has been a long time coming; the site plan was approved by Charlotte City Council in September 2011 and construction began in early 2012. The community, which spans over 17 acres, cost upward of $35 million. More than three years later, Brightmore is attracting national attention. Brightmore was recently awarded the 2015 Best of 50+ Housing Silver Award for Best 50+ Independent Living Community by the National Association of Home Builders. Brightmore is Liberty Senior Living’s first community in the Charlotte area The award recognizes communities and developments that promote wellness, innovation and quality of life in the senior housing market for residents 50 years old and older.
Jerry Cooper, director of marketing and development for Liberty Senior Living, said the project is “one of a kind” for the south Charlotte community and will provide residents with a unique alternative to senior living. “This is extremely unique to the Charlotte area,” he said. “Everyone has been extremely pleased and we’ve gotten so many compliments on the décor – the bright, open, airiness and all the individual living spaces. The fact that it has four different dining options is extremely unique and the interest has been phenomenal.” Brightmore, which is open to seniors 62 years old and older, welcomed its first residents in early April. Fortysix apartments are currently occupied and another 70 are spoken for and will be moving in within the next (see Brightmore on page 10)
South Charlotte schools reign supreme in state championships Six private schools win NCISAA rings
by Ben Doster ben@thecharlotteweekly.com
State championships are hard to come by. But things are different in Charlotte, especially in the southern part of the Queen City, which has been littered with crowns that have showered in like May flowers.
This is a city with prestigious private schools that have grown accustomed to athletic success from year to year and season to season, and this spring was no different. Charlotte Christian’s baseball team beat Wesleyan Christian Academy to win its 14th state championship in 25 years, including its fourth in a row. Charlotte Country Day’s girls’ lacrosse
team beat Durham Academy to win its third consecutive state championship and fifth in seven years. Charlotte Latin boys’ lacrosse team beat Ravenscroft to win its fourth straight state championship and fifth in 11 years, while the Hawks’ girls’ soccer team beat Providence Day to win its sixth state championship in eight years. Providence Day’s boys and girls track
teams both completed a three-peat by winning the state championship meet. Those four Queen City schools have produced six state championship crowns this spring, which makes for a remarkable season and something Charlotteans can be proud of. South Charlotte Weekly’s sports section this week chronicles each team’s journey to the promised land on page 20 and 21.
INDEX: News Briefs, 6; Crime Blotter, 7; Education, 12; Arts, 16; Calendar, 18; Sports, 20; Classifieds, 23
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