Steele Creek is a community and neighborhood in the southwestern part of Mecklenburg County in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. 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 most commonly refers to: *Charlotte (given name), a feminine form of the given name Charles ** Princess Charlotte (disambiguation) ** Queen Charlotte (disambiguation) *Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, a city * Charlotte (cake) ...

but the areas that have not yet been

annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...

are also recognized as a

Township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

of North Carolina.

Population

The population of the Steele Creek community was 76,301 as of 2020, roughly two-thirds of which is 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: * Creek people, a former name of Muscogee, Native Americans * C ...

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

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

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 form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

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. Vested with the state's legislative power by the ...

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 ...

. 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. Rou ...

, 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 ...

, 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 type of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning classification that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions ...

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 Subdivision (land), 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 fro ...

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, Palisades High, Kennedy Middle, Southwest Middle, Lake Wylie Elementary, Steele Creek Elementary, Winget Park Elementary, River Gate Elementary, Berewick Elementary, South Pine Academy 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, United States. About Charlotte Mecklenbur ...

. 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 north–south United States Numbered Highway, spanning from Hunting Island State Park, South Carolina, to Wytheville, Virginia. The route traverses three states, South Carolina, No ...

) * 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' ...

(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) I-485/South Boulevard is a light rail station in Charlotte, North Carolina. The elevated island platform is the southern terminus stop along the Lynx Blue Line and includes the second largest park and ride operated by Charlotte Area Transit Sy ...

. * 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. The company ranked as the 141st largest company in the United States in 2024 – its highest-ever placement on the ...

, 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., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

Charter Communications Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. With over 32 million customers in 41 states as of 2022, it is the ...

Windstream Communications Windstream Holdings, Inc., trading as Windstream Communications is a provider of voice and data network communications to businesses across the United States. Under the Kinetic brand, it offers broadband, phone and digital streaming TV services to ...

, and Comporium (Ayrsley area only).

Health care

Atrium Health 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

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

Carolinas Medical Center Carolinas Medical Center, formally known as Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, is an 874-bed non-profit, tertiary, research and academic medical center located in Charlotte, North Carolina, servicing the southern North Carolina, northern So ...

. Outpatient services is also available at three Urgent Care centers: Atrium Health Urgent Care Steele Creek, Novant Health GoHealth Urgent Care–Berewick and Novant Health GoHealth Urgent Care–Steele Creek.

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 is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, 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