What final phases hold for a major development in eastern part of Charlotte region

LOCUST, N.C. — Locust knows about setbacks.

Troubles for the western Stanly County city of 3,200 residents started with the decimation of downtown in 2002 for the widening of N.C. Highway 24/27. The modest city offices were also displaced by the road project.

“When they widened the highway they really took the old buildings — the business district — that had been Locust for 100 years,” says Bob Barbee, founder of Oakboro Main Street Development, which is working to rebuild Locust’s downtown.

The fear 17 years ago was that Locust would disappear and become a state historical marker along the highway, Barbee says.

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In 2004, a group of regional developers bought 120 acres nearby to create a town hall, offices, shops, banks and a 100-acre residential component. They had in mind a $70 million traditional neighborhood development that would become downtown Locust.

Then, another setback hit in 2008 in the form of the Great Recession. Work on the initial commercial center on about 27 acres came to a halt.

Now, 15 years after the developers came up with the idea of building a town center virtually from scratch, the trio believes they are within three years of completion. About $25 million in commercial projects have been completed.

Read the full story and check out photos here.

Cox Media Group