MINT HILL, NC – There was a small crowd but a packed agenda for the Mint Hill Chamber of Commerce’s monthly member luncheon at Olde Sycamore Golf Plantation on Tuesday, March 14.
The Chamber welcomed two first-time visitors at the March luncheon: Tim Moreau, co-president and founder of Continuum Restoration (formerly Metrolina Restoration), a company that offers comprehensive restoration and remediation services for the Charlotte Metro area; and Tesha Boyd, founder and executive director of Promise Youth Development, a community-based mentoring program for at-risk youth ages 8-18.
Present from Town Hall were Commissioner Tony Long and Mayor Pro Tem and Chamber Liaison Dale Dalton. Dalton was excited to announce that the LED sport lighting installation at both Wilgrove and Veterans Park is now complete. The lights, which Dalton claims are “bright enough to land an airplane,” automatically dim at 10:00 pm, a signal to players to wrap up their game, and turn off fifteen minutes later. Dalton also reported that the Town of Matthews voted to approve a 500-home mixed use community on 83 acres located on Idlewild Road. Although the development borders Mint Hill, Mint Hill’s commissioners were not involved in this decision as the property lies within the Matthews’ town limits.
The Chamber welcomed two new member businesses with familiar faces in March! Melissa Fields, formerly of First National Bank, accepted the new member plaque for Encore Bank, the largest private boutique bank in the country. Encore’s offices are located in South Park, but longtime Mint Hill resident Fields couldn’t imagine embarking on this new venture without the Mint Hill Chamber. Taylor Grimes, selected as ambassador of the year last year for SERVPRO, is embarking on her own business venture. Redlined, LLC, handles all things marketing-related. “Anything related to website, social media, logo creation, you name it – I’m your girl!” assured Grimes. Southern Sales Group, Fresh Chef, and Family Origin Stories also joined the Chamber recently but were not present at the luncheon.
March’s luncheon speaker was Rebecca Herbert, Community Engagement Coordinator for Mecklenburg County. Herbert conducted a brief public input session focused on the discussion of corporate-owned rentals, defined as single family homes that are owned by large, institutional investors for the purposes of generating rental income. Herbert reported several potentially concerning facts surrounding corporate rentals: as of the summer of 2021, corporations owned approximately 13,600 single family homes (most concentrated within six large companies), and during the pandemic, the median rental price for a single-family home in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region increased 26.7%. Although this rate has slowed, rent prices continue to rise, and Charlotte still ranks 7th overall in the country for high levels of this type of investor activity. If you want to get involved as the county continues to research these trends and presents its findings to the County Manager and Board, contact Rebecca Herbert at recbecca.herbert@mecknc.gov.
The next Monthly Member Luncheon will be at Olde Sycamore Golf Plantation on Tuesday, April 11. The speaker will be Amy Mims, Principal of Independence High School. To learn more about joining the Chamber, visit https://www.minthillchamberofcommerce.com/.
