NoDa Real Estate, Charlotte NC - Realtor Yubeen Choi

NoDa - North Davidson

Description

NoDa is a neighborhood and arts district in the City of Charlotte, built around North Davidson Street. The name is short for North Davidson Street, and the area was formerly known as North Charlotte. The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority calls it Charlotte's historic arts district.

Since 2003, the NoDa Neighborhood and Business Association (NBA) has defined NoDa's borders as Matheson Avenue, North Tryon Street, Sugar Creek Road and The Plaza, though businesses and developments outside those lines also use the name. The National Register nomination for the area, prepared in October 1989, placed North Charlotte about three miles north of downtown Charlotte.

This page doesn't list homes for sale. If you're looking at NoDa homes for sale, whether a mill house, a bungalow or a condo, tell me your budget and the streets you're considering, and I can send you current listings that match your search. I'm Yubeen Choi, a bilingual English and Korean agent with eXp Realty.

Homes in NoDa: Mill Houses, Bungalows and Condos

Many of NoDa's older houses were built for mill workers. The 1989 National Register nomination for the North Charlotte Historic District says these houses spread across the district between about 1903 and 1915, and that they are overwhelmingly frame, one-story and single-family. The nomination, the NBA and the County's landmark pages describe these groups of houses:

  • Highland Park Mill No. 3's village, which the NBA places between North Davidson and North McDowell streets. The County's landmark page says the mill originally built eighty mill houses, white frame dwellings in neat rows, and added more later. In 1989, a small group of gable-front shotgun mill houses, constructed about 1910, still stood here.
  • The Mecklenburg Mill village, on the district's east side, where the mill built scores of one-story, three-room, T-plan houses along Herrin, Mercury and nearby streets.
  • Bungalows and one-story Victorian cottages southeast of the mill villages, along East 35th, East 37th and Spencer streets.

In the 1989 nomination, most lots measured approximately 85 by 125 feet, and most houses stood basically intact, though many had been partly modernized with aluminum, asphalt or asbestos veneers. In 1953, the Highland Manufacturing Company sold its mill houses to the people living in them or to other investors, and the NBA says most original mill houses still stand.

Newer homes followed. The NBA names The Colony (2002), The Renaissance (2006), NoDa 18 (2006) and Steel Gardens (2007) as new construction that brought new homeowners to NoDa. The mills have been reused. The NBA says Highland Park Mill No. 3 is now Highland Mill Lofts and Heist Brewery, and Mecklenburg Mill is now The Lofts at NoDa Mills. Heist lists its NoDa location at 2909 N. Davidson St. Johnston Mill was converted into apartments, and NoDa Wandry opened there in 2023. For condos elsewhere in the city, see my Charlotte condos page.

Mecklenburg County's Historic Landmarks department groups NoDa with Villa Heights, Plaza-Shamrock, Country Club Heights, Plaza Hills and Plaza Midwood in what it calls the Northeast Inner area. To the south, the NBA's history says the construction of Matheson Avenue divided the northern section of Optimist Park from North Charlotte.

NoDa's Mill History and Landmarks

The mills and North Davidson Street

North Charlotte began development in 1903. Highland Park Mill #3 was completed in 1904, and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission says it spawned the community that came to be known as North Charlotte. The 1989 nomination counts three former textile mills, all on North Davidson Street:

  • Highland Park Mill #3, 2901-2911 N. Davidson St. Textile manufacturing there ended in 1969, and the mill was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
  • Mecklenburg Mill, 3325 and 3327 N. Davidson St., which opened in the summer of 1905. Its village of one-story wooden cottages stretched along what are now East 37th Street and Mercury Street.
  • Johnston Mill, 3315 N. Davidson St., completed by mid-1916. It was the last of the three North Charlotte mills to close, and it was sold in 1975.

North Davidson Street was once Caldwell Street. As early as 1904, merchants began opening businesses along it between the present 34th and 36th streets, and that stretch became the main street linking the two mill villages. The NBA says that in 2002 freight trucks were rerouted off North Davidson Street and the City updated the street to a pedestrian scale, with on-street parking, crosswalks and updated lighting.

Besides the mills, designated local landmarks on North Davidson Street include Hand's Pharmacy and Charlotte Fire Station No. 7. Hand's Pharmacy (ca. 1912), at 3201 N. Davidson St., is one of the first brick commercial buildings in North Charlotte. Charlotte Fire Station No. 7 (ca. 1935), at 3210 N. Davidson St., is one of only three pre-World War II fire stations still in operation as firehouses in Charlotte.

What the historic designations mean for owners

The North Charlotte Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. The nomination counts 438 resources, including the mills, two former mill villages and a business district. The National Park Service describes the district as roughly bounded by the Southern Railroad, Herrin Street, Spencer Street and Charles Avenue, so its boundaries are not the same as the NBA's NoDa borders. North Carolina's State Historic Preservation Office says National Register listing does not obligate or restrict a private owner unless the owner seeks a federal benefit such as a grant or tax credit.

NoDa is not one of Charlotte's eight local historic districts, and the City's historic district parcel map shows no local district parcels around North Davidson and 36th streets. So the design review that applies in Dilworth and Plaza Midwood does not apply to a typical NoDa house. Designated landmarks are different. One needs a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Landmarks Commission before any material alteration. Its owner can apply for an annual property tax deferral of up to 50 percent, though recapture penalties may apply if the property is destroyed or loses its historic or architectural significance.

A contributing building in the National Register district can be a candidate for North Carolina's 15% state tax credit for qualified rehabilitation of an owner-occupied home. The work must meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and cost more than $10,000 within a 24-month period. Eligible expenses are limited to $150,000, for a maximum credit of $22,500. Under current law, the credit ends for expenses incurred on or after January 1, 2030. I can help you check whether a specific house is contributing before you plan work.

Getting Around

The LYNX Blue Line runs through NoDa. CATS lists 36th Street Station at 434 E. 36th St., with connections to bus Routes 3 and 23. The NBA points visitors there for NoDa's central business district, and to Sugar Creek Station, at 644 E. Sugar Creek Rd., for North NoDa. Sugar Creek Station has a parking deck with 632 parking spaces. Toward Uptown, the next stop is 25th Street Station, at 2227 N. Brevard St.

The Blue Line Extension, a 9.3-mile line that added 11 stations between Seventh Street uptown and the UNC Charlotte campus, opened on March 16, 2018. WFAE's preview the day before listed a ribbon cutting at 36th Street in NoDa among the opening-day events.

The Little Sugar Creek Greenway runs over 17 miles from Brevard Street in NoDa to the South Carolina state line as part of the Cross Charlotte Trail. The Cross Charlotte Trail section from 36th Street to East Craighead is also open. The NBA notes that parking in NoDa is limited, so check what parking comes with a home before you buy.

Arts, Music and Things to Do

In 1986, Paul Sires and Ruth Ava Lyons opened The Center of the Earth Gallery at 3204 North Davidson Street, and the NBA says many galleries followed. The NBA describes a later shift from a gallery district to more of an arts and entertainment district, with galleries moving toward the edges: the Charlotte Art League, now Queen City Art at 4237 Raleigh Street, anchors North NoDa. The NBA counts well over 30 murals and other public art installations.

Live music is still a signature of NoDa, the NBA says, with the Neighborhood Theatre at 511 E. 36th St. and The Evening Muse at 3227 N. Davidson St. anchoring downtown NoDa. Each October, the NBA runs NoDaWeen, a month of Halloween-themed events.

Mecklenburg County's park records list Charles Avenue Park, Davis Flohr Park and North Charlotte Park as neighborhood parks near the center of NoDa. The County says the Cordelia Park Indoor Pavilion, which overlooks Cordelia Pool and a sprayground, is right beside the NoDa neighborhood. The Carolina Thread Trail lists walking trails among Cordelia Park's amenities. Historic Rosedale, at 3427 N. Tryon St., preserves an 1815 historic house at what the NBA calls the northern edge of NoDa.

What's Changing

The City adopted the Northeast Inner Community Area Plan on April 13, 2026. The plan groups potential mobility projects by strategic investment area, and its 36th / Davidson group aims to improve pedestrian access to the core of NoDa and the Blue Line. Its potential projects are a North Davidson Street sidewalk from 37th Street to Sugar Creek Road and pedestrian or bike crossings on 36th Street. The plan's CATS section also lists improving bus Routes 3-Plaza and 23-Shamrock as high-frequency routes with 15-minute or better service. That section says CATS's Transit System Plan will be carried out pending the availability of future funding. These are potential projects and recommendations, not current service.

City projects with dated updates:

  • North Tryon Street and 36th Street Streetscape, to improve access to 36th Street Station from North Tryon and North Davidson streets. On April 14, 2026, the City said final paving on North Tryon and 36th Street would take place in the coming weeks, and that it expected construction to continue through the rest of the year.
  • Matheson Avenue Bridge Streetscape, adding pedestrian and bicycle improvements from North Tryon Street to Jordan Place. On Feb. 20, 2026, the City said construction of the new bridge railing, fencing and shared-use path was continuing.
  • Cross Charlotte Trail, Matheson Avenue to 36th Street. On April 14, 2026, the City said a private developer will design and build this segment under a reimbursement agreement, and the City's estimated completion was the 2nd quarter of 2028.

Buying or Selling in NoDa

NoDa is inside the City of Charlotte, so zoning follows the City's Unified Development Ordinance, effective June 1, 2023. Zoning around 36th Street Station mixes transit-oriented districts, a Neighborhood 1 district (N1-C) and conditional districts approved under the previous ordinance, which keep their own site plans and conditions. The N1-A through N1-E districts allow single-family, duplex and triplex dwellings on all lots. A lot can have only one accessory dwelling unit (ADU), and it must be under the same ownership as the house. Check the specific parcel before you plan an addition or a second unit.

Mecklenburg County's property tax rate for fiscal year 2026-2027 is 49.27 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, and the County's rate chart gives a combined County and City rate of 0.7857 per $100 inside the City of Charlotte, before any solid waste fees. The County conducts a revaluation every four years, and notices for the next one will be mailed in early 2027.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools assigns each student a home school based on residential address and school boundaries, and it publishes boundary maps for each school year, including 2026-2027. Assignments can change, so check a specific address with the Find My School lookup on Mecklenburg County's GeoPortal and confirm with CMS before you rely on it.

If you're selling a NoDa home, I can gather what buyers will ask about before we list: whether the house is a contributing building in the National Register district or a designated landmark, its zoning, and recent sales of comparable homes nearby. A free home valuation is a good first step, and my guide to selling a home in Charlotte covers the rest. For storefront and office space, see my NoDa commercial real estate page. I can walk you through each step in English or Korean.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page doesn't list homes for sale. Tell me your budget and whether you want a mill house, a bungalow or a condo, and I can send you current NoDa listings that match. Before you tour one, I can also check whether it is a contributing building in the North Charlotte Historic District or a designated landmark.

NoDa is short for North Davidson Street, the neighborhood's main street. The area was formerly known as North Charlotte or Historic North Charlotte. Around the year 2001, attendees at a Historic North Charlotte Neighborhood Association meeting voted to pursue NoDa as a brand, and that association is now the NoDa Neighborhood and Business Association.

NoDa is in the City of Charlotte, and its historic business district runs along North Davidson Street between 34th and 36th streets. Since 2003, the NoDa Neighborhood and Business Association has defined its borders as Matheson Avenue, North Tryon Street, Sugar Creek Road and The Plaza. The LYNX Blue Line connects its 36th Street Station to Uptown.

The NoDa Neighborhood and Business Association's history describes a series of apartment and condominium projects in NoDa. It names The Colony, The Renaissance, NoDa 18 and Steel Gardens as new construction that brought new homeowners to the neighborhood. It also says converted mills, such as Highland Mill Lofts and Johnston Mill, now hold apartments. Which units are for sale changes often, so I can send you current NoDa condo listings and pull recent sales in a building you're considering.

I don't publish a price range here, because sale prices change and depend on the house, the lot and its condition, and NoDa mixes older mill houses with newer construction. Tell me the streets and home types you're considering, and I can pull recent sales of comparable homes so you can see what they actually sold for.

Part of it is. The North Charlotte Historic District, which takes in the mills, the mill homes and the business district, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. It is a National Register district, not a local one, and its boundaries are not the same as the NoDa Neighborhood and Business Association's borders. That listing does not restrict private owners on its own, but it can make a contributing house a candidate for a state rehabilitation tax credit. NoDa is not one of Charlotte's eight local historic districts, so City design review does not apply. Individually designated landmarks such as Hand's Pharmacy still need a Certificate of Appropriateness before material alterations.

Yes. The LYNX Blue Line stops at 36th Street Station, at 434 E. 36th St., and the NoDa Neighborhood and Business Association recommends Sugar Creek Station for North NoDa. The extension through NoDa opened on March 16, 2018, and runs between Uptown and UNC Charlotte. CATS bus Routes 3 and 23 connect at 36th Street Station.

The NoDa Neighborhood and Business Association names the Neighborhood Theatre, at 511 E. 36th St., and The Evening Muse, at 3227 N. Davidson St., as the anchors of live music in downtown NoDa. The Neighborhood Theatre opened as a live music venue in 1997 in the old Astor Theatre, and The Evening Muse opened in April of 2001.

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