Matthews apartment community built to keep up with population growth

MATTHEWS, N.C. — The town of Matthews has seen large population growth over the past few years, much like other cities and towns across the Charlotte area.

That growth has required new housing to meet the demands of the community, which has caused things like Album Matthews – a 55-plus apartment community still under construction on Idlewild Road – to pop up.

One town commissioner spoke with Channel 9’s Eli Brand on Friday and explained what work he think still needs to be done. “Apartment living is just very convenient,” Matthew Ellis said.

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Ellis is a sales consultant for the complex. He said interest is already high for the apartments, even with it only serving such a niche age group.

He said it’s that interest bringing new projects to towns like Matthews.

“A lot of people are looking to move to this area because inner city Charlotte is getting way too expensive. When they were looking for a place to build, they were looking for a place near the city but [also] out of it, so we can make it more affordable,” Ellis said.

Matthews Town Commissioner Ken McCool said the board has received the same amount of new project requests over the last two years as they got in the 20 years before that.

“If you’re not growing, you’re dying in a way. Growth sometimes is good but you have to do it in a manageable way and I think we have done a good job with that,” McCool said. “Like everyone else I get frustrated with traffic and things like that but were doing everything we can to mitigate it.”

McCool said the town commission has tried to follow a more structured approach when it comes to approving new projects like apartments, town homes, and family homes. He said his focus is on affordable housing.

Officials told Channel 9 they expect Album Matthews to open over the summer.

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