Despite its history of drug deals and construction, The Arboretum deserves its name
The origin of The Arboretum‘s name is actually pretty obvious. The open-air shopping center, which sprawls across 581,601 square feet, gets its name from the high number of trees in the area.
I thought I’d chat with a representative of American Asset Corporation, which oversees the development, about said trees and the vision for this space. I especially wanted to find out if the Arbo symbol is indeed a well-crafted tangle of trees.
Eight emails and three phone calls later, I learned there would be no talk about the trees, alive or symbolic, in the near future.
I dove into the Charlotte Observer archives and found some fun quotes related to the shopping center’s development over time, though:
– “It’s kind of like looking at someone cut open for surgery, and saying, My, how ugly you look.”
The words of David Miller, retail partner of developer Trammell Crow, after hearing complaints from Raintree condominium residents about the trees coming down on the construction site in 1988. The company was embarking on plans to spend more than $1 million for landscaping.
– “This is a slap in the face.”
Words uttered by Ron Wise of Raintree Lane in 1989, when he and others living near the N.C. 51/Providence Road intersection expected the construction of the Arboretum to produce an upscale anchoring store like Belk — only to learn that they would get one of the first Walmart stores in Charlotte.
– “It’s really for grown-up people and nice families. … We don’t want to be the drop-off spot for teenagers to just hang out and be disruptive.”
Spoken by CEO Terrell Braly of Cinebarre in 2012, when Cinebarre’s first Charlotte location, a venture with Regal Entertainment Group, landed at the Arbo.
So many business ventures have landed here since ’89. The current directory lists more than 80 businesses.
In 2012, the Arboretum was identified by the DEA as a heroin-dealing hotspot that year. In 2014, a Charlotte Magazine writer shared that the park behind the Arboretum had been a popular spot for purchasing heroin.
But despite the rise of buildings and the spread of parking spaces (and some drugs), the shopping center has hung on to its greenery. It still deserves its label as an “arboretum” for its naturalistic image.
For starters, there are trees all over the expansive parking lot.
Away from the sea of cars, the park is a veritable oasis for the work-addled mind. Take a brisk stroll down the winding gravel path mid-morning and you’ll see what I mean.
And, if you look entirely too deeply into the whole matter, you will find that even the businesses have elements of nature.
The Vintner Wine Market offers wine (a product of grapes from the vine) and craft beer (flavored with hops, the green cones found around the female flower of the hop plants).
Brass Exchange Home, which carries furniture and various categories of home decor, has one wall entirely devoted to wreaths, topiaries and nature-inspired decorative items.
Penzeys Spices runneth over with earthy spices and spice blends like “Mural of Flavor,” “Fox Point Seasoning” and “Vietnamese Cinnamon.” It’s worth walking in just to check out the two walls devoted to cinnamon in the back, which I wasn’t allowed to photograph, only sniff.
The next time I’m at the Arbo, I’ll put my iPhone camera away, cozy up to a glass of wine and maybe even climb a tree.
This story was originally published October 8, 2015 at 1:00 AM with the headline "Despite its history of drug deals and construction, The Arboretum deserves its name."