Matthews Neighborhoods With a Downtown of Their Own

Matthews neighborhoods sit in a small town that runs straight into Charlotte. Driving between the two, you can hardly tell where one ends and the other begins. Matthews lies between Charlotte and Indian Trail, about 11 to 12 miles from uptown. US 74 and I-485 serve Matthews, and NC 51 runs through town and connects with US 74.

What sets it apart is that it still has a town of its own. Downtown Matthews has shops, restaurants and a library branch, and every Labor Day weekend it hosts Matthews Alive, the town festival and parade. Buyers come here for much the same reason they look at Mint Hill, an easy drive into Charlotte, and choose Matthews for the extra shopping and restaurants close to home.

The fair comparison for Matthews is Charlotte and Mint Hill. Next to Mint Hill, there is very little difference in how daily life feels, except that Matthews has more places to shop and eat. Next to Charlotte, you get a small-town center and slightly more distance from the busiest parts of the city.

Brightmoor was built from 1986 to 1994 by builders including Squires, Ryland and UDC. Most homes are colonial-style with big front porches, the later ones more transitional, on wooded lots with wide frontage. It has two pools, tennis courts, a playground and walking trails, and it sits close to downtown Matthews and its restaurants, shops and festivals.

Sardis Plantation, built mostly from 1985 to 1998, has brick and partial-brick two-story and ranch homes of roughly 2,000 to 3,800 square feet among mature oaks on winding streets. Tennis courts, playgrounds and about 3 miles of walking trails round it out, without a dedicated clubhouse or community pool, and downtown Matthews is minutes away. The ranch plans make it one of the better places in town to look for one-level living.

Matthews Plantation was built from 1991 to 2001, with homes of roughly 2,100 to 3,300 square feet, a clubhouse, park-like green spaces, walking paths and nearby access to the Four Mile Creek Greenway. It is the most moderately sized of the four.

Deerfield Creek is the largest-home option, with about 200 full-brick or stone Traditional and Transitional homes of roughly 2,800 to 5,500 square feet and more, built by Hampshire Homes and John Wieland Homes, with development beginning in 1997, on third- to half-acre wooded lots. It has a pool, tennis courts, a soccer field and walking trails, near Providence Road and I-485.

Because the two towns share a border and a commute, the real choice between Matthews and Mint Hill usually comes down to the kind of home and setting you want.

Matthews, in the neighborhoods above, means a resale home from the mid-1980s to the late 2000s, mature trees, and a downtown with shops and restaurants a few minutes away. Mint Hill covers a wider range. It has newer construction, such as Oak Creek, with lots averaging about 0.4 acre, and Ardley, with ranch and main-floor primary bedroom plans. It also has McEwen Village next to its own small downtown, a golf community at Olde Sycamore, and Cheval, an equestrian community with room for a private barn.

If you want a newer home or an unusual lot, the Mint Hill neighborhoods we cover include more of both. If you want an older neighborhood with a livelier town center nearby, Matthews is the stronger fit. Many buyers look at both on the same day, and that is usually the fastest way to decide.