J.W. Clay Station is located Northeast of Charlotte, on the city’s outskirts. The station is opposite the Marriott Hotel, right next to the university. J.W Clay Station is great for attending sports games or events on campus; on the opposite side of the road, there is a shopping center with several businesses, such as supermarkets, banks, clothing stores, hair salons, a church, and a post office. J.W Clay Station is an indispensable part of Charlotte’s tourism as well as crucial essential services for citizens. Touristic landmarks, services and essential businesses are located along North Tryon Street. Football games and the on-campus hotel lure tourists, fans and other university visitors to the station. On the other hand, Charlotte residents can pop by the station for errands or recreational activities as there are plenty of restaurants with a wide variety of food, a footbridge, and university walking routes. Even though essential services and tourist places are accessible to Spanish speakers, smaller places like some restaurants and companies do not have Spanish speakers. The developer of what we see today was a geographer called Jim Clay, who had an idea for the city of Charlotte- ahead of his time, some say. In 1979, the city looked asymmetrical as most of the infrastructure was located towards the south, closer to South Carolina. No one wanted to travel northeast of Charlotte as there were no services, but this was the result of the smaller number of residents in the area, too little to justify the development thereof. Consequently, Clay met the Carley Capital Group and began planning “University Place,” which was finalized in 1985. The main concept was having a walking area with stores and restaurants and lots of open spaces. Unfortunately, Carley went bankrupt, and another company took over the project. Even with a different view, a new crowd was lured northeast- as originally planned by Clay. Mr. J.W. Clay died of lung cancer in 1994, but he is still remembered for the station named in his honor.
