Ballantyne Magazine covers news, events, real estate, restaurants, shopping, health, schools and business in the upscale Ballantyne Area of Charlotte, NC.
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makes Ballantyne work so well today — instead of one director and one big company, we have many directors and companies doing business in and living here, which has created the Ballantyne Corporate Park culture of live, work, play and stay." Tobacco Barns to Skyscrapers In his spare time, you might fi nd Jeff Floyd enjoying horses, hunting quail or fi shing. of buildings along the radial that ties to the center, where you have the lake buildings on one side and the Brixham Green campus on the adjacent side. The entire design forms an orbit, an implied order to the plan." Not everything has gone according to the original plan, however. In the beginning, Exxon and Sears explored relocating their headquarters to the park, and State Farm purchased acreage for a regional service center, but due to the costs incurred by Hurricane Andrew, sold the property back to Bissell. These unintended consequences proved a huge upside in the creation of The Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge and The Golf Club at Ballantyne, neither of which would exist if only three or four large corporations had occupied the park. As Floyd points out, "Large corporate locations tend to become fairly sterile. You don't get the diversity of companies and people, which is what WINTER 2010-2011 Born in the hamlet of Fairmont in eastern North Carolina, Floyd grew up the only son of a long line of tobacco farmers on his father's side. He graduated in the third architectural class at UNC Charlotte, then obtained his master's degree in architecture from the N.C. State's College of Design in Raleigh. He says he wouldn't have become an architect but for in-state tuition; he couldn't afford anything else. Today Floyd sits at the peak of his profession, but still enjoys quality time with his two daughters. Reilley is away at college studying nursing, while Carson is still in middle school. Carson and Floyd's significant other, Wendy Burke, share a passion for horses. "I'm just the groom," Floyd quips, adding that his hobbies are quail hunting (he has two bird dogs) and fishing, a love he inherited from his mother, who was raised on Pamlico Sound. For architectural inspiration, Floyd likes to travel, but also relies on the Internet, where he can Google any design project in the world. He personally favors Georgian architecture, a style reflected in the design of the Rotunda Building and Morrocroft Centre in SouthPark. The most critical talent for an architect in his opinion, though, is good recollection. "Architects have to remember what they see. It helps to have a memory, and it also helps to be visual." Fragrant Christmas Trees, Flocked Christmas Trees, Fresh Wreaths, Garland & Boughs, Poinsettias that Last, and Last and Last SAVE $10 ON ANY $50 PURCHASE Cannot be combined with any other offer including the $29.97 Christmas tree. Limited to quantities on hand. Offer expires Sunday, December19, 2010. SKU 766560 Your Fresh Christmas Décor Garden Center Conveniently located in Ballantyne 12630 North Community House Road. Charlotte, NC 28177 704-341-PIKE www.PikeNursery.com CELEBRATING TEN YEARS 2000-2010 BALLANTYNE MAGAZINE 55