Sophia Burrowes ~ Charlotte NC Realtor

Meet Sophia...

Finding a quality, professional, hard-working real estate agent can be quite difficult...like finding a needle in a haystack. Your search is over! I am not only a Real Estate agent, I am a Realtor with Helen Adams Realty. I value honesty, intergrity and hard work. I dedicate myself to these principles in my business and my life. I am held accountable to always provide the highest level of customer service, which is reflected in my 100% Customer Satisfaction rating as a Quality Service Certified Realtor.

Helen Adams founded her company more than three decades ago in the growing city of Charlotte. Her goal was to create a company which was based on a strong commitment to personal service, unmatched area knowledge, exceptional real estate expertise, and the highest ethical standards. The success of our firm is due to the continued commitment to these values.

Since its inception, Helen Adams Realty has established a reputation for providing the highest level of personal service and real estate expertise. Today, the firm is ranked as the #1 Real Estate Firm in the Nation for delivery of exceptional customer service. Helen Adams Realty has become one of the most respected real estate brokerages in the region with office locations in Central. North and South Charlotte.

Specializing in...

Uptown~

Hundreds of years ago, two primitive trading paths crossed at the intersection of what is now Tryon and Trade Street in Uptown Charlotte. The founding of our city took place at this significant crossroad. Over the years, four distinct settlements emerged in the quadrants created by the Trade and Tryon Street Intersection. Today, we call these areas the First, Second, Third and Fourth Wards of Uptown Charlotte. Defined by the I-277 freeway loop this square mile represents the original city. Almost nothing old remains but the 1790s grid system of streets and the 19th-century names for the four political wards. Uptown Charlotte is largely shiny, new and bank-oriented. The Center City is a haven for nighttime hot spots, upscale restaurants, bars and trendy clubs. An even bigger change over the past decade has been the housing rebirth. Today, upscale condominiums, apartments and single-family houses have sprouted throughout the Wards of Uptown, creating a boom of urbanites. Fourth Ward, the Victorian pocket neighborhood with some of the city's oldest remaining homes, has been a showplace for years. Charlotteans refer to the center city area as "Uptown" because the epicenter is actually uphill from all surrounding areas. City officials also deemed the term more positive than "downtown".

Charlotte's First Ward Neighborhood is an award-winning mixed income district that was recently revitalized through a $41.6 million HUD HOPE VI grant. The neighborhood is home to about 1,000 residents as well as the Spirit Square Arts Center, Imaginon, Charlotte Bobcats Arena, Levine Museum of the New South, and the Mint Museum of Craft + Design. First Ward's boundaries are E Trade St., N Tryon St., and I-277 (an urban loop highway). First Ward has experienced a wave of major development bringing new residential homes and entertainment venues.

SECOND WARD

Charlotte's Second Ward, known as "the government district", is also undergoing a surge in exciting new growth. This area, which was once dominated by city office buildings, now features a new county courthouse and is the site for Charlotte's new NASCAR Hall of Fame, new convention center, several upscale hotels and exclusive condominium residences. The Center City 2010 Vision Plan recommends a master plan be produced for Second Ward with a major emphasis on creating a new neighborhood with lots of housing, restaurants, shops, and a neighborhood park.

Charlotte's Third Ward today is the most diverse of the city's four original quadrants. It includes a sports and entertainment area focused on Bank of America Stadium and a planned new AAA baseball stadium with a 5-acre park. Residential neighborhoods are a mix of single-family homes, apartments and condominiums, with dozens of new developments planned, under construction and nearing completion. Anchoring the west side of Third Ward is Bank of America's new 1.5 million square foot mixed use complex called Gateway Village. This innovative complex combines technology-oriented office space, over 500 new residential units, a public park, shops and restaurants.

Charming. Quaint. Delightful. These reactions are typical of a first-time visitor's stroll through Fourth Ward. This predominantly residential neighborhood artfully blends restored 100-plus-year-old homes with newer construction designed to be compatible with its surroundings. Along the edges of the neighborhood, features include the vitality of the North Tryon arts and entertainment district and as well as pricey new condominiums. In fact, one hallmark of much of the recent development has been combining retail offices, restaurants and galleries - on the Tryon Street side with residential on the Church Street side. And although mid-rise structures characterize much of the new developments in the area, the scale has been monitored carefully so as not to overwhelm adjacent single family homes.

OLD CHARLOTTE

Some of the most famous neighborhoods in Charlotte are the "streetcar suburbs" and the neighborhoods built around them that form a rung around uptown. Built to accommodate trolley commuting, many have front porches and traditional sidewalks that lead to eclectic shops and restaurants.

There is no better introduction to Charlotte than a drive down Queens Road in Myers Park, where some of the city's grandest homes are framed by a canopy of willow oaks. Myers Park emerged from a cotton farm in south Charlotte in 1911, when landscape architect John Nolen was hired to create a "garden suburb." Nolen opted for curving streets that followed the landscape. Don't miss: Festival in the Park at Freedom Park each year at the end of September. Getting lost at the baffling intersection of Queens Road, Queens Road, Providence Road, and Providence Road.

Developed on two dairy farms southeast of center city, Eastover was the first Charlotte suburb with driveways for "motorcars." The neighborhood's stately homes have long attracted the leaders who helped shape Charlotte's growth, including banker Hugh McColl Jr. and department store scion John Belk. One major landmark is the Mint Museum of Art. Don't miss: A stay at the luxurious Duke Mansion or a visit to The Manor, an old-time movie theater that shows art-house films.

Dilworth, Charlotte's oldest streetcar suburb, is known for its renovated bungalows, churches and leafy streets. East Boulevard forms the neighborhood's spine, offering restaurants, shops and office space within easy walking distance of nearby homes. The city is encouraging more dense development. Don't miss: the Yiasou Greek Festival at Holy Trinity Church off East Boulevard each year the first week in September.

Historic SouthEnd has its beginning in the 1850s when the first railroad line came to Charlotte, connecting the Queen City to Columbia and Charleston, SC. Over the years a thriving manufacturing community sprang up along the tracks, centered on the burgeoning textile industry. The area experienced a revival in the 1990s as restaurants, shops, and design-related industries discovered the beauty and versatility of the old mills and warehouses. SouthEnd today is a popular spot for shops and restaurants. Don't miss: A trip to the SouthEnd Trolley Museum and a ride on Charlotte's oldest surviving, fully restored streetcar, car #85.

It's home to two major hospitals, North Carolina's largest community college and the city's oldest park. Elizabeth has a mix of housing, from brick mansions to quaint bungalows to new townhomes. The neighborhood was home to department store magnate William Henry Belk, and the city's first neighborhood movie theater, the Visulite on Elizabeth Avenue, now a nightclub featuring live music. New shops, up-scale restaurants and revitalization along Elizabeth Avenue has created a trendy hot spot, and several more new developments are in the works. Don't miss: the rose gardens at Independence Park.

Just east of the center city, Plaza-Midwood is a hip neighborhood of restored bungalows, funky shops and places to eat. On Central Avenue, you'll find tattoo parlors, antique shops, pawn shops, clothing boutiques and a bookstore. Try a burger and fried pickles at the Penguin or pizza by the slice at Fuel Pizza Café, in a restored 1936 filling station. Don't miss: The homemade bread at Nova's Bakery or ping pong at Thomas Street Tavern.

Developed around 1920, this neighborhood on Charlotte's northwest side is a designated historic district in the shadow of the city's skyline. It's one of the few places in town to get a Dilworth-style bungalow for less than $200,000, but some renovated homes are selling for more than $300,000. New home developments, and restoration projects of older homes are also sprouting up throughout the area. Don't miss: The George Wadsworth house at 400 South Summit Avenue, dating to 1910.

The North Davidson Arts District, affectionately known as NoDa, is a former mill neighborhood that has been transformed into a funky arts district with galleries, eateries and performance halls. Just three miles northeast of uptown, the neighborhood once known as North Charlotte is made up of mostly small Craftsman style bungalows built at the turn of the century to house workers at textile mills. The district also has an increasing number of condos, including some in converted mills. Don't miss: Friday Gallery Crawl, on the first and third Fridays of the month.

A stone's throw from the million-dollar homes of Myers Park, this unlikely community of renovated bungalows, public housing and boarded-up buildings is one of the city's oldest neighborhoods. Cherry was named in 1891, and according to local tradition, it was built as a servants' community for the adjoining streetcar suburb of Myers Park, which began to develop in 1912.The area is on the radar for major development and revitalization, due to its location near Uptown, Midtown and Myers Park.

Sophia's Accreditations

• Licensed in NC
• Quality Service Certified (QSC)
• National Association of Realtors (NAR)
• National Carolina Association of Realtors (NCAR)
• Charlotte Regional Realtor Association (CRRA)
• Carolina Multiple Listing Service (CMLS)