Linda Lockman-Brooks and Wil Brooks

Core Couples

Three duos who’ve called the Ballantyne® campus home from the start

By Michelle Boudin | Photos by Raymond J Photography


They were early adopters: three couples who saw the vision for the Ballantyne® campus and embraced it even when there was only a hint of what was to come. “It has changed tremendously,” says Wil Brooks, who was involved in community planning almost from the beginning. “When I first went out there (there was only) the four pillars at Ballantyne Commons Parkway.”

Shefalee and Vinay Patel moved to Ballantyne in 2003, and Shefalee says, “I feel like the city came to us. When we moved here in 2003, none of this was here.” Vonda and David Huss laugh when asked how long they’ve been here. “We moved to the Ballantyne area in 1991 — before Ballantyne existed!”

All three couples have been integral in helping build this area of South Charlotte into what it is today: a thriving tapestry of neighborhoods and companies surrounded by everything you could want and need, including a top-rated luxury hotel, country club, two YMCAs and a new medical facility with the 2023 opening of the Novant Health Ballantyne Medical Center. All three couples are excited about what’s still to come with the phenomenal success of The Bowl at Ballantyne™ and The Amp Ballantyne™.

Vonda and David Huss

VONDA AND DAVID HUSS

The move to Ballantyne in 1991 was simple for Vonda and David Huss. “We wanted to have a nice house. Then, we got ingrained in the community. You find your church, you find your doctors, and then Ballantyne built up around us,” Vonda explains. The chief human resources officer for Brighthouse Financial admits she didn’t initially love the drive to uptown for work every day but says over the years the added infrastructure and amenities made the ease of suburban living well worth the added time on 485.

“It’s so easy to live here; everything is just a couple of minutes away. I remember a lot of excitement about Ballantyne Country Club being built. People (were) starting to join this new country club — we also joined — and then all of the hype around what was going to be. More things started to come. The Morrison YMCA was built, and that was great for the kids. There were sports and athletics for us, and now fast-forward to The Bowl, and it’s amazing,” she says.

Her husband, David, a Realtor with Allen Tate, agrees, saying it’s been very easy to sell the area over the years. That’s especially true with the latest influx of bars and restaurants.