But Patel says the motel's new management is evicting troublemakers and sprucing up rooms. Many of the motels favored by the working poor are along Charlotte's main thoroughfares. Wilkinson has the Villager, the Queen City and the Capri. Tryon Street has the Star and the Holiday. On Independence Boulevard, there's the Arena Inn.
Families prefer rooms with microwaves, refrigerators and easy access to buses for school and work.
Life at the Villager Cars and trucks from Ohio, Maryland, Georgia, Florida and North Carolina filled the Villager's parking lots one recent weekend. They belonged to welders, fence builders, pavers, construction workers, waitresses, forklift operators and maids. Parents watched each other's kids and grilled steaks in the parking lot. Children used the parking lot in back as a playground, the concrete stairwell as a jungle gym. Casey was living in a room with three brothers, two parents and one sister.