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KANNAPOLIS A Charlotte developer plans to build a 32-acre commercial-retail park at Interstate 85 Exit 63 as a gateway to the North Carolina Research Campus.
Research Commerce Park will anchor the southwest corner of the exit and have a dozen parcels for commercial use, including five outparcels for retail and two hotel sites, officials with developer DPE Investments announced recently.
The anchor tenant will be a hotel and conference center at the corner of the interchange, the developer said.
The park will be across the street from the 4,700-seat Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium, home of the Kannapolis Intimidators minor league baseball team.
The developer worked with Kannapolis, Concord and the LandTrust for Central North Carolina on its master plan.
The plan involved a land swap in which DPE Investments provided about 62 acres beside Concord's municipal water supply, Lake Fisher, to the city of Concord. That land will be permanently protected from development through the land trust, officials with DPE Investments said.
In return, the developer received 17 acres from Concord that it will combine with land the developer already owned to create the park. All 32 acres are in Kannapolis, the developer said.
Doug Ehmann of DPE Investments said he had received interest from potential developers of hotels, medical offices and restaurants. He said he expects the park to employ hundreds of workers.
"This is very positive for the area," Ehmann said. "It provides economic development for Kannapolis, watershed protection for Concord and a conservation easement for the state."
The developer intends to break ground on the $35 million project in 2010 and complete the project in three to four years.
Plans call for 275,000 square feet of mixed commercial space, likely including a retail pharmacy, convenience store and office buildings, the developer said.
Research Commerce Park will have three retention ponds and a 300-foot buffer from Lake Fisher. All structures will be built with natural or recycled materials, with an emphasis on LEED certification, the developer announced.
"It's not like the old interchanges where big boxes are everywhere," Ehmann said. "This will be unique. It touches on the 'new urbanism' development model, with a denser footprint and more green space surrounding the project."
Brown Bird Properties of Davidson will manage the development of the park.
Anthony Sparrow of Brown Bird was instrumental in forging the land swap agreement and land use plan, along with real estate broker and former Cornelius Mayor Wes Southern.
