Huntersville approves huge mixed-use community at prime Lake Norman intersection
In a split vote, the Huntersville Board of Commissioners Tuesday night approved a South Carolina developer’s proposed $200 million mixed-use community at a prime Lake Norman intersection.
The board voted 4-3 in favor of a rezoning for the Knox Crossing development at Sam Furr Road (N.C. 73) and N.C. 115, with Mayor Christy Clark breaking a tie among commissioners. She said she backed the plan because of the number of affordable housing units it will provide.
The development by Mount Pleasant developer WRS Inc. Real Estate Investments will include up to 413 apartments and townhomes — 7.5%, or 30 of which will be affordable to teachers, firefighters and police, according to the developer’s latest plans.
WRS has 45 mixed-use communities and retail-anchored centers across the Southeast, Susan Irvin of Cornelius-based Irvin Law Group told the Huntersville Planning Board in February. Irvin Law Group represented the developer at the hearing. The Planning Board voted 6-3 to recommend the rezoning.
A 45,000-square-foot grocery store will anchor Knox Crossing’s up to 87,000 square feet of commercial space, the developer’s documents show.
The developer made several changes to its plan recently, Huntersville Assistant Planning Director Brad Priest told the commissioners Tuesday night, including:
• Removing two apartment buildings and replacing them with townhomes.
• Moving its proposed grocery store space farther north in the development.
• Improving the alignment of its proposed greenway.
• Adding live-work units to all apartment buildings.
• Adding central green and stage area open space beside the greenway.
The developer also removed a gas station from its plans, Irvin said. “They agreed to remove the gas station completely,” she told the board. “There would be no gas station.”
Commissioner Scott Coronet made the motion to approve the rezoning, with commissioner Edwin Quarles seconding the motion. Commissioner LaToya Rivers also voted for the motion, citing the proposed live-work units and the number of affordable housing units.
“I like this project,” Coronet said. “I’m excited about the greenway trail, the parks. The live-work option is a great incubator for new businesses.”
Commissioner Nick Walsh said he’s had concerns about the project since it was proposed, such as the impact on already congested roads. “We can do better,” he said.
Commissioner Heather Smallwood said she’s still concerned about “the overall intensity of the project and the traffic impact.”
And commissioner Jennifer Hunt said she would have preferred enclosed parking to the project’s “surface parking,” which she said can damage the environment. She also would have liked more activity space rather than the focal point of the project being a grocery store, she said.
The developer is negotiating with three unnamed major grocers not currently in the area for a spot in the 44-acre development, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
Before the vote, two residents urged the board to deny the request.
Neighbor Ed McCormick cited eight buildings housing up to 15 businesses having been approved for a separate nearby project.
“We’re creating a current construction corridor nightmare,” he said.
McCormick urged the board to wait until the planned expansion of Sam Furr Road is 70% complete before approving Knox Crossing. “There’s only four roads that go through there, and we’re already swamped with cut-though traffic and construction trucks,” he said.
Resident Rob Cote said among his many concerns about the project is safety, especially the Colonial Pipeline gas lines beside the project.
Developer Charles Knox urged the board to approve the rezoning.
“The plan is the culmination of hundreds of hours of work and hundreds of thousands of dollars of investment by WRS and residential developers who are partnering with them,” Knox said. “They worked hard to revise over and over and arrive at a plan that the Planning Board approved and we hope staff will support.”
The plan provides “critical road connections,” he said, including a northbound, parallel road to N.C. 115. The developer also proposes roughly 30 affordable housing units and additions to the Carolina Thread Trail, Knox said.
Knox Crossing will be immediately south of a future Charlotte Area Transit System station. And the developer will pay for the design and construction of the entrance to a planned pedestrian tunnel under busy Sam Furr Road.
“This is really a keystone, the center of multimodal connections throughout Huntersville,” Irvin told the Huntersville Board of Commissioners at a public hearing on the rezoning request in January.
Knox Crossing “will be a great destination for Red Line travelers,” Irvin said, referring to the planned commuter rail line from uptown Charlotte to Lake Norman towns.
