Major mixed-use community at prime Lake Norman intersection approved by board
The Huntersville Planning Board Tuesday night backed a South Carolina developer’s proposed $200 million mixed-use community at a prime Lake Norman intersection.
The board voted 6-3 to recommend a rezoning for the Knox Crossing development at Sam Furr Road (N.C. 73) and N.C. 115.
The development by Mount Pleasant developer WRS Inc. Real Estate Investments would include up to 486 apartments and townhomes — 7.5%, or 37 of which would be affordable to teachers, firefighters and police, according to the developer’s plans.
WRS has 45 mixed-use communities and retail-anchored centers across the Southeast, Susan Irvin of the Cornelius-based Irvin Law Group told the Planning Board. Irvin Law Group represented the developer at the hearing.
A 45,000-square-foot grocery store would anchor Knox Crossing’s up to 82,000 square feet of commercial space, the documents show.
The proposal will now go to the Huntersville Board of Commissioners, which has final say on rezonings. At 6 p.m. March 17, the Town Board is scheduled to vote on the request.
On Feb. 13, the developer upped its number of proposed apartments and townhomes from 427 total units — 328 apartments and 99 townhomes — 21 of which would have been “affordable” units. And Knox Crossing increased its proposed commercial space from 70,802 square feet.
A breakdown of the number of apartments and townhomes under the new plan wasn’t available.
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.
Planning staff concerns
Planning Board members who voted against recommending the rezoning said they sided with town planning staff, who opposed approval.
“Staff supports the intensification,” Assistant Planning Director Brad Priest told the Planning Board, referring to the number of homes and amount of commercial space. “It’s in a great location. It’s where it needs to be. But we’re looking at the design, the urban design concerns, and staff doesn’t recommend approval at this time.”
Unlike the longtime Birkdale Village mixed-use community on the opposite side of Interstate 77 exit 25 in Huntersville, Knox Crossing proposes too much commercial along N.C. 73 as opposed to putting more in the interior of the project, he said.
Staff also would like a wider, greener, “very natural” section of the regional Seam Trail through the project, like Sugar Creek Greenway at the Metropolitan retail development in Charlotte, Priest said.
“Great destination for Red Line travelers”
Knox Crossing would be immediately south of a future Charlotte Area Transit System station. And the developer would 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,” Susan Irvin of the Cornelius-based Irvin Law Group told the Huntersville Board of Commissioners at the public hearing in January. Irvin Law Group represented the developer at the hearing.
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.
The development also would include a gas station, retail shops, a dog park and a neighborhood park with a playground, according to the developer’s site plan.
Four residents spoke at the January hearing, all in favor of the project.
Michelle Edwards, the owner of a longtime dance studio, called Knox Crossing “thoughtful, responsible growth. This development will be a positive addition to the area.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2026 at 5:30 AM.