North Carolina developers pitch plans for hundreds more Lake Norman-area homes
The Mooresville Planning Board endorsed proposals by three North Carolina developers Tuesday night for hundreds more Lake Norman-area homes.
The board unanimously recommended a rezoning for Cornelius-based Blue Heel Development to build 68 for-sale townhomes on 17 wooded acres along Shadowbrooke Lane on the Brawley School Road peninsula on the lake.
By an 8-to-1 vote, the board recommended a rezoning for Evolve Cos. to develop a community of 116 for-sale townhomes on 27 acres at the corner of Azalea Road and Landis Highway (N.C. 152) in east Mooresville. Evolve has offices in Wilmington and Greensboro.
The board also unanimously recommended a plan by Charlotte-based Cambridge Properties for 175 single-family homes on nearly 63 acres of former farmland near the intersection of Kistler Farm and Rocky River roads in east Mooresville.
The Mooresville Board of Commissioners has final say on rezonings and hasn’t set a date to consider those recommended by the Planning Board Tuesday night.
Here’s more about the developers’ plans:
Blue Heel Development community
Blue Heel Development’s Shadowbrooke Mooresville would preserve “a large amount of existing tree canopy and open space,” according to a report by the project engineer, W & A Engineering.
Townhomes would be for sale, not rented, and the community would have a homeowners’ association, Blue Heel Development representatives said at an Oct. 29 community meeting arranged by the developer to share its plans with neighbors.
The development would have two right in, right out entrance-exits because of the median on Brawley School Road, according to the developer’s rezoning application.
The neighborhood would include a 10-foot wide multi-use path beside a creek and connect to an existing greenway easement leading to Lake Norman Elementary School on Oak Tree Road.
The center of the community would feature three “significant active open areas,” including plaza-pavilion areas, a lawn or playground and possibly a dog park, according to the rezoning application.
Three of the homes would be priced as affordable for families earning at or below 120% of the area’s median income.
Blue Heel Development is the third developer to try to get the site rezoned for homes, according to the W & A Engineering report.
Blue Heel’s plan differs from the others in part because it includes two access points, rather than one, to and from Brawley School Road and will leave six acres undisturbed.
In February 2023, Mooresville-based Nest Communities Inc. pulled its plans for 99 town homes on Shadowbrooke Lane, just before Mooresville commissioners appeared set to reject the development because it offered only one way in and out, The Charlotte Observer reported.
“I’m inclined to vote no because all you’re doing is making one long dead-end street, more than a quarter of a mile,” then-commissioner Bobby Compton said at a Board of Commissioners meeting. “That’s a tough one to swallow.
“Man, this is crazy,” Compton continued. “You’ve got one long dead-end street, and this is not going to work for me.”
One nearby neighbor spoke against the developer’s plans Tuesday night, citing already intolerable traffic on Brawley School Road and a resulting inability to evacuate in case of an emergency at the McGuire nuclear plant on the southern end of the lake in Huntersville.
Evolve Cos. community
According to the rezoning application by Evolve Cos., Evolve North Townhomes may include a community clubhouse with a fitness center, swimming pool, dog park, small parks, outdoor grilling station, community trails and seating benches.
The community would have two road access connections, one on Azalea Road and a right-in/right- out access on Landis Highway.
Opposing the plan, a homeowner across from the site said hundreds more headlights would shine into his dining room if commissioners approve the development. He said the community would be a bad fit with his rural surroundings.
Cambridge Properties community
In July, the Mooresville Board of Commissioners unanimously denied a request by Cambridge Properties to revive plans for hundreds of homes at Kistler Farm and Rocky River roads, the Observer previously reported.
The plan for the developer’s Witherspoon Woods community called for 299 homes, including 182 townhomes. The new request trims the number of homes by 124 and cuts the density of the development from 4.69 homes per acre to 2.81 per acre.
Jay Priester, president of Cambridge Properties Inc., said his company plans to build a roundabout to ease traffic concerns and build sidewalks to make the area safer for school children and others. The company has agreed to numerous conditions recommended by town planners, he said.
According to the developer’s plans, 29% of the community would remain as open space, including for a large neighborhood park, a storm water pond, walking trails, an observation deck and seating areas.
Speaking for other neighbors, a woman urged the Planning Board to vote against the plan, in part citing already dangerous conditions faced by children walking to nearby schools in the pitch dark.