Santa-induced traffic nightmare has residents of iconic Lake Norman community fuming
Longtime Birkdale Village residents on Monday night blasted a developer’s plan to expand their iconic Lake Norman community off Interstate 77 Exit 25 in Huntersville.
Traffic was horrendous enough when crowds flocked to see Santa and a tree-lighting last weekend at the mixed-use community, residents told the Huntersville Board of Commissioners.
Atlanta developer North American Properties wants to add a 12-story, 125-room hotel with a conference center; a commercial-residential building with 350 multi-family units; a seven-story office-commercial-building; and two six-story parking decks, according to Huntersville Planning Department documents.
Birkdale Village was the first of its kind at the lake when the development opened in 2003 with chic shops and restaurants and studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes.
But enough of the traffic, residents say.
Last weekend, drivers blocked the alleyways to their garages, and Huntersville Police diverted throngs of cars past their homes all night, residents said.
Many parents had to park far from Birkdale Village and cross busy, multi-lane Sam Furr Road with their children, residents said.
So what will happen, they asked, if developer North American Properties is allowed to get its way?
The developer was scheduled to seek a rezoning at Monday night’s Huntersville Board of Commissioners meeting for the 8.82-acre site at the intersection of Townley Drive and Lindholm Drive.
In advance of the meeting, the developer asked that its request be postponed to the board’s Jan. 17, 2023, meeting. Commissioners voted unanimously in favor of the request.
NAP asked for the postponement to give the developer time to answer commissioners’ questions about traffic and other issues, town officials said.
Nine Birkdale Village residents urged commissioners during the public comments part of Monday’s meeting to reject the developer’s request.
“These new owners are creating a safety hazard for residents,” Birkdale Village resident Dawn Snow said. “They’re turning it into an outdoor mall.”
NAP managing partner Tim Perry said in an email that the development plan calls for parking decks that would add 450 additional parking spaces.
Perry said that 21,694 people visited Birkdale Village for the tree lighting and Santa visit, which is on par with typical Saturday traffic in November the past three years. He added, however, that “for large events, guests tend to stay much longer, and the traffic impact is significantly higher compared to normal operations.”
“During the Tree Lighting, our team had multiple people tell us they would love an onsite hotel to spend the night in afterwards and be able to extend their kids’ evening with Santa, reducing the number of trips in/out of the property,” Perry wrote in an email.
Developer donates $50,000 to affordable-housing effort
Maryland-based national developer American Homes 4 Rent is donating $50,000 toward Liberty Village, a planned affordable-housing neighborhood in Mooresville geared toward veterans and public workers, town officials said Monday night.
The town is partnering with the developer on the project, which will connect to Mooresville’s Liberty Park, War Memorial Center and downtown.
Company officials presented a large image of the check at Monday night’s town Board of Commissioners meeting.
Local vendors of the developer are collectively matching the donation, for a total contribution of $100,000, town officials said in a news release.
“Liberty Village will be the place where our residents care for each other, especially our veterans and our heroes,” Mayor Miles Atkins said in the release. “Today is the beginning of a journey to realize the vision of Liberty Village.”
The town has started to buy land for the 3.25-acre project across from the War Memorial Center. Town officials are about to begin planning and design work.
Oregon developer plans $30M Huntersville older-adult community
An Oregon developer plans to start construction next year on a $30-million older-adult community at the corner of Beatties Ford Road and April Mist Trail in Huntersville.
The Huntersville Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a rezoning of the 9.2-acre site at its regular meeting Monday night.
The site is near Mountain Island Lake and 4 miles from Interstates 485 and 77
The development will consist of 148 suites in a three-story, 58,807-square foot building at 6925 April Mist Trail, according to Hawthorn Devco LLC’s rezoning application.
The project will include a multi-use trail and a 100-foot buffer from Beatties Ford Road, both of which are called for under the town’s Beatties Ford Road Small Area Plan.
The development is scheduled to open in 2025, Kristi Neznanski, Hawthorn Devco project manager said at an Oct. 3 public hearing, according to minutes of the hearing.
Hawthorn Devco LLC is under contract to buy the land, Neznanski said. Hawthorn Senior Living would operate the development, she added.
Regarding rents, she said: “With the current economic climate, it’s hard to project. I can say with our existing facilities, our studios run in the high $2,000s, and then our two bedrooms can be $5,000. But our average rent is about $4,000 a month. That includes all utilities, all meals, all the services.”
When Huntersville commissioner Amber Kovacs asked if the project would have “any low or affordable housing in there,” Neznanski replied: “It’s all market rate. But because we offer a lot of different-sized units, there’s a wide variety in price ranges that are available.
“Regardless of whether you have the smallest studio or the biggest two-bedroom, the services, the meals, the amenities, the care that you get is the same,” Neznanski said.
Commissioner Derek Partee said he lives in the Latta Springs subdivision across from the site. His HOA and the nearby Tanners Creek HOA support the project, he said at the Oct. 3 hearing.
“And moving forward, I think we have a good development here that’s going to fit right into the community,” Partee said, according to the hearing minutes.
This story was originally published November 23, 2022 at 10:09 AM with the headline "Santa-induced traffic nightmare has residents of iconic Lake Norman community fuming."