After a public outcry, Birkdale Village shrinks its planned expansion. What to know.
Citing public opposition, the developer of Birkdale Village has removed a planned hotel and 350 apartments from its rezoning request to expand the long-time mixed-use community at Lake Norman.
North American Properties still proposes a seven-story Class A office-commercial building and 450 parking-deck spaces at the development on Sam Furr Road off Interstate 77 Huntersville Exit 25, Tim Perry, managing partner of the developer’s Atlanta office, told The Charlotte Observer on Tuesday.
“I would say yes, the opposition definitely led us to draw back and focus on what is most important,” Perry said.
And that is to provide more parking, he said.
Workers in the planned office building would park in the additional spaces during the day and Birkdale Village visitors could park there on evenings and weekends, he said.
Perry said the planned additional multifamily units were still five to 10 years away. That part of the project, however, produced enough opposition to jeopardize government approval of the original intent of the rezoning, for parking and the office building, he said.
The developer filed its revisions with the Huntersville Planning Department on Friday, he said.
Cornelius Today first reported the filing.
Residents repeatedly complained about the developer’s redevelopment plan at Town Board meetings in recent months. They contended the multifamily units and 12-story, 125-room hotel would further worsen already clogged roads.
Perry previously told the Observer that the expansion would help address ongoing and future explosive population growth in Huntersville.
Huntersville’s 2040 Plan predicts the town population will increase 74% between 2018 and 2040, to 106,567, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
“Thanks to the proximity to Charlotte, employment opportunities, and high quality of life, the Town’s population has more than doubled from 2000 to 2018,” according to the plan.
The Huntersville Board of Commissioners will hear the revisions at its next regular meeting, on Monday, Feb. 6, Perry said. The board could consider voting on the rezoning a month later, at its Monday, March 6, meeting. The board meets at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 101 Huntersville-Concord Road.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This story was originally published January 24, 2023 at 3:06 PM.