Public outcry prompts Mooresville developer to shrink number of planned Lake Norman homes
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED ON TUESDAY, APRIL 2, AFTER THE DEVELOPER REQUESTED THAT A VOTE ON ITS REZONING REQUEST BE POSTPONED UNTIL JUNE 17, 2024.
A Lake Norman developer that faced a public outcry over its planned 660-home community at the lake last year has shrunk the number of homes in hopes of getting the development approved.
Proposed by Mooresville-based Southwest 33 Associates LLC, the community would cover 52 largely wooded acres in the 400 block of the narrow, two-lane Alcove Road. The developer now proposes 180 fewer homes in its revised rezoning request, according to documents filed with the Mooresville Planning Board.
Alcove Road runs along Interstate 77 between Langtree Road and Williamson Road in Mooresville to the north, connecting the interstate’s exits 31 and 33. Exit 33 leads to the national headquarters of home improvement retailer Lowe’s Cos. Inc. and Lake Norman Regional Medical Center.
Neighbors and town commissioners decried the developer’s original plan last year, citing concerns over traffic, fire response and a lack of retail-commercial space.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a project come in with such a lack of support,” commissioner Tommy DeWeese said at a town board meeting in November. “I think it’s almost a tragedy that we’re calling it mixed-use commercial.”
Fairview ‘flyover’ road
Commissioners were scheduled to vote on the rezoning request at their regular meeting Monday, April 1, but the developer requested a delay until the board’s June 17 meeting.
In its rezoning application, the developer said its project will enhance the tax base, provide more housing for seniors and others and offer more retail to Mooresville.
The developer also said it has worked closely with the N.C. Department of Transportation on a planned state road over I-77 known as the Fairview Flyover. The road is so named because it would connect Alcove Road on one side of I-77 with Fairview Road on the other side of the interstate.
Construction of the Flyover is scheduled to begin in 2025.
“The start of our development will closely coincide with the approved Flyover, allowing us to partner closely with NCDOT on site work and other construction opportunities,” the developer said in its rezoning application.
Dog park, open recreational space
The revised plan for the development, called Alcove Road, includes as many as 280 apartments in two multi-family buildings and 200 town homes, according to the developer’s application reviewed by The Charlotte Observer.
The developer will provide 27,000 square feet of public recreational space on the west side of the project and a 2-acre commercial parcel on the east side.
A dog park and multiple open-space park areas are planned, along with a club house, swimming pool and walking trails.
The developer promises a 30-foot vegetative buffer along Alcove Road and a pedestrian connection across a realigned Fairview Road.
A traffic impact analysis is under way by a consultant for the developer, according to town documents.
The development’s landscaping will make the road “far more friendly to the eye than what otherwise would be displayed should (the Flyover) be built on its own,” according to the developer’s rezoning application.
