(no subject)
OMG. This is about 8 miles from my house.
I wonder at the impact.......... on taxes, ...property values, traffic...?
The convenience sure would be nice. We have to drive about 20-30min to most stores.
And yet we could go see movies. In a theatre. Easily.
And by the time this thing is all built, the kids could take their dates to movies.
Wow.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/876317.html
Retail center planned near Mebane
A center like The Streets at Southpoint could be built at I-40 and Buckhorn Road
Mark Schultz, Staff Writer CHAPEL HILL - Local developers have applied to build a 128-acre retail center at Interstates 40-85 and Buckhorn Road in rural Orange County.The project, approaching The Streets at Southpoint in size at 1.1 million square feet, could generate an estimated $7.2 million a year in sales and property taxes, according to the developers' application.
The site sits just outside Mebane, which would supply water and sewer service, said Craig Benedict, county planning director. It includes the site of the Buckhorn Flea Market.
Jim Parker of Summit Consulting Engineers of Hillsborough submitted the application for local developers calling themselves Buckhorn Road Associates. He declined to identify the developers Friday.
John Fugo, a principal in Montgomery Development Carolina Corp., is a partner in the project, Benedict said. Fugo developed Southern Village along with D.R. Bryan and others.
Aaron Nelson, president and CEO of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, called the proposal "extraordinary." The economic impact would exceed the tax revenue generated, Nelson said, as salaries paid to local workers would be spent in the community.
The project lies in one of three economic development zones that Orange County created more than a decade ago to stimulate commercial activity that could ease the tax burden on homeowners.
The developers plan three districts within the project, Parker said. One would have a small-town feel like the outdoor portion of Durham's Streets at Southpoint shopping mall or Market Street in Chapel Hill's Southern Village planned community.
The plan also calls for a regional retail center. The largest store the developers are talking about would be 200,000 square feet, big enough for a Lowe's, Home Depot or Wal-Mart. The center would also have a destination anchor store that would draw visitors from hours away, Benedict said.
The third area would be a retail-entertainment district with restaurants and a cinema.
The application proposes second- or third-story condominiums or loft units above first-floor shops.
Already one local citizens group has said it could support housing there.
In an e-mail message, James Carnahan of the Village Project said Orange County needs more "thoroughly mixed-use" projects in order to cut down on carbon emissions from people driving everywhere. Carnahan notes the current zoning does not allow a residential component.
Parker said the developers want to leave that option open.
Nelson, who preaches sustainable, "green" development, said the project wouldn't need housing for his endorsement.
"You ever eat Neapolitan ice cream?" he asked. "You don't need chocolate, vanilla and strawberry every time you scoop down."
(Staff writer Samuel Spies contributed to this report.)
mark.schultz@newsobserver.com or (919) 932-2003
Staff writer Samuel Spies contributed to this report.
I wonder at the impact.......... on taxes, ...property values, traffic...?
The convenience sure would be nice. We have to drive about 20-30min to most stores.
And yet we could go see movies. In a theatre. Easily.
And by the time this thing is all built, the kids could take their dates to movies.
Wow.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/876317.html
Retail center planned near Mebane
A center like The Streets at Southpoint could be built at I-40 and Buckhorn Road
Mark Schultz, Staff Writer CHAPEL HILL - Local developers have applied to build a 128-acre retail center at Interstates 40-85 and Buckhorn Road in rural Orange County.The project, approaching The Streets at Southpoint in size at 1.1 million square feet, could generate an estimated $7.2 million a year in sales and property taxes, according to the developers' application.
The site sits just outside Mebane, which would supply water and sewer service, said Craig Benedict, county planning director. It includes the site of the Buckhorn Flea Market.
Jim Parker of Summit Consulting Engineers of Hillsborough submitted the application for local developers calling themselves Buckhorn Road Associates. He declined to identify the developers Friday.
John Fugo, a principal in Montgomery Development Carolina Corp., is a partner in the project, Benedict said. Fugo developed Southern Village along with D.R. Bryan and others.
Aaron Nelson, president and CEO of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, called the proposal "extraordinary." The economic impact would exceed the tax revenue generated, Nelson said, as salaries paid to local workers would be spent in the community.
The project lies in one of three economic development zones that Orange County created more than a decade ago to stimulate commercial activity that could ease the tax burden on homeowners.
The developers plan three districts within the project, Parker said. One would have a small-town feel like the outdoor portion of Durham's Streets at Southpoint shopping mall or Market Street in Chapel Hill's Southern Village planned community.
The plan also calls for a regional retail center. The largest store the developers are talking about would be 200,000 square feet, big enough for a Lowe's, Home Depot or Wal-Mart. The center would also have a destination anchor store that would draw visitors from hours away, Benedict said.
The third area would be a retail-entertainment district with restaurants and a cinema.
The application proposes second- or third-story condominiums or loft units above first-floor shops.
Already one local citizens group has said it could support housing there.
In an e-mail message, James Carnahan of the Village Project said Orange County needs more "thoroughly mixed-use" projects in order to cut down on carbon emissions from people driving everywhere. Carnahan notes the current zoning does not allow a residential component.
Parker said the developers want to leave that option open.
Nelson, who preaches sustainable, "green" development, said the project wouldn't need housing for his endorsement.
"You ever eat Neapolitan ice cream?" he asked. "You don't need chocolate, vanilla and strawberry every time you scoop down."
(Staff writer Samuel Spies contributed to this report.)
mark.schultz@newsobserver.com or (919) 932-2003
Staff writer Samuel Spies contributed to this report.