REVIEW OF THE VILLAGE OF LAKE NORMAN
Lake Norman Regional Economic Development Corporation
February 22, 2008

The Lake Norman Regional Economic Development Corporation board of directors heard a presentation on February 21, 2008 by representatives of Bromont and Carlsen Douglas Development on the project known as The Village at Lake Norman. The purpose of the presentation and discussion of this project was to gather information and to raise issues related to this project in order to present comments to the Cornelius Town Board at its meeting on March 3, 2008.

The EDC board discussed this project at length after the presentation by Bromont and raised several questions and issues related to this project. Note that the questions and issues raised by the EDC board focus on the economic development impact of this project. The EDC board did not address other important issues that fall outside of the economic development aspects of the Village project.

The mission of the Lake Norman Regional EDC is to improve the quality of life for residents of Cornelius, Davidson and Huntersville by the attraction of capital investment and the creation of new jobs. This project appears to accomplish the EDC’s mission. However the project as presented does have some drawbacks that need further consideration and discussion with the developers.

Following are the issues considered by the EDC board:

Economic impact of the Village project.

Overall impact of the project appears to be positive. However the main emphasis is on retail rather than office development (office development occurs at the end of the project after the retail components have been developed). Consideration should be given to developing the office component at the outset of the project concurrent with the retail components instead at the end.

The product mix is heavily weighted toward retail. Consideration should be given to refocusing the development to reduce the “big box” retail product and increase the office product.

Also, consideration should be given to redesigning the site plan to take better advantage of the I-77 frontage. Class A office should be placed along the interstate and the retail should be relocated away from the interstate frontage. This will make the project more attractive to corporate users.

A good number of jobs will be generated by the project; however most jobs will be in the retail and service sectors which are lower paying jobs. Housing for people filling these positions may not be readily available in the area.

The proposed full-service business hotels will be a plus. The north Mecklenburg County market currently does not have this product available. Having a full-service business hotel will make the area more attractive to corporate entities considering where to locate major office facilities. And the restaurants and other support retail/commercial components of the project will provide amenities needed by these corporate users.

Impact of the project on nearby sites.

Clearly there are several parcels near the Village project that will develop and/or redevelop concurrent with or soon after the Village project gets underway. Traffic that will be generated by these projects should be factored into the equation when considering the total traffic impact and needed road improvements. 

The Bailey Road flyover will provide access to the Cooke site on the west side of I-77. This will help make this site more marketable to developers for other projects.

The Bailey Road improvements will also open up additional property along Rt. 21 for development. The traffic study needs to address this property as well.

Transportation impact

The improvements to I-77 are badly needed however the project should widen the interstate to four lanes in each direction, not three.

No improvements are proposed for exit #25. Improvements to this interchange should be considered as part of this project. A high capacity interchange for exit #25 should be considered.

Other proposed road improvements are needed. As stated above, consideration should be given to the traffic impact that will be created with the development of other near-by properties.

Impact on Rt. 73 needs to be studied carefully to determine what improvements are needed.

While the EDC board did not take a vote on the project, the general consensus of the group was that the Village project will accomplish several desirable outcomes:

• It will bring about a tremendous investment of capital that will be on the tax roles for many years.
• It will create several thousand new jobs.
• It will provide much needed office product for the EDC to market to corporate prospects.
• It will assist with the development of surrounding property by providing access and utility infrastructure that is not presently in place.
• It will improve the transportation infrastructure of north Mecklenburg County.
• It will create a tremendous amount of publicity for the Lake Norman region.

With improvements to the site plan, product mix, and offsite infrastructure this project will be a catalyst for future economic success.