STEELE CREEK NEWS
Rezoning Requests on
Rise in Steele Creek
(October 21,
2012) The
development boom Steele Creek experienced early in the last
decade slowed to a crawl for a few years, but based on the number of
new and expected rezoning applications, new development is on the rise
here again. The largest project is the Tanger
Outlet shopping mall at I-485 and Steele Creek Road
announced last week.
Here are descriptions of planned projects.
In
September, the Charlotte City Council approved rezoning Petition
2012-059 by SBG Properties that will
allow construction of a convenience store and Bojangles restaurant
on Steele Creek Road east of the new Dixie River Road intersection.
(See
Spot Rezoning Requested on Steele Creek Road near I-485.)
Last week, the City Council approved
Petition 2012-078 for an assisted care facility at 13600
S Tryon St between the Steelecroft and McDowell Place subdivisions
across from Christ the King Church. Plans call for 42 beds for adult
care assisted living and 48 beds for special care residents with
memory issues. The developers, Queen City Health Investors, have an
approved Certificate of Need from the North Carolina Division of
Heath Service Regulation for a 90-bed facility, which means they can
proceed with construction. Construction should begin by the end of
this year and be completed in late 2013.
Last year, the
Catholic Diocese of Charlotte received rezoning approval for a
senior housing facility next to Good Shepherd Church, but they
apparently have not received approval for a Certificate of Need, and
this property will not be developed for senior housing.
Also last week, the
City Council held a public hearing for
Petition 2012-086, which would allow construction of six
industrial buildings at the corner of Steele Creek Road and Shopton
Road north of I-485. In 2002, rezoning was approved for this
property that would allow a mix of retail and office uses that would
have possibly included a hotel and restaurants. However, because
there is little prospect for future residential development north of
I-485, retail is unlikely to be successful here.
If rezoning is
approved in November, as expected, construction on the first three
buildings would begin immediately, with the next three coming in
about a year.
Mecklenburg County
purchased a five-acre section of the original property in 2009 to be
the site of a new regional library. Since the county has sold few
bonds in the last few years, construction of a library is not in the
county's short term plans. However, the county does still own the
land. (See
County Acquires Site for Regional Library off Shopton Road,
October 4, 2009.)
Development of the
shopping center across Steele Creek Road has halted. Food Lion had
planned to build a Bloom grocery store there, but they no longer
operate Bloom stores. The center's future is uncertain.
Dixie River
Land Company has submitted rezoning
Petition 2012-101 for a 4-1/2-acre parcel at the corner
of Steele Creek Road and the new Shopton Road West to incorporate it
into the Berewick Town Center. This parcel was not included in the
original Berewick rezoning. The site can accommodate three
buildings, which could include a pharmacy, restaurant, or other
retail. Construction would occur after construction of the planned
Harris Teeter grocery in the Berewick Town Center has begun.
Four other rezoning
applications are expected soon.
One is on S Tryon St
between the Gridiron Restaurant and Carolinas Medical Center -
Steele Creek. Developers plan a convenience store and drive through
restaurant on S Tryon St and a third building behind those. The
third building could be a sit-down restaurant, medical office
building, bank, or other retail or office use.
The second is at the
corner of York Road and Grand Palisades Parkway. The Palisades
Master Plan called for offices at this location. However, one 2-1/2
acre parcel was not part of the original rezoning. The petition will
incorporate this parcel into the office use area.
Tanger
Outlets of Greensboro recently announced plans to build a
350,000 square foot, open-air shopping mall at I-485 north of Steele
Creek Road. (See
Release.) The center will feature over 90 popular
designer and brand name stores. The site was rezoned in 2011 to
allow a mixture of office, retail, and industrial flex uses. (See
Petition 2011-011.) The change in use, plus the addition
of several small parcels to the project, will require additional
rezoning.
Tanger is
developing the outlet project in conjunction with Childress Klein
Properties and Steele Creek Limited Partnership, a major owner of
land in Steele Creek created by Charlotte civic leader Sarah Belk
Gambrell, who will be developing ancillary uses surrounding the
outlet center.
The center will be at
the northern end of the property, near Shopton road (formerly Dixie
River Road) next to I-485. It will be visible from southbound I-485
before the Steele Creek Road exit. Several sit-down restaurants will
be built along the new Dixie River Road, which will be widened to
four lanes. The parking lot will sit between the restaurants and the
mall.
The southern end of
the property at Steele Creek Road will have a hotel, restaurant, and
other retail and office uses.
The whole project
includes $110,000,000 in new development. It will require 6 to 7
million dollars worth of road work, including the extension of
Berewick Commons Parkway to the new Dixie River Road and traffic
signals and additional lanes at both I-485 exit ramps on Steele
Creek Road. The developer will pay for the road work with some
reimbursement from public funds. Although the mall will generate
additional traffic, it is comparable to what would be expected with
the current approved uses.
Completion of the
initial 350,000 square-foot mall is expected in 2014, but the site
has room for a 50,000 square foot mall expansion.
This project also
will require rezoning of a small site along I-485 north of Arrowood
Road to allow construction of a billboard. Without this billboard,
northbound traffic would not be aware that they would need to take the
next exit to go to the outlet mall. Without the billboard, the
project will not be built.
As with the larger
Concord Mills Mall northeast of Charlotte, many of the customers for
the Tanger Outlet mall will come from outside Charlotte, bringing in
sales tax and other revenue for the community. It would be
conveniently located between I-85 and I-77 for tourists. It will
generate over 900 jobs in addition to several hundred temporary
construction jobs. The outlet mall is not expected to compete with
the Berewick Town center across Dixie River Road.
However, the
Tanger News Release states that "This news release contains
forward-looking statements...These forward-looking statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties, and therefore, actual results
could differ materially from those projected." Not all rezoning
leads to the development planned. However, if Tanger is successful,
this mall will have a major impact on the future of Steele Creek.
Finally, RiverGate
plans an expansion to the south of the current center. (See
RiverGate Plans Expansion, November 20, 2011.) Property
managers are in the last stages of negotiation with prospective
tenants. Once details are ironed out, construction will begin.
To comment on this
story, please visit the
Steele Creek Forum.
Click here:
to share this story to your Facebook page,
or click below to visit the Steele Creek Residents Association
Facebook page.
.
|