Oct. 20. By Dave Yochum. If you think Cornelius changed over the last 10 years, brace yourself for the next 10.
Washam
The Cornelius landscape is evolving with trophy commercial properties poised for both development and redevelopment.
In addition to hundreds of thousands of square feet of new construction, including more than 1,500 multi-family units approved by the Town Board since June, redevelopment is coming.
Existing buildings, some old, some not so old, will be torn down to make way for the highest and best use, a real estate maxim.
It’s happening already on waterfront lots where aging homes are being pushed down in favor of multimillion-dollar trophy homes noteworthy even on a national scale.
Mayor Woody Washam and Wayne Herron, the town’s planning director, sat for an interview with Cornelius Today on what Cornelius will look like in the future.
“Eventually we will get into redevelopment that includes tear downs of commercial properties. What you see happening on the lake will evolve to other places in town,” Washam said.
Buildings less than 20 years old could be expendable because property values are so high, Herron said. For example, the 11,000 square-foot RiteAid built in 2007 at the corner of Jetton and West Catawba was torn down and replaced by the Chase branch.
Wayne Herron
Sefton Park node
More could happen, they said, including redevelopment of the aging shopping center at One Norman and Sefton Park, now anchored by Planet Fitness and Lost Worlds Brewing.
In fact, they said it’s likely going to happen in light of the big, mixed-use project that will go up just to the east where the Cornelius Planning Board has unanimously recommended approval of a five-story hotel and conference center on 10 acres.
Hinting at what’s to come and how developers are thinking, the project opposite the CATS transit station includes 344 new apartment units. Think South End in Charlotte for this segment of Cornelius—now the CATS station makes more sense.
The developer, Shaw Resources, plans 7,800 square feet of commercial space. It will be a new node of development—with more on the way, Herron and Washam said.
Shaw Resources takes the mixed—use project to the Town Board Sept 20. If commissioners approve the project, as expected, Shaw starts construction in 2022.
Look for the intersection of One Norman and Sefton/Jetton to be a significant place in the Cornelius of the future because of this project.
They call it a mixed-use node. Another one is happening at Nantz Road and farther west along what will be a totally new and improved West Catawba. The mayor and chief planner said West Catawba, which now carries about 20,500 cars a day, will be built out for 50,000.
West Catawba
West Catawba from Jetton to Sam Furr will be more of a “super street” than Jetton to Torrence Chapel. It will be wider, with more turning lane capacity, fewer and safer intersections and 10-foot wide raised multi-use paths.
Construction is set to get under way in 2025 but that could move up if infrastructure funding comes through from Uncle Sam.
New development will follow, not just at Alexander Farm—another major node with more than $100 million worth of development including homes, stores and offices—but all the way to Sam Furr.
Nantz will be a full-movement intersection with left and right turns; there will be a wide median down the middle of West Catawba with a mix of retail, office and residential on either side.
Nantz, by the way, will run straight across West Catawba, past 60 yet-to-be-built, but already-approved townhomes, and over to Magnolia Estates Drive. Road construction gets under way next year.
On the waterfront
As far as waterfront commercial is concerned, there is a five-acre parcel opposite Kenton Place with direct lake access and frontage on West Catawba. It’s on the market right now.
“Waterfront at some point will come alive,” Washam said.
The mayor discounted the demise of brick and mortar retail, suggesting that post-COVID, people will continue to opt for the suburbs.
“People are not going back to the city center,” he said, but they will go to smaller brick and mortar, which, in Cornelius, will take the form of businesses like financial advisors and insurance, especially for high-end specialty items like artwork, aircraft and expensive boats.
Big box retail?
“Big box retail doesn’t have a place in our town,” Washam said.
Other nodes include Chartown—where Lake Norman Chrysler Dodge Jeep is building a state of the art dealership and additional retail—which will ultimately connect to Westmoreland. Speaking of connections, Northcross Drive, where Whole Foods is at Exit 25, will connect with Westmoreland in a few years. Construction takes place between 2022 and 2024.
Augustalee/Atrium Hospital complex
Look for not just a hospital, but a luxury hotel and more commercial use on the former Augustalee site on Hwy. 21 opposite Bailey road. It will be a massive mixed-use project with 40 acres exempt from property taxes, and 60 acres non-exempt—good news for local taxpayers. The developer of the hotel, Aston Properties, is known for top-notch developments.
Also look for the big curve on Bailey Road to be straightened, sending traffic directly to Hwy. 21, Herron and Washam said.
Speaking of roads, the treacherous Mayes Road crossing at Hwy. 115 will be moved south to Huntersville, with grade improvements, as soon as next year.
Downtown
Think in terms of a higher quality of development. Realize that the Cain Center for the Arts is the Mac Daddy of economic development for all of Cornelius. The $25 million capital investment is attracting regional if not national attention from developers, Washam and Herron said.
Indeed, over the next 10 years downtown will become an “extremely vibrant mix of restaurants, breweries, small retail, some office; additionally entertainment venues, art galleries and the like,” Washam said.
There are already talks under way for a 40- to 60-room boutique hotel, complete with apartments and retail wrapping around the existing historic structures just west of the Cain Center. CCA doors open in just 15 months.
Washam expects world-class restaurants on the order of Ruth’s Chris Steak House. Planners will not be surprised if a proposal for a hotel complex comes before the Planning Board late this year or early next year.
There have even been proposals to re-develop the live-work units opposite the Cain Center, not an easy task considering they’re individually owned.
On the other side of Main Street, there are the Olde Mecklenburg Brewery and Caroline projects with a total of 720 residences, and of course a brewery.
In most cases vacant property will be developed one way or another.
The land is just too valuable, Washam and Herron said.
