Aug. 19. A leading pre-school franchise is looking at property just north of the Cowboy Restaurant on Statesville Road/Hwy. 21 in Cornelius. LeafSpring School wants to build two buildings totaling approximately 25,000 square feet on 4.1 acres currently zoned Neighborhood Residential.

There is an older brick home on the property as well as a detached garage and poultry house. The land value, according to the 2019 assessment, is $223,000.

The application, by Jeff Bazow, will begin its way through the town’s regulatory process with a public hearing before the Town Board tonight. LeafSpring School provides childcare, early education, school-age recreation, summer camps, back-up sick care and leadership development as well as health and wellness programs to their enrollees.

LeafSpring’s nearest school at the moment is in Matthews, but they have a total of 12 schools in North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana and Texas. LeafSpring, based in Glen Allen, Va., says its franchisees have “demonstrated corporate school profit with an EBITDA (on average per location) greater than $580,000, for six years in a row.”

Entrepreneur magazine says the initial investment required is between $3.5 million and $6.4 million.

One of the more unique aspects of LeafSpring is their back-up sick care, with trained medical personnel until parents or guardians can pick them up.

One issue which will be under scrutiny is traffic.

By their nature, pre-kindergarden schools generate drop off/pick up activity.  The section of Hwy. 21 near the proposed school is scheduled to be widened to a four lane divided highway by the NCDOT which may limit access and egress for motorists.

The hearing begins at 7 pm in Town Hall on Catawba Avenue.