Mills Market | Highline Partners

Sept. 18. By Dave Vieser. A public hearing on Mill’s Market, another transformational project in downtown Cornelius, takes place this evening at Town Hall.

The planned 250,000 square foot development would be four stories tall and, if approved, one of the most significant projects downtown ever, in the same league as Town Hall, the Police Station and the Cain Center for the Arts as well as the live-work units across Catawba Avenue.

Prime parcel of property

The proposed location for Mill’s Market is a prime downtown parcel: 2.3 acres on the south side of Catawba Avenue, just east of Meridian Street, and west of the Cain Center.

The property includes the old Doc Washam house at the corner of Meridian and Catawaba. It would either have to be moved or demolished for the project to go up as planned.

As it was making its way through the town’s rezoning process, the project gained a unanimous thumbs-up from the Planning Board. However, that only came after developer Mark Miller of Highline Properties agreed to reduce the size of his original plan.

Key parking component

Tonight’s meeting will also include a public hearing on an unusual development agreement that would allow the Town of Cornelius and the Mills Market developer to partner and set terms on infrastructure related to the planned parking deck.

Specifically, Miller plans to build 130 parking spaces on the lower levels which will be owned by the town and provide added parking for downtown activities and the Cain Center.

The meeting will take place in Town Hall on Catawba at 6 pm. It may also be viewed via live stream on the town website: www.cornelius.org. Click on “watch meetings live.”