THE RETREAT AT W. CATAWBA IS ON THE BIG BEND ON W. CATAWBA
FEB. 19. BY DAVE VIESER. The first public hearing on the Retreat at West Catawba brought out six speakers, all of whom supported the change to an all-residential plan. The developers of the project dramatically increased the size of the project planned for the big bend on West Catawba just days before the hearing.
In spite of the public support, the board agreed to continue the hearing until March 4 to give residents one more chance to comment on the project opposite Elevation Church.
Assistant Town Manager Wayne Herron, told the board he would like to be able to “make a concerted effort to let neighbors know about the change.”
Under the new proposal, Demeter Properties wants to add 18 townhomes to the project, for a total of 60 vs. the 42 requested in the original proposal. It also eliminates two planned commercial buildings. The new proposal calls for homes between 2,200 and 2,800 square feet, with selling prices between the upper $300,000s and upper $400,000s.
The development site is in West Catawba Phase 2, which means it will be widened to four lanes from Jetton to Hwy. 73 starting next year.
The change comes from a bulb-shaped U-turn NCDOT plans on one end of the property. The DOT had expressed concerns regarding driveways and sight distances.
The town Transportation Advisory Board reviewed the initial proposal in January.
NAAS
“We basically reported that the Catawba widening will effectively address the traffic impact associated with this development,” said Kurt Naas, a TAB member and town commissioner. The TAB has not had the opportunity to review the modified plan, but Naas did not think the change would impact their initial determination.
But, he added, until the widening is completed, the project “will significantly impact traffic congestion.”
Assistant Planner Aaron Tucker believes that the trip generation for the new all-residential proposal will be lower than the plan that includes commercial and is deemed to be more acceptable by NCDOT for this location.
The property is largely vacant except for a handful of homes, one of which is run-down.
The site was in the news back in 2016 when Classica Homes planned 40 age-restricted homes there, but the application was ultimately withdrawn.
The town at the time offered little support for a residential project, stymieing the long-time owners who wanted to sell. The plan was officially withdrawn when there were too many challenges around the plans to widen West Catawba.
