Construction at Greenway Gartens / Cornelius Today photo

Sept. 16. Dave Vieser. Four years ago the Cornelius town board gave a unanimous green light to rezonings for two major mixed-use projects just north of Antiquity – Caroline and Greenway Gartens.

Fast forward to today and residents are asking what happened to these mammoth projects, approval of which was one factor that led to the overhaul of the board the following election.

Neither the town nor the developers have any legal responsibility to keep citizens apprised about approved development projects, so Cornelius Today reached out for a status update.

Only the town responded, several efforts to reach the project developers were unsuccessful.

Caroline

Developer Proffitt Dixon Partners of Charlotte received approval from the town to build 180 active/age restricted multi-family units and 110 unrestricted multi-family units on 16 acres of vacant land north of the Antiquity development. It was to be the first phase of a multi-phase complex.

Mecklenburg County issues building and civil construction permits in Cornelius, and then the town reviews those permits for zoning compliance and related items.

“None have been submitted to date for this project,” said Town Planning Director Rox Burhans. “The developer continues to coordinate with the town on the overall project and development of associated development plans.”

Greenway Gartens

Developer Northwood Ravin of Charlotte had changed the name of the project from Greenway Gartens to Briar Square.

The project involves the redevelopment of 25.79 acres which comprised the former Curtis Screw site on Zion Avenue, constructing a total of 346 multi-family units with 14 townhomes, along with up to a 14,000 sq. ft. micro- brewery, restaurant/brewpub, and tap room; up to 10,000 sq. ft. indoor events/gathering facility; and up to 10,000 sq. ft. of commercial space.

“The developer Northwood Ravin has demolished the former Curtis Screw Building, received construction permits, and has initiated land development work,” said Burhans. “However, most citizens would not have noticed this work since it’s not in a highly visible location.”