Proposed business park on Bailey Road near Hwy. 115 intersection
April 15. By Dave Vieser. No one said the Cornelius Business Center rezoning would be a slam dunk and it sure hasn’t been. Greenberg Gibbons Properties seeks the town’s approval to rezone a 36 acre vacant parcel on Bailey Road just east of Hwy. 115 from rural preservation to conditional zoning so he can construct a four building business park.
The developer is willing to commit his own money to help move the project, and Wes Hunter is hoping this time his dad Eugene will finally be able to sell his family-owned farmland.
However, some residents, particularly those in Bailey’s Glen, want no part of the project which is expected to go before the Planning Board next month.
Traffic concerns
Residents believe it would complicate an already congested traffic situation on Bailey Road, where both Bailey Middle School and Hough High are located. Citizens also note that the traffic volume on Bailey Road has increased recently due to the opening of a new Publix on Hwy. 73, and that several hundred additional students will be attending the middle school next year due to CMS moving some Davidson students.
Thigpen
Drew Thigpen, vice president of Greenberg Gibbons, has his own concerns about the entrance to Bailey Road Park—which he says he is willing to fix.
Quotable
“The entrance to Bailey Road Park in Cornelius is dangerous,” Thigpen said at a community meeting.
“Our driveway lines up exactly with the existing entrance to Bailey Road Park. That means that the existing park entrance does not meet minimum DOT safety requirements.”
Town perspective
Deputy Town Manager Wayne Herron differs.
“When the driveway for Bailey Road Park was approved, there was no development proposed across the street, no schools and no housing developments that generated traffic along Bailey Road. So, the park driveway was approved based upon the traffic of the day and the speed allowed on Bailey Road,” Herron says. “Even today, while traffic has increased with the schools and the housing developments, there still have been no accidents at the driveway that we are aware of, so we consider the driveway safe.”
If the driveway were deemed to be unsafe due to increased traffic and speeds on Bailey, Herron said the town would evaluate it.
What Thigpen is willing to do
With the hopes of winning over public support for the project, he has made some significant changes to the original proposal which was withdrawn in 2023.
“”We are willing to provide seven figures worth of immediate transportation improvement to this area in the form of a new dedicated left-hand turn lane at Bailey Road and 115 and the elimination of the site distance issues along Bailey Road. The new turn lane at Bailey Road and 115 will provide immediate traffic relief to everyone who drives Bailey Road and 115, and it is an improvement that is not currently being considered by the Town or NCDOT. If anyone is looking for real infrastructure improvements, the only immediate tangible solutions are with this project,” Thigpen said.
Ugh. Still trying to shove this down our throats. I might be wrong, but I think I remember reading that a left turn lane is one of the few things the state can require a developer to install in order to approve a project. If this is the case, Mr. Thigpen isn’t building it out of the kindness of his heart, he’s required to.
Now, 4,600 feet of walking trails through the middle of a business park would be his gift to the citizens. Let them eat cake!
Posted by Jamie B. | April 11, 2025, 5:46 amGreat comment Jamie B. It is a REQUIREMENT in the Town’s Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) to mitigate their 907 daily vehicle TRIPS which includes 85 truck TRIPS. That same TIA REQUIRES a roundabout to be built to alleviate traffic standstills (Level of Service “F”) at their proposed entrance. The developer avoids discussing this claiming it isn’t needed. He proposes grading the hill so folks can better see the congestion that will be worsened by his DAILY vehicle traffic. There have been minimal accidents (seven) at this intersection of the Park since 2021. None last year alone… so “safety” issue? The traffic congestion has been building for years and is expected to grow. The left turn lane should be an objective of the Town to complete to help the stacking to go South (left) at the traffic signal regardless of this development. You’re right, walking trails around 70 truck bays (!) is not the ideal walking experience. (By the way, WHERE is the greenway proposed on this very property in the Town’s approved Parks & Greenways Master Plan)?
Posted by Friend of Bailey Road | April 11, 2025, 7:49 amThe Parks & Greenways Master Plan only applies if it remains under Rural Preservation.
Posted by James | April 15, 2025, 6:18 pmWhere Mr. Thigpen wants to build this light industrial complex is in a residential area of single-family homes and across from a well-used park and a middle school. Apart from the much-talked about traffic woes, I don’t want to live near an industrial area. I hope that Cornelius officials do NOT change the current zoning from Rural Preservation.
Posted by Suzanne | April 15, 2025, 11:47 amWhy would Cornelius not buy this land to expand a much loved and very well used Bailey Road park? PLEASE give all the residents in the area MORE recreational opportunities other than pickle ball, baseball, tennis courts and soccer fields! It could be a pay to play gold mine for Cornelius Parks & Rec.
Stop this silly industrial nonsense that simply does not belong in this space.
Posted by Friends of Bailey Road Park | April 15, 2025, 12:47 pmMr. Thigpen is not only persistent, but also maybe a little creative. If he’s set on that property, perhaps he could figure out a way to have exclusive access to his site from Old Statesville Road without any access to Bailey Road whatsoever. Would require some earth moving equipment, but it could work. And this approach would solve the number one obstacle to getting the project done – the congestion it promises to bring to the stretch of Bailey Road that is already overwhelmed on a regular basis. Maybe?
Posted by Gerry Mander | April 15, 2025, 12:54 pmHow about Baileys Glen puts the effort towards another entrance on 115, closer to the condos under construction??? That makes more sense.
Posted by Concerned Landowner | April 15, 2025, 4:23 pmDo these town people ever think about how overcrowded our roads are and that if we ever had an emergency, we would never be able to evacuate?
Of course not.
Posted by DED | April 17, 2025, 3:37 pm