Charlotte City Council is set to consider developments that could bring hundreds of new apartments, a new brewery, a controversial new hotel and new affordable housing to the city at its Monday meeting.
Here are some of the biggest projects up for council’s consideration Monday:
▪ Affordable apartments: CapRock LLC and Chris Ogunrinde are seeking to build 132 apartments for senior citizens and low-income renters in west Charlotte, at Ashley Road and Joy Street. The plans call for 60 apartments for people ages 55 and up, and 72 apartments for people making 60 percent or less of the area’s median income, in three-story buildings.
Ogunrinde said the developers plan to hold onto the apartments after they’re built.
“We’re not going to build it and let it go down the drain,” said Ogunrinde. He said the development, which would seek tax credits and money from the city’s Housing Trust Fund, would help meet the city’s need for more affordable housing. The developers reduced their planned density from 180 units after hearing community feedback, Ogunrinde said.
Charlotte city planning staff are recommending council vote against the plan, which they say is too dense and “out of character” with the surrounding single-family houses.
▪ New brewery: Heist Brewery is seeking to use an industrial building off Statesville Avenue for a new high-end butcher, bakery and brewing facility. City staff is recommending council approve the project. It’s one of the pieces in the emerging North End, a part of Charlotte that’s seeing extensive redevelopment and will see even more in the coming years.
▪ A south Charlotte hotel: City Council is set to vote on a controversial proposal to build a 120-room hotel in place of a shuttered Applebee’s on Rea Road, just south of Interstate 485. The hotel stirred controversy after the developers pushed a less car-centric version of the plans which would have had fewer parking spaces than rooms. That brought up the question of whether Charlotte will always be a “car city.” The new design now has one parking space per room, but it remains to be seen if City Council will be swayed.
▪ Apartments in University City: Crescent Communities is planning to build 300 apartments, a 200-room hotel, shops and restaurants at West Mallard Creek Church Road near Senator Royall Drive. The site is currently vacant. Staff is recommending approval of the plan, which would add and estimated 9,550 trips per day to the area.
▪ Controversial townhouses: A bitterly fought plan to build 24 townhouses is up for a hearing Monday. The developers, Simonini Homes and Saratoga Asset Management, have scaled back their plans from 38 townhouses. Neighbors have strongly opposed the plan, which they say is too dense and risks opening the door to intense development that would wreck the area.
Ely Portillo: 704-358-5041, @ESPortillo
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