The Cornelius town board on Wednesday approved a rezoning for the $516 million Village at Lake Norman development, in a 3-2 vote. The developers’ pledge to help with at least $80 million in roadwork – including widening I-77, adding a highway exit and improving other roads – appeared to sway the majority in favor of the project. But the project still faces an uphill battle as the developers seek approval for their roadwork and financing plans at the local, county, state and federal levels.

The vote came during a three-hour meeting where commissioners asked last-minute questions, clarified and added to a 10-page, 75-item list of conditions, and made impassioned speeches for and against the proposal.

The last half hour of the meeting offered a dramatic lead-up to the vote. After more than a year of silence required by the board’s courtroom-like rezoning process, commissioners one-by-one revealed their opinions. Two said they favored the project — David Gilroy and Susan Medlin — while their colleagues Thurman Ross and Eddie McNeely signaled they would vote no.

Mr. Gilroy focused on the road improvements, which he called “transformational.” Mr. McNeely worried that the project, and its complex financing, might not meet the town’s requirement that new developments not “impair or overburden” public services in town. He also wondered if it is appropriate for the town to participate in a project that widens a major regional highway. “I struggle with the fact that Cornelius is the only town participating in the widening of I-77,” he said.

DECIDING VOTE

With sentiments tied 2-2, that effectively left the deciding vote to Commissioner Jim Bensman, who told his colleagues, the developer and the audience that he had changed his mind within the past 48 hours and decided to vote for approval.

“This is the opportunity for Cornelius to make a strategic move rather than a tactical move,” Mr. Bensman said. “ Tactical to me is we get a project every couple of weeks, a building here a building there, development of homes here, development of homes there, and then people say, ‘Where are the cars going to go?'”

He said the prospects are slim for the region to move up on state and federal priority lists for new transportation projects. “In talking to different state representatives, they’re saying don’t expect to get any state money in Cornelius for the next 20 years. You might get to use the shoulder on I-77 at rush hour, but that’s about it.”

“This is the biggest thing to hit Cornelius forever, and it will change our community forever,” Mr. Bensman said. But the project is far from a done deal, he added. “There are a lot of questions that we have that are going to have to be answered before this project actually happens. “

Mark Puckett, an opponent who lives near the project site and has studied it closely, said after the meeting, “I agree 100 percent with Jim Bensman that this is going to change Cornelius forever. I just don’t think it’s for the better.”

Added his wife, Brinn Puckett: “I would have to second that and say I think that it’s got a long road to be approved. With the county, there ‘s a lot going against it. I do think it’s not a bad project, but I just don’t think the placement of the development and a new interchange is going to solve any of our traffic problems.”

UPSCALE PLANS

Developers Bromont Investments, of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Carlsen Douglas Development, of Huntersville, want to turn the 105 acres of farmland off Highway 21 into more than 2 million square feet of upscale offices, shops, condos and two hotels. The property is currently zoned for residential development – something the town of Cornelius has been trying to move away from in hopes of diversifying its heavily-residential tax base.

Cornelius Mayor Jeff Tarte said the project would help the town achieve its goal of diversifying the tax base even further. “This is part of our stated strategy and business plan since 2003, which states bringing commercial development to shift the mix, the tax base, in our town, which is absolutely critical,” he said.

Developer Walt Rector, of Bromont, said he is optimistic about the choice of Cornelius for this kind of high-end mixed-use development.

“If you look any place in the country, there’s only two places and they’re both in the Northwest, that have the explosive growth (and) stable economy that Mecklenburg County has. This is just a tremendous opportunity for us,” he said.

NEXT STEPS

From here, the project faces a variety of new hurdles. The developer will next try to get the project onto the regional transportation priority list at MUMPO, the Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Meanwhile, the complex financing proposal for the road work will require approval from both the town board and the Mecklenburg County Commission.

The work would be financed in part by bonds to be floated by the county, and in part through private debt. The county and the developer would be repaid through a portion of future tax revenues generated by the project and by future transportation funds. It’s not clear how the county will respond to that idea.

Meanwhile, the new interchange at Westmoreland Road, which would become Exit 27, would need a positive “interchange justification report,” or IJR from government highway officials. And the state would have to agree to the proposal to repay debt from future transportation funds.

Even Mr. Rector, of Bromont Investments, acknowledged that more work needs to be done, though he thinks it may not be as arduous as the past 15 months of hearings and meetings in Cornelius.

“Believe it or not (it will be) probably better than the last year and a half have been. I think this staff and this town are really going to step up and help us. This is truly a public-private partnership,” Mr. Rector said.

Mayor Tarte said he thinks Wednesday’s vote only signals more work ahead.

“It means we’ve got a lot of homework in front of us, because the financing is really the critical component, and that’s going to take 9 months to a year to get it figured out. This starts the process rolling. We’ve got other agencies that are going to be vetting this subject for a while. People who probably have deeper expertise in it than we do, and that gives us a comfort level. And that’s being the state, the county and federal authorities who are going to be involved.”

He said if everyone discusses the project in good faith, “I think it can move forward.”

DOCUMENTS

April 23, 2008 – The revised 10-page, 75-item list of conditions presented to the Cornelius board Wednesday before the vote. (requires Adobe Reader) CLICK HERE>

April 23, 2008 – Revised outline of proposed terms and assumptions for a financing the road improvements, including I-77 widening, (requires Adobe Reader) CLICK HERE>

April 23, 2008 – Exhibit showing prospective retail tenants for Village at Lake Norman. The developer made it clear that he has no commitments, but presented the list to help illustrate the kinds of tenants he is recruiting. CLICK HERE>

LINKS

Cornelius Bromont (developer) press release announcing approval, reiterating agreements with the town and next steps. Also includes revised description and impact of the project. (PDF, requires Adobe Reader)

Village at Lake Norman project website.

Town of Cornelius project page, with site plan and planning staff analysis of the project

DavidsonNews.net’s David Boraks produced a 4½-minute radio feature on the project for WFAE-FM, 90.7. It’s available online at WFAE.org

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

April 22, 2008 (p.m.) “Cornelius project vote delayed another day.”

April 22, 2008, (a.m.) “Cornelius board delays vote on Village project”

April 21, 2008, “Cornelius board to vote on giant project.”