An old motel is demolished on the site of the planned Augustalee mixed-use development Monday. (Cornelius Bromont LLC photo)By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net
Developers of the proposed half-billion dollar Augustalee mixed-use development off Highway 21 in Cornelius have begun clearing the site, even as key elements of their development plan await government approvals. Over the past few days, construction firm Whiting-Turner and volunteer firefighters with Cornelius-Lemley Fire and Rescue burned and demolished an old motel on the site, which had long been a safety hazard.
Firefighters monitor the controlled burn of an old motel. (Cornelius Bromont LLC photo)
“Even though we’re not going to break ground with new construction for a little more than a year, we wanted to clean up the site, minimize liability, be ready to move quickly, and give the firefighters a chance to practice,” Josh Rector, senior vice president of developer Cornelius Bromont LLC, said in a press release.
The project was approved by the Cornelius Town Board last April in a 3-2 vote. To help gain approval, Cornelius Bromont has promised more than $80 million in road improvements around the site, including widening I-77, adding a new exit at Westmoreland Road, and other road improvements.
The Town Board approval was only the first of many approvals needed. The road improvement package still needs the OK of a variety of regulators, from county and regional officials to federal and state highway agencies. Those approvals are a requirement fo the town’s approval.
“Augustalee is still on track with pursuing certain transportation authorizations for its road-network improvements,” Cornelius Assistant Town Manager Andrew Grant told DavidsonNews.net in an email. “The development team is working to obtain approval from FHWA (the Federal Highway Administration), NCDOT (North Carolina Department of Transportation) and MUMPO (Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization) for the construction of the proposed roads, and anticipates receiving some of these approvals in 2009.”
SITE WORK BEGINS
As Cornelius Bromont awaits those approvals, it has taken the first steps toward improving the site. The developer said construction manager Whiting-Turner and Cornelius-Lemley Fire & Rescue conducted a controlled burn of the old motel on Highway 21/Statesville Road on Friday night, Dec. 12.
On Monday, Whiting-Turner cleared the burned structure and other debris from the site.
“We really appreciate Cornelius Bromont donating this building for this valuable firefighting practice exercise,” Capt. Greg Shaner of Cornelius-Lemley Fire & Rescue said in the press release. “We don’t have a dedicated training facility, so we have to use acquired structures to do all our training. This allows us to practice every aspect of firefighting, including search and rescue with a dummy inside the fire, fire tack training, and also great pumping practice on the trucks.”
2012 OPENING?
Cornelius Bromont expects to spend at least $515 million to construct Augustalee on 104 acres between I-77 and US Highway 21, south of Westmoreland Road. The project is to include Class-A corporate offices, retail shops, restaurants, hotels, luxury residences, a central green, history trail and other amenities.
Cornelius Bromont said in November it hopes to open the first retail stores at Augustalee in fall 2012. Since winning Cornelius Town Board approval last spring, the developers have obtained financing to purchase the site (now completed) and begin design work. They’re now scouting for potential tenants, including big-name hotels and potential office users.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE
Nov. 12, 2008, “Village at Lake Norman to be called Augustalee.”
May 20, 2008, “Developer buys land for Cornelius project”
April 23, 2008, “Cornelius board OKs village project, 3-2?
LINKS
More information is available at www.Augustalee.com.
