Site plan and rendering for Watermark
Aug. 9. Look for still more growth to come in Cornelius. Even as officials and residents begin to digest the possibility of a 12-story hotel on West Catawba Avenue, two other projects are on the drawing boards: Antiquity Woods on the Davidson-Cornelius border, and Watermark on Kunkleman Drive near Goodwill.
According to Senior Planner Will Washam, Meeting Street Cos. of Charlotte plans to build Antiquity Woods on approximately 16 vacant acres bounded by the Curtis Screw Factory, Antiquity and the linear greenway, the covered bridge, Davidson Elementary School and McEver Baseball Field in Davidson. The neighborhood will be a combination of 107 houses and villas, along with a central garden and the Village Tavern Inn, a mixed-use building.
Watermark lot
In order to proceed, Meeting Street will need to have the property rezoned from neighborhood residential to conditional zoning. No dates have been set for the required hearings before either the Planning Board or the Town Board.
Meanwhile, on the west side of town near the Goodwill building, JMR Properties of Cornelius is looking to build a luxury 48-unit complex on a vacant 4.54 acre parcel located at 19800 Kunkleman Drive. The project, which is more than a year out because of timing issues around the Kunkleman estate, is on open land just north of the Knox Road extension and east of Henderson Road.
Kunkleman Drive north of Knox Road would be permanently closed.
The sale of the property could take place in January of 2018, said developer Jamie Rolewicz.
Prices will start in the $700,000 range, he said. Each of the units will be about 3,000 square feet, with prices rising based on finishes and options. “The upper units will be priced higher,” said Rolewicz, an experienced developer of luxury homes and commercial projects.
“People can downsize without downgrading,” he said. “There is a part of the market that we are missing: There is nowhere for people to downsize without downgrading. There is nothing in the luxury high end,” he said.
He has built close to 50 high-end homes, as well as 500,000 square feet of medical office and industrial products with business partner Kevin Mahl. Together they own Champion Tire.
Rolewicz said Watermark will add $35 million to $40 million to the Cornelius tax base, with minimal impact on rush hour traffic and schools, based on the empty nester target market.
The zoning would need to change from village center to conditional zoning. As with Antiquity Woods, no dates have been set for the required public hearings before the Planning or Town Boards.
Additional information on the proposed developments will be available by accessing the town’s web site at www.cornelius.org/333/projects.
