The Junker property on W. Catawba

June 28. By Dave Vieser. Two new Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) signs on the Junker property are all about financing, not affordable units. The luxury West Catawba Apartments complex on West Catawba Avenue will have HUD financing.

Cornelius Planning Director Rox Burhans said the 195-unit complex will be priced at market rates. “The signs are required to be posted as part of the HUD financing they are receiving,” Burhans said.

Market-rate housing refers to non-subsidized properties that are rented by those who pay market-rate rents.

Developer Jamie Rolewicz could not be reached for comment.

In 2021, the approval of last-minute rezoning changes by some members of the Town Board may have cost them the election. Only then-Commissioner Denis Bilodeau voted against the project.

The original plans for the site were proposed by developer Jake Palillo, but soon after gaining town approval, the project was taken over by Jamie Rolewicz/West Catawba Properties, which is comprised of Legacy Pointe Properties as well as New Castle Development Group, an apartment developer from Charlottesville, Va.

Rolewicz is well-known for high-quality real estate projects including the Watermark luxury condominiums behind Goodwill.

The architect for the West Catawba Apartments is The Housing Studio, a well-known architectural firm in Charlotte whose principal is former Cornelius Mayor Chuck Travis.