Alexander Farm tenant house | Photo: Preserve Mecklenburg Inc.

Dec. 16. By Dave Yochum. It looks like work is coming to a halt at Alexander Farms, the mixed-use project at West Catawba and Westmoreland. Sources say a key investor passed away, leaving the developer up in the air.

Officials at WIN Development in Florida could not be reached for comment.

Lidl has pulled out of the $110 million-plus project as well, and the historic tenant house remains up in the air, literaally hoisted on a temporary platform erected two years ago.

Things haven’t gone as planned at the 55-acre mixed-use project which was already at least two years behind schedule.

Alexander Farms project has experienced delays

The tenant house

The Alexander Farm was the last working farm on the west side of I-77 in Cornelius. There are no official plans to save any of the buildings on the property until a last-minute effort to move a tenant farmer dwelling began three years ago.

There were hundreds of these tenant houses in Mecklenburg County a century ago but apparently the one on the Alexander Farm is the only one that remains.

Quotable

“It’s a mess,” one senior town official said.

Background

The property was farmed by the late Eugene Alexander, who was the last remaining farmer on the western side of Cornelius, until 2013. He died New Years Day 2014 at the age of 96.

McInerney

Back in March of this year Win Development executive Jesse McInerney said the first stores would open in the spring of 2025—two years later than originally planned.

Beside Lidl, the tenants secured by Win included Heartland Dental, Veterinary Emergency Clinic, Firehouse Subs, Caribou Coffee, Jeremiah’s Italian Ice, Papa John’s and Viva Nails

Rental houses for active adults in River Rock At Alexander Farms have been completed, but without walkable retail. Monthly rent prices are in the $3,000 range.