Rendering of Mayes Meadow/Courtesy Bayard Development, LLC

Sept. 18. By Dave Vieser. A developer is proposing 166 high-end homes on 88 acres of vacant farm and wooded land off of Mayes Road on the east side of Cornelius. The proposal was unveiled at the town’s Sept. 15 Pre Development Meeting, and the first reaction was generally positive.

“This is an important decision, and we need to get it right,” said Mayor Woody Washam. “I think this plan thus far checks most of the boxes.”

The proposal is for 166 single-family homes to be constructed by Simonini Custom Builders, along with possibly a second firm, aimed at “empty nesters,” said Tim Coey on behalf of Bayard Development. Prices would range from the mid $400s to the mid $700s.

The property where the homes would be built is currently owned by the Mayes family but is under contract for purchase by the developer.

Simonini Homes is one of the top names in custom builders in Charlotte, with predecessor companies having built a variety of homes in neighborhoods like The Peninsula and Connor Quay. The nearby Mayes Hall development, currently under construction over the Davidson line, is one of their projects.

There will be a mix of one- and two- story homes, all with master bedrooms on the main floor.

The initial development plan presented to the committee calls for 55 percent of the property to be open space, an unusually high percentage, and the Greenway which dissects the land will be a central part of the development.

“We really are trying hard to retain the rural feel for this property,” Coey added.

However, the proposal doesn’t meet the town’s current zoning for that region according to Planning Director Aaron Tucker.

Currently the site is zoned Rural Preservation, which means that the minimum lot size is three acres.

The Conditional Zoning  request is for 166 homes at a density of 1.87 units per acre, Tucker added.