Part of the property at Sefton Park and Emporia Street
Oct. 20. By Dave Vieser. A mixed-use development on 10 acres of vacant land on Sefton Park near the CATS Park & Ride facility would include a hotel and conference center. To be known as Sefton Park, the plan includes four land parcels on both sides of Sefton Park, which connects Jetton Road to Liverpool just south of the Post Office.
The plan, from Greenville, SC-based Shaw Resources, calls for:
Parcel on Sefton Park at One Norman and Lake Edge
—344 residential apartment units in three buildings with commercial and/or retail on the first floor of two of the three buildings.
—A hotel with 113 rooms.
—A 23,800 square foot Conference Center.
—7800 square feet of indoor commercial space.
—3.96 acres of open space to include a 1.03 acre park-like area in the center of the development.
The project would transform a long undeveloped stretch of Sefton Park that was laid out with unfinished roads, including Merchant and Emporia streets, two decades ago.
The assemblage of properties is assessed at roughly $4 million, according to Mecklenburg County tax records.
Transit adjacent
“Our development capitalizes on the nearby transit center/park and ride facility,” said Mike Johnson, representing property owners Jack and Donnie Shaw. “We feel it is most appropriate for this site,” Johnson said.
Veteran developer
Jack Shaw, founder of Shaw Resources
Shaw Resources is a residential and commercial real estate company dating back to 1958. Founder Jack Shaw, an Elon University grad, he was one of the first Republicans elected to the General Assembly in South Carolina since the Civil War.
Initial reaction
“I’m pleased to see a project which would support the mass transit alternative which will be available nearby,” said Mayor Woody Washam. “At the same time, the town has just launched a major housing initiative and we will need to see some incorporation of their concerns.”
Town Manager Andrew Grant said the developer that some phasing of the development, a practice whereby not all of the development could be built at the same time, would be necessary in view of the size and location of the project.
Next up
The project will require a rezoning from town center to conditional zoning, which means it will undergo a detailed review and public hearing process similar to what was done for the Alexander Farm development.
