House currently on the site, which is mapped in green

March 5. By Dave Vieser. Blue Heel Communities plans to build 27 townhomes on vacant land off Washam Potts not far from Hwy. 115 on the east side of Cornelius. Blue Heel, based in Davidson, plans townhomes between 2,600 square feet and 3,000 square feet on an elongated 6.8 acre parcel that fronts up to 10212 Washam Potts.

Blue Heel’s Matt Gallagher—the former sales and marketing manager at Gandy Communities—said the company is still working on a price range for the new townhomes. “It’s too soon to know for sure, but based on other sites in the town, we would estimate that prices could begin around the $330,000 range, but again that is not a firm figure.”

The property is currently owned by a private individual. The current assessed value is $743,100, up from $277,000 in 2011. The land where the homes would be built extends southeastward from Washam Potts Road, then southward between the  backyards of homes on Renick Drive and Meadow Crossing Lane in Oakhurst, which is one of the Cornelius neighborhoods developed by Gandy in the 1990s.

The development plan got a favorable response during first public airing at the town’s Pre Development Review Committee Meeting March 4. In response to a specific inquiry from Mayor Woody Washam, members of the committee said they felt the density of the project was acceptable.

The formal review process starts once formal rezoning plans are filed with the town. Current zoning is NR (Neighborhood Residential) and the new zoning would be conditional zoning. That process would include a community meeting, as well as two public hearings before the Town Board and consideration by the town Planning Board.