Mills Market | Highline Partners

Sept. 19. By Dave Vieser. By a 4-1 margin, the Town Board approved rezoning for Mill’s Market, a 250,000-square-foot mixed-use project in the heart of downtown Cornelius. The project will be located on a prime downtown parcel: 2.3 acres on the south side of Catawba, between Meridian Street and the Cain Center for the Arts.

The plan voted on by the Town Board was not as tall, nor as dense as the original 2022 version, but it did have a larger commercial component than the first draft.

Miller

Developer Mark Miller of Highline Partners told commissioners that “we heard the message that we needed to increase the amount of commercial in the project.”

Most of the speakers from the audience voiced their support for the project.”I am probably the one person here tonight who lives closest to this site,” said Jim Miles, who lives on  Meridian. “But I am in favor of it, understanding that something is going to be built there eventually. I think it’s a great project.”

Gilroy opposed

The strongest opposition came from Commissioner Dave Gilroy, who cast the sole negative vote.

“What we are not conscious of in this room tonight is the impact other nearby projects already approved but not yet built, such as Greenway Gartens and Caroline, will have on traffic in the downtown area,” Gilroy said.

Gilroy

“We are going to have something like 800 residential units in this area. To put in another 240 and expect people to get around town, to me it’s impossible. It’s not at all fair to Mark Miller and his team, but they [the current board] didn’t approve those other projects…the last board did!”

Project highlights:

—Density: 263 units has been reduced to a maximum of 238 units.

—Height: The original six-story structure was scaled down to a four-story building fronting Catawba.

—Commercial/retail: The commercial component of 7,000 to 8,000 square feet was increased to approximately 12,000 square feet.

—Parking: Miller agreed to provide an additional 130 public parking spaces in the lowest levels of the parking deck. These spaces will be owned and controlled by the Town and are meant to serve as additional parking for patrons of downtown Cornelius, including the Cain Center.

—Affordable Workforce Housing: Miller has also committed to providing 10 residential units at affordable workforce housing levels for a minimum of 20 years, and working with the newly created Community Development Corp. They will also make a $30,000 contribution to the program at the closing of their construction loan.

Historical footnote

While the hearing focused on what will be coming, a bit of Cornelius’ history may disappear. The old Doc Washam house at the corner of Meridian and Catawba will have to come down or be moved.