High density in the suburbs
A developer envisions a mixed-use town center in the midst
of rural, well-spaced lots
DOUG SMITH
The Village of Marvin in fast-growing Union County approved its first
commercial development about two weeks ago -- a grocery-anchored
260,000-square-foot retail-office project.
Now, the town of about 2,260 is trying to decide whether it's ready for
something even bigger: Marvin's Village, a $240 million mixed-use
development at the northwest corner of Rea and Tom Short roads.
Charlotte's LV Realty envisions nearly 260 residential units, about 75
acres of open space and nearly a half million square feet of offices,
shops, restaurants and civic buildings on 168 acres.
The developers have submitted a site plan, and town planners are
preparing for a public hearing next month on text amendments that would
provide regulations for such villages.
The approval process could take a while, but the decision is shaping up
as a Next Big Thing for the Charlotte region as well as for the Village of
Marvin.
The issues involved go to the very heart of how a community's rapid
transition from rural to urban affects the lives of its residents and
ultimately determines its growth policies.
The Charlotte area's sprawling southern suburbs have not been fertile
ground for such high-density developments. Big houses on lots of 1 acre or
larger are commonplace in the Marvin-Weddington area of Union County.
"It's known for a really high suburban standard of living -- a
very appealing address, a very positive image," said urban planner
Tom Low of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co.'s Huntersville office. "I
think this has to do with people protecting the quality of life they do
have."
LV Realty, which co-developed the exclusive Club at Longview golf
course community in Union County with Mel Graham, hired Charlotte's Shook
Kelley to design a village that resembles something you'd see in Pinehurst
or Nantucket, Mass.
Townhomes, cottage homes and brownstones likely will be priced from the
$300,000s to more than $1.5 million. And the village won't have a movie
theater or big-box retailers.
Principal Steve Puckett of LV Realty, the real estate and development
arm of land owner Longview South LLC, said the firm acquired its acreage
as part of a larger 500-acre tract in 2001 with plans for 1.8
million-square-foot village with a town center.
Marvin officials rejected that idea and later adopted an 18-month
moratorium on development. During that time, LV Realty sold 320 acres of
its site to Toll Brothers for what's now the Marvin Creek subdivision.
Puckett said more residential growth -- mainly large houses on spacious
lots -- has since occurred in the area, and the makeup of the town council
has changed, prompting him to revive the mixed-use village concept.
It would be across Rea Road from Wal-Mart's proposed Supercenter site.
Puckett sees Marvin's Village as a gathering place for the community --
a defined town center with pocket parks, walking trails, stores, services
and perhaps a private school, church and a public library.
But in suburbia, nearly 500,000 square feet of commercial space and
almost 260 more homes raise concerns about traffic congestion, school
overcrowding and property values.
The developers said they surveyed residents of the adjacent Marvin
Creek neighborhood. Of 50 respondents, 14 percent said they supported the
village proposal in full, 64 percent in part and 22 percent not at all.
In public meetings, residents have expressed pros and cons.
"There are many people who would look forward to having something
like this close by," said Karen Dunn, Marvin's planning and zoning
director.
But for others, she said, traffic is an over-riding concern.
"Marvin Creek -- the adjacent single-family neighborhood -- sees it
as a cut-through traffic nightmare," Dunn said.
The developers say they're addressing that issue with a new traffic
light, median cuts, turn lanes and multiple entrances on Rea Road.
They also have proposed a roundabout on Tom Short Road Extension to
slow traffic and offered to gate the Marvin Creek neighborhood at the Tom
Short Road main entrance to prevent cut through traffic.
Urban planner Low said allowing residential development to continue
sprawling could create more traffic congestion than a compact village.
LV Realty says it scaled down the project from 1.8 million square feet
to just under 500,000 square feet, reaching "rock bottom" on the
density needed for a financially feasible project.
Dunn said the council is concerned about the number of homes proposed
-- 188 on individual lots and 70 atop shops, offices and restaurants in
the town center.
That much housing could add more students to an overcrowded school
system, she said.
A possibility being discussed, Dunn said, is age-restricting homes so
residents would be older adults without school-age children.
Puckett said the developers are willing to restrict some units. But, he
said, the village needs a diversity of residents to support the high-end
specialty stores and restaurants planned for the village.
LV Realty is seeking conditional-use zoning, which would require it to
adhere precisely to the plan approved.
The property, a portion of which is in Union County, would have to be
voluntary annexed to create the village. The land is zoned for up to
almost 243,000-square-feet commercial uses, including office condos, an
office building, a bank, a fast-food restaurant, a church and 55
single-family houses.
Puckett said federal studies show that 55 homes on 1-acre lots like
those in the Marvin area would produce more school-age children than 188
high-end townhomes and cottage homes.
If the village concept fails, he said, LV Realty would proceed with
plans to develop the office-commercial alternative without parks, ball
fields, gathering places or a private school.
Dunn said it's still unclear exactly how much could be developed on the
acreage under the existing zoning.
Neither she nor LV Realty could predict how long the approval process
would take.
Marvin's first commercial development took more than two years to jell
from the time it was proposed until it got the council's go-ahead.
"I would like to say we have learned a lot and could somehow
streamline this one," Dunn said.
The developers don't anticipate starting construction of the village
before spring 2008.
MARVIN'S VILLAGE PLAN
• Rea Road one-story retail: 85,000
square feet.
• Rea Road two-story office: 52,800
square feet.
• Village ground level retail: 237,700
square feet.
• Village office, second and
third level: 124,000 square feet.
• Residences atop retail: about
70 units.
• Townhome and cottage home
sites: 188.
• More info: www.marvinsvillage.com.
MIXED-USE VILLAGES
Phillips Place in SouthPark and Birkdale Village in Huntersville
probably are the best known mixed-use villages in the Charlotte area.
Marvin's Village will be different.
Terry Shook of Shook Kelley said it will resemble a town center that
has developed over time with smaller scale shops catering to the general
area.
The buildings will have residences on top of shops and restaurants as
in Phillips Place and Birkdale Village.
But the village won't have an entertainment focus -- no movie theater
is included -- and the biggest store probably will be about 18,000 square
feet.
Marvin's Village also will include about 75 acres of green space,
outdoor seating, walking trails and pocket parks.
The developers are making room for a private school, a church and civic
buildings to create a gathering place for the townfolk.
Shook said the architecture and scale will be similar to the Village of
Pinehurst, about 75 miles from Charlotte.
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