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Developers are hoping to bring a large mixed-use development that includes housing, offices and retail to 56 acres of farmland off West Arlington Boulevard to serve the city’s medical district.
A request by Happy Trail Farms LLC to rezone the land from medical-office and residential-agricultural to a mix of heavy commercial, general commercial and residential is expected to go before the Greenville City Council next month. The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the request March 20.
Mike Baldwin, who represented Happy Trail Farms and property owner Woody Whichard before the commission, said the partners hope to to attract developers interested in creating a large development mixed with housing, commercial and retail together in place where Greenville residents can live, work and shop.
The development would be located across Arlington from the Physician’s East medical complex and the Arlington Crossing shopping center. A 12.243-acre plot would be zoned heavy commercial, 22.041 acres would go to medical, general commercial, and 21.673 acres would be zoned for medical-residential under the request.
City planner Chantae Gooby said the size of the development and permitted uses for the requested zoning leaves plenty of space for activities and various kinds of businesses and homes. Gooby said staff found the request in compliance with future land use plan for the city and recommend its approval.
The back of the lot abuts the Spring Forest residential area. Baldwin said Happy Trail’s zoning plan places businesses near Arlington and transitions develepment to residential as it moves closer to exiting condominiums and apartments.
As part of any development, Gooby said developers would be required to construct a roadway connecting the current driveway of Physicians East and Gabriel Drive, creating an intersection.
Badlwin said developers are hoping to get the city to install a stoplight to accommodate an expected traffic increase and and already existing need.
“It is our hope that we can have a stoplight, a badly needed stoplight at this future intersection. There would be a lot of traffic coming out of the commercial buildings, but there is an extreme amount of traffic coming out of Physicians East,” he said. “We don't want to send people to the doctor, have them come out and have an accident, then have to make a U-turn and go right back.”
Rick Dicesare, city traffic engineer, said the development is anticipated to create 14,162 trips per day on surrounding roads. He said an extensive traffic impact study and traffic mitigation plans would have to be completed before any development site plans could be approved.
Gooby said the anticipated development will allow for 270,000-square-feet of commercial use. She said the proposed zoning would allow for retail, fast food restaurants, personal services like hair salons or nail places, or even daycares and offices. The development also has room for 260-300 multifamily units.
The planning board approved the request unanimously. City Council meets next on April 9.
A request to rezone a shopping center that sits across from a proposed large mixed-use development also is expected to come before the Greenville City Council next month.
The request by Arlington Crossing LLC to rezone the 5.5-acre shopping center was voted down by the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission because it does not comply with the city’s future land-use plan. Council may overrule the commission.
The owners would like to change the zoning from medical office to medical general commercial so that potential commercial tenants who move into the shopping center — it currently houses offices, restaurants like K&W and businesses like Medical Park Pharmacy — don’t have to secure special-use permits.
The request came before the zoning board during its February meeting. Following a presentation by staff and arguments by a representative of the center, the board denied the request 4-1. The request was to be heard during the March city council meeting but was moved to the April 12 agenda instead at the request of the applicant.
Tom Weitnauer, chief planner for the city, told the board that approving the request could set bad precedent. “The concern the city has is, if this is rezoned, it probably wouldn’t be long before we started receiving rezonings for the properties in the area still within the medical district,” he said.
Weitnauer said the land use plan was crafted to preserve space for the medical community to continue to grow, and rezoning the center for commercial could start a trend that endangers that space.
Mike Baldwin, who represented the center in the request, told the board he agreed the request could lead to more commercial development in the area adjacent to the center, namely because he planned on putting in a request for the 56-acres across the street to be rezoned for mixed-use development, included commercial.
That request was heard by the board in March and approved due to its compliance with the land use plan.
Baldwin said the center currently has a large number of commercial tenants and the rezoning would simply make it easier to continue leasing new tenants without having to apply for special use permits.
“I think every picture I’ve shown you here is a commercial use,” he said. “Our only goal we are trying to achieve by this rezoning is not having to come back for repeated special-use applications for some of the things that are listed as special-uses instead of permitted uses. That’s it in a nutshell; by no means are we going to tear this expensive building down.”
Baldwin argued that the rezoning to commercial was largely a neccessary detail to match the reality of what is currently there.
“As Tom said, if you live by the map and die by the map then no, it’s not in compliance with the comprehensive plan,” he said. “But if it looks like duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.”
Due to construction, a connecting road between East 10th Street and East 11th Street near East Carolina University’s campus will be closed for several days.
Starting at 7 a.m. today, Charles Street between 10th and 11th street will be closed for work on utility crossings that stretch across the street. According to a city news release, the closure is expected to last four days.
During the closure, traffic will be detoured onto Charles Boulevard and Lawrence Street. Detour signs will be posted throughout the area.
When did they remove the stoplight at Charles Street and 10th street? I drove through there yesterday and it was gone.
You talking about at Krispy Kreme / McDonalds intersection? That's a busy intersection - is it a 4-way stop or something?
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