Village at Lake Norman plan goes before Cornelius, NC planning board

Developers for the proposed Village at Lake Norman began presenting information about the $300 million retail-residential-commercial project to the Cornelius Homes planning board last week.

At the planning board's Nov. 12 meeting, representatives from Cornelius Bromont LLC - which is a partnership between Bromont Investments of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Carlsen Douglas Development of Huntersville Lakefront Homes - presented a brief overview of the project to the board.

The project is proposed to lie on 102 acres of land south of Westmoreland Road in south Cornelius, bordered by U.S. 21 on the east and Interstate 77 on the west, and will combine retail, residential, office, hospitality and entertainment features.

"What is being cemented, and what has been cemented, is a plan for the shopping center," Cornelius assistant town manager Andrew Grant said. "It has gone initially for one meeting before the planning board and there is at least one more meeting scheduled for the next December planning board meeting (on Dec. 10)."

The Village at Lake Norman will consist of 695,600 square feet of retail space, 873,338 square feet of office space, and two hotels with a total of 350 rooms between them plus 440,000 square feet of luxury condominiums.

Developers hope to help to widen I-77 by one lane north and south and create a new Exit 27 to deal with the traffic more properly.

The developers have experienced many emotions of late as they prepared their project for a more public unveiling, Josh Rector, project manager and assistant vice president of Bromont Investments, said via e-mail.

"It's a very busy time, full of anticipation and excitement, to share the work we've been working on for well over a year with the public audience, and a little bit of nervousness that people will appreciate the plans for the project as much as we do," he said.

There is still work to be done though, as much of the details and dialogue will be occurring at the planning boards next meeting, Grant said.

"The real meat and potatoes will be at the next meeting," he said. "This was just a good overview meeting with the developers."

Meeting with the planning board is just another part of the process that must be undertaken on the way to breaking ground and cutting the red ribbon at the grand opening.

If the proposed project is approved by the planning board, it must still be taken to the town board of commissioners where it will also be evaluated and discussed.

Interactions with the planning department have been wonderful and have helped to create a project that is right for the area's citizens, according to Rector.

"We've had extensive communication, including many in-person meetings and review sessions with them for more than a year," he said. "They are extremely busy with many tasks they have to do, yet they've been very generous in working with us and helping us develop a plan that's beneficial for everyone."

Dru Willis is a staff writer with the Lake Norman Times.

Are you interested in Cornelius Townhome or Condos for sale? If you would prefer to see Single Family Homes for sale in Cornelius, NC let me suggest Glenrdige, Oakhurst, Blue Stone Harbor and Crown Harbor.