The landscape of downtown Huntersville, North Carolina will soon change. After months of negotiations I believe we will start to see the Dicovery Place of Kids come to fruition.
Here is a recent article from a local Lake Norman paper to give you an update.
The shadow of doubt cast upon the future of Huntersville's Town Center lifted somewhat after the town successfully completed the land swap and financing agreement for the downtown development. Questions remain, however, about private partner Norcom's intentions and the reason behind a last-minute, $250,000 check the town wrote to close the deal.
The town completed the land swap and financing agreement for construction of Town Center at the close of business Friday, May 22. By Tuesday of this week, bulldozers parked on the property, and Town Manger Greg Ferguson said Rodgers Builders, the contractor, will begin construction on the town's portion of the development in the coming days. "We closed (Friday) as needed," Ferguson said. "Financing is in place. Everything is proceeding forward."
Town Center is a three-building development planned for the southwest corner of N.C. 115 and Gilead Road, featuring a town-owned building, that will house town offices and Discovery Place Kids museum, and a separate parking garage. Norcom's two commercial buildings will flank the town's building and include retail, restaurants, a daycare and possibly a fitness center.
Due to complications during land purchase negotiations, the town and Norcom purchased each other's parcels, contingent upon an exchange of properties prior to construction. The town completed that exchange last week with Huntersville Town Center Partners Management, the limited liability group Norcom created to oversee Town Center, for $566,000.
Until early last week, town officials had said the land swap would cost the town just $316,000. "In order to satisfy the requirements necessary to obtain the clear title to the property, we had to put up another $250,000," Ferguson said. Ferguson said the already complicated land purchase became knottier just days before the closing.
Officials now say the town had to pay more to compensate Norcom for the price difference between the land parcel the town owned, which was the old Cross Chevrolet property on N.C. 115, and the parcel it has since acquired, which is the old Consignment 1st parcel fronting Gilead Road. "The pieces that we were acquiring were more valuable than the pieces that we were swapping, so that we had to pay more at closing for the pieces that we were acquiring," Ferguson said.
Commissioner Charlie Jeter said a $312,000 funding gap was blocking the land swap. According to Jeter, the bank required the town to pay $250,000, and the bank handled the rest. Ferguson would neither confirm nor dispute Jeter's statement. Jeter, however, said he remains unclear about the reason for the funding gap and how it came about so suddenly. "I don't know why we're $312,000 short," Jeter said. I don't know how that number came into being. I don't know where it came from."
Town staff notified the town board about the cost increase just moments before last week's meeting and asked commissioners to approve the additional $250,000 payment, which they did in a 3-2 vote. The financing agreement required the town to complete the land swap by Friday.
At the time of the land swap Friday, Huntersville Commissioner Brian Sisson said he still did not have more information about the cost increase. "It's a little scary to me," he said. But Jeter said he's confident Ferguson would not have requested the extra money if it wasn't in the best interest of the town. "Are we going to get a full explanation? Yes. Are we going to give a full explanation to the taxpayers whose money we just spent? I know I will," Jeter said.
Some town officials have speculated Norcom will drop out of Town Center by turning over control of Huntersville Town Center Partners to another entity. However, as of this week, Ferguson and Gary Turner of Norcom said the developer and town remain partners. "It remains unchanged at this time," Ferguson said. "They are still the developer charged with the development of those private parcels." "Norcom's involvement in the project is long term," Turner wrote in an e-mail to the Lake Norman Herald Weekly. "We are underway with leasing, building, design and civil engineering. We have leasing commitments that range from financial services to quality restaurants to child
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