Regional Roads Committee Supports Augustalee Concepts,
Encourages Mecklenburg County To Approve TIF Financing 

The Regional Roads Committee (RRC) voted May 29 to support concepts for the Augustalee development and to encourage Mecklenburg County to approve Synthetic TIF financing for the project.
The RRC is composed of 17 Chambers of Commerce, as well as transportation and other leaders, throughout the 13-county Charlotte Region. Its purpose is "to harness the regional business community in support of regional transportation planning, focusing particularly on roads, transit and land use planning." The RRC resolution states:
Resolution In Support Of Augustalee & Transportation Improvements

"WHEREAS, Augustalee will be a master-planned, mixed use development in North Mecklenburg generating over 4,600 new jobs and more than $370 million in positive economic impact; and

"WHEREAS, the Augustalee development will dramatically improve transportation in the region by widening I-77, Highway 21 and Westmoreland Road; building a new Exit 27 interchange; constructing Northcross Drive Extension from Jim Cooke Road to Westmoreland Road, as well as a new east-west bridge carrying the realigned Bailey Road across I-77; and

"WHEREAS, these improvements will reduce gridlock on Interstate 77, reduce travel times, benefit air quality by reducing automotive pollution, and include numerous other actions and resources to protect and benefit the natural environment; and

"WHEREAS, the project will help balance the local tax base, generating millions of dollars of new commercial property taxes, and making the local economy much less dependent on taxing individual homes; and

"WHEREAS, Augustalee will enhance quality of life in the Lake Norman region, by providing diverse high-quality retail, restaurant, recreational, hospitality, residential and cultural resources not currently available in the Lake Norman area;

"NOW, THEREFORE, the Regional Roads Committee does support the concept of the Augustalee development and encourages Mecklenburg County to approve the Synthetic TIF financing, and to reimburse the developer Cornelius Bromont, LLC, its ad valorem tax revenues, so that these regionally beneficial roadway projects can be built promptly, when they are needed, rather than years or decades later.

The landscape of the Lake Norman area of Charlotte, NC will be forever changed when they start on this new mixed-use development in Cornelius, NC. If you have not visited the Lake Norman area you really should. The beauty of the Lake and the well planned out Birkdale Village gives people just enough to want to come back for more.

I believe Augustalee will only add to the wonderful lifestyle we already have. Not to mention the much needed road improvements we so desperately need. I have included this recent article from The Charlotte Weekly to keep you up to date on the recent development.

North Mecklenburg residents want roads, and they might finally get them. The developer that wants to build Augustalee, a 2.4-million-square-foot, mixeduse development in Cornelius, is ready to put up most of the money to build them. That means millions of dollars in critical road improvements will likely be completed sometime in the next four years.

 In a key vote last week, the Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization agreed to modify its thoroughfare plan and Transportation Improvement Plan to include $90 million in road improvements to be built and funded upfront by developer Cornelius Bromont.

It's arguably the most significant vote taken on the path to secure approvals necessary to build Augustalee, since the Town of Cornelius approved rezoning for the project a year ago. At a special meeting, MUMPO members almost unanimously supported modifying the local thoroughfare plan to include a new interchange on Interstate 77 at mile 27 and the realignment of Bailey Road, which will be extended west at Jim Cooke Road and cross I-77 as a flyover bridge.

If you are waiting for a project that is going to be very important for the landscape of the north mecklenburg area keep on reading. I have been following the process and believe that it is getting very close for this massive development to begin. I have included a recent article by a local Lake Norman, NC paper "The Lake Norman Herald Weekly" that updates the projects status. 

Cornelius' most highly anticipated development recently celebrated another victory in its long trudge toward final approval. At a meeting April 29, the Technical coordinating Committee, an advisory committee for the Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization, approved the recommendation of several road improvement projects, including a new interchange on Interstate 77associated with the 2.4 million-squarefoot mixed-use development Augustalee.

The TCC made its recommendation to MUMPO at the organization's April 29 meeting, when the final decision on local approval of the Augustalee road improvements was made. The TCC approved a request by Augustalee developer Cornelius Bromont to amend MUMPO's thoroughfare plan to include a new interchange at mile 27 on I-77 and the construction of Jim Cooke Road, a new flyover that would extend from the sharp curve at Bailey Road just east of the Oakhurst community and westward across I-77. MUMPO's thoroughfare plan doesn't include the interchange, and although it does reflect the Jim Cooke Road flyover, the road alignment Bromont requested differs slightly from MUMPO's plan.

In a separate vote, the TCC also approved adding the new interchange and Jim Cooke Road, as well as another four Augustalee-associated road improvement projects, to the regional Transportation Improvement Plan, the list of priority road improvements that guides the funding and construction of transportation projects.

The TCC presented its recommendation to MUMPO earlier this week, when MUMPO was expected to cast its vote on amending the TIP.Josh Rector, senior vice president of Cornelius Bromont, said the TCC's vote was another approval necessary to move the mega-development project closer to ground-breaking. "It's just one more step in the right direction," Rector said.

Bromont also got a thumbs up this week from the Charlotte City Council, which voted unanimously to endorse amending the thoroughfare plan and TIP to include Bromont's road improvements.

The recent approvals can be at least partially credited to Cornelius elected officials and town staff, who've lobbied actively for Augustalee. TCC Chairman Wayne Herron said the town and residents' support compelled him to approve the road improvements.

"There is a desire from a large number of citizens and elected officials that we do things like this to improve the quality of life for our citizens. Whether it does improve the quality of life, that's a debate we could have," Herron said. "I'm trying to put myself in Cornelius' shoes, because they're the ones making the request. If it was my community, I'd be doing the same thing."

Augustalee, formerly known as The Village at Lake Norman, includes retail, office and residential construction on 104 acres between I-77 and Highway 21, just south of Westmoreland Road.

The project includes $90 million of road improvements Bromont will build and pay for up front. Among the improvements are the exit 27 interchange on I-77 and the Jim Cooke Road flyover, as well as widening I-77 to three lanes in each direction from just south of exit 23 to exit 28; widening Westmoreland Road to four lanes between West Catawba Avenue and Highway 21; widening Highway 21 to four lanes between Westmoreland Road and N.C. 73; and building a Northcross Drive Extension, which would intersect with the new Jim Cooke Road west of I-77 and connect north to Westmoreland Road via a tiein with Eagleridge Way Lane.

The Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC) of the Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO) voted Thursday, April 23, to endorse transportation plans for Augustalee. Their approval moves the project an important step forward to the full MUMPO meeting on April 29, at which time we hope another approval will be given.

The TCC is composed of staff and managers of the towns, cities and counties of Mecklenburg and Union. They recommend projects to the elected officials of MUMPO, much like a town planning committee recommends projects to the full town board for approval. If MUMPO approves the project on April 29, it will go on the official Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) for the region.

"This approval is critical for the success of our project," said Josh Rector, Senior Vice President of Cornelius Bromont, developers of Augustalee. "We must have approval at local, state and federal levels before we can begin widening the interstate and adding a new Exit 27 interchange. We are very pleased that we've been able to keep moving forward, and very much appreciate the hard work and counsel of our transportation engineers, Kimley-Horn & Associates, which are truly the best in the business."

Overall, the process seems to be moving forward and Cornelius, NC may be getting ready for a development that will change the landscape for many years to come.

Last night was a town meeting that included the talks about the new Augustalee development in Cornelius, NC. Unfortunatley, I was not able to attend because of T-Ball practice, but as soon as I hear any more information I will be passing it along.

Augustalee plans call for widening Westmoreland Road and U.S. 21, realigning Bailey Road at Poole Place Drive and building a new segment of Northcross Drive from Jim Cooke Road to Westmoreland Road, according to published legal notices.

Developer Cornelius Bromont LLC's Augustalee will be on 104 acres on the south side of Cornelius, between I-77 and U.S. 21. The developer expects the first retail stores to open in fall 2012.

Augustalee will offer residences starting at $350,000 above retail stores; Class A office space in numerous buildings; and parks, walking trails and other amenities.

Cornelius Bromont closed on its financing before the national economic downturn, Josh Rector, the firm's senior vice president, said last year. Securing the financing allowed Cornelius Bromont to buy the property and begin designing the project's first phase, he said.

The firm plans to pay up front to widen I-77 from Exit 23 in Huntersville to Exit 28 in Cornelius. The developer plans to seek reimbursement from the government through such possible financing measures as "certificates of participation," a form of government-issued debt that doesn't require voter approval.