Apartment plans draw backlash

To University Investments Group, the site at University City Boulevard and Mallard Creek Road would be a good place to build 250 apartments for college students.

But to some nearby businesspeople, it’s a harebrained idea when, they say, there aren’t enough grocery stores and pharmacies nearby to service the people who would live in the apartments. Plus, critics say, the proposed 90-foot-tall tower would not fit in with the area.

UIG wants the 6-acre site, which is within walking distance of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, rezoned from “neighborhood services” to a “mixed-used development district conditional” zoning to build the complex.

The rezoning would allow UIG to build 41.66 housing units per acre, which is higher than the 17 per acre allowed under current zoning.

The idea is riling up some people, such as Alex Mills, vice president of N.C. New Housing Corp.

NCNHC owns property next to the site of the proposed apartments. Mills, who is opposed to the rezoning, worries about there not being enough stores and shops for all the people who would live in the apartments.

“With that density of residents, there ought to be some neighborhood services within walking distance,” Mills said.

“You have to make U-turns to get to anything. That’s even more of a reason why something needs to be built on that side of the road. All the retail is on the other side of the road. It’s an ideal spot for neighborhood services.”

Joe Pries, president of the homeowners association for the University Terrace North condominiums, which abuts UIG’s site, also says the property should be used for shops, grocery stores and restaurants, not apartments. Pries is also vice president of University Terrace, another condo development.

But Lindsey McAlpine, who represented UIG during a Charlotte City Council hearing Monday, said the property would not work for retail development. Also, there are vacant storefronts in the area, he said.

“Most retail in this area has not done particularly well,” McAlpine said. “Our site has been zoned neighborhood services for nine or 10 years, and there’s been no interest in developing it.”

McAlpine also said there is interest in mixed-use development around the site.

At the public hearing, Mills and Pries spoke against the apartment project. Pries said the rezoning would increase traffic in the area.

McAlpine disputed that, saying the apartment development would generate less traffic than the uses allowed under the site’s current zoning. The apartment complex would result in 1,513 vehicular trips a day, as opposed to the 3,970 under the current zoning, he said.

Despite concerns about the proposed five-story building’s height, the one-building apartment complex would not be the tallest building in the immediate area. There are dormitories on the nearby UNCC campus 11 stories tall, and the UNCC library is 10 stories tall.

Shad Spencer, a planner with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department, said the project, if approved, would meet standards in the department’s University City design guidelines, which would permit denser development on the site.

McAlpine said the need to up the density on the site stems from plans to build a high-speed rail line that would run from Charlotte and Raleigh and be parallel to University City Boulevard, also known as Highway 49. The North Carolina Department of Transportation would require as much as a 55-foot setback at UIG’s property because of the rail line.

Charlotte-based DAS Architecture designed the site plans for UIG. Calls to McAlpine after the public hearing were not returned.

The rezoning request will have to be voted on by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission before the City Council takes up the issue.

RAMSEY can be reached at [email protected].

Apartment angst

University Investments Group is 
seeking a rezoning to build apartments in the University City Area, but 
opponents say there aren’t enough shops and other “neighborhood 
services” in the region.

Location: University City 
Boulevard and Mallard Creek Road

Property size: 6 acres

Number of proposed apartments: 250

Rezoning change sought: “neighborhood services” to “mixed-used development district conditional”

Source: Mecklenburg Times staff research