90-Acre Mixed-Use Planned by Childress Klein Properties and Crosland Southeast

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Charlotte’s real estate market is about to get hotter with local developers Childress Klein Properties and Crosland Southeast announcing a partnership to develop a 90-acre mixed-use master-planned community in the Queen City’s affluent and highly desirable South Charlotte submarket.

The 90-acre site, a former farm located at the junction of Providence and Ardrey Kell Road, is known as The Matthews Family Farm, after its owners. The land has been under the ownership of the Matthews family since 1860, when it entered the family estate as a wedding present and part of a dowry. Though the site is not yet zoned for commercial development, with the rapid expansion of Charlotte in recent years, a number of developers, both local and national, have been eyeing the property for several years. Hearing about Crosland’s interest to develop the site, Childress Klein approached the developer known for both small-scale built-to-suit projects, as well as large-scale development, such as the 270-acre mixed-use Blakeney in Charlotte and the 850,000-square-foot multi-use Birkdale Village in Huntersville, NC. Forming the partnership proved to be extremely beneficial for both parties, as their combined experience and past projects prompted the Matthews family to personally choose them to develop the site.

In its current form, the project envisions building an upscale grocery-anchored retail component between 225,000-250,000 square feet, with 90,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space located on the main street surrounding a public plaza that would feature outdoor dining. The partnership will also develop two Class A office buildings between five and six stories, targeting mid-sized Fortune 1000 companies. Two two-story medical office buildings totaling 60,000 square feet are also planned, as well as two one-level parking decks, in a wrapped style, resembling the ones at Childress Klein’s Birkdale Village asset. A significant residential component is also planned for the yet-to-be-named project: 375 luxury apartment units as well as 180 townhomes and single family homes.  The partnership has already started negotiations with both single- and multifamily developers for the residential component. The partnership has also set up meetings with the surrounding community so as to integrate the project optimally. Traffic studies have also been conducted. Furthermore, the project will entail infrastructure changes, such as the continuation of Ardrey Kell Road and the addition of a traffic signal at Golf Links Drive and Providence Road, all at the expense of the developers.

The project is estimated to cost around $200 million. The developers have filed a rezoning application with a public hearing expected to take place in October of the current year and a city council likely to happen in 2014.

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Image of Blakeney Square courtesy of Crosland Southeast