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Update

Matthews, NC - April 12: Matthews Commissioners vote 5-2 for new Aston Properties development at McKee Farms. The Mayor and one councilman vote against zoning request. The planned development consists of 5O acres encompassing 114 pinwheel patio homes and 130,000 sq. feet of shopping center at the NE corner of Mckee and Weddington-Matthews roads. The deal included an 8.3 acre gift to the Siskey YMCA, who purported not support or oppose the plan, in spite of positive aspects for their organization.

The Aston Properties Plan for McKee Farms, Matthews

Here is Aston Properties White Paper, which outlines their plans for the corner of Weddington Matthews and McKee Roads. If you read this document, understand that is tailored to present a rosy picture, and is biased to Astons advantage. Warning this is very large file. Use the password "mckee" to open the file.

<< click here to open.

Like Mary Shelly's most notorious character, Aston Properties is besieged by townfolk with pitchforks.


	Posted on Sun, Mar. 28, 2004

	Foes of rezoning rally in Matthews Dozens show up to fight mixed-use project at McKee,Weddington MICHELE WAYMAN Staff Writer The public hearing is long gone, the vote is next month, but they showed up anyway. About 100 people jammed Matthews town hall last week, most to protest a proposed retail-residential development at McKee and Weddington Roads. They were propelled by a speech Mayor Lee Myers made at the March 8 town meeting where he spoke against the proposal, known as Petition 447, just as commissioners prepared to vote. At that meeting, Myers said the plan was the worst zoning proposal he'd been involved with. "I think this is a bad decision. It's for the wrong reasons. There's no way I can support this," he said. Petition 447 calls for a grocery store, small shops and offices and attached homes on 52 acres of the Fincher family farm, at the northeast corner of McKee and Weddington roads and near the Siskey YMCA. Proponents say the proposal, by Aston Properties/WKB Properties, is better than what could be built without a zoning change -- 109 homes and no road improvements. Opponents passed out fliers -- along with an Observer account of the March 8 meeting, phone numbers and e-mails of all town board members -- advertising a "family protest march" before Monday's town meeting. Myers has said he opposes Petition 447 because the land is on a corner pegged by the town's land use plan for single family homes. The site also is near the future Interstate 485 interchange on Weddington Road. It's also an area where Matthews leaders have asked Charlotte officials to deny proposals for high-density development. The Matthews planning board also recommended denial because of the land use conflict. On March 8, the board agreed to wait a month to make a decision. The issue was not on last week's agenda, but dozens cheered and shook their posters as Myers entered the room. Their message was to stick to the land use plan, keep commercial development out of residential zones, curtail traffic and support shopping in downtown Matthews. Speaker Karina Glass, a former town commissioner, said the proliferation of retail in Matthews is "frightening. It's almost obscene." She said she fears the entire Weddington Road corridor could go commercial. "This is the very thing we told the City of Charlotte we didn't want to happen," she said. "Do the right thing. Deny this petition." Steve Tomaszewski of Providence Hills said it would cause a "traffic nightmare that can never be tamed." At the Feb. 9 public hearing, speakers for and against the proposal were about even. Monday no one spoke in favor of the proposal. However, proponents say the proposal's perks make it worthy of an exception to the land use plan. Reached Wednesday, Providence Hills resident and former Siskey YMCA board chairman Ken Heiliger called it a good quality, mixed use development that will provide road improvements, much needed additional access points and land for the Y and more local restaurant options. He said the "neighborhood center" is meant to draw local residents, not traffic from afar. He called the land use plan a guide, and said the town should look at the merits of the proposal. Ron Wright's property backs up to where the attached, "pinwheel-style" homes for older adults would be built. He said Wednesday he prefers this plan to a residential-only neighborhood that would draw families who tend to clog schools and streets. "It would be a nice, quiet community." he said. Board members did not discuss the issue Monday, and plan to vote on it April 12.

Two Newspaper Articles with No Mention of the Stealth Developers
Name!

Note the next two

entries

Mayor stalls plans for development

Posted on Sun, Mar. 14, 2004

Mayor stalls plans for development
Matthews town board will wait to decide on mixed-use proposal
MICHELE WAYMAN
Staff Writer

A last-minute speech by Matthews Mayor Lee Myers stalled approval last week of a development proposal that would mix businesses and housing in an area pegged strictly for homes. The town board was about to vote at Monday night's town meeting when Myers, mayor since 1991, called the proposal the worst zoning decision he's ever been involved with. The plan calls for a grocery store, small businesses and attached homes on 52 acres of the Fincher farm, at the northeast corner of McKee and Weddington roads. Myers said approving it would be hypocritical, and would bruise the town's credibility with Charlotte and other towns. "I think this is a bad decision. It's for the wrong reasons. There's no way I can support this," he said. Myers reminded the board that Charlotte's South District plan calls for low-density, single-family homes in the area. So does Matthews' land-use plan, updated by the current board in 2002. He said the "slickest lawyer in the world" couldn't convince him that 130,000 square feet of retail space is consistent with an all-residential land-use plan.

Myers also has signed and mailed at least three resolutions since 2000 asking Charlotte City Council to deny development proposals for that area that went against the land-use plan. Charlotte-Mecklenburg principal planner Tim Manes said Matthews' approval of the plan wouldn't automatically change the city's long-range plans for the area. He said it's up to Matthews to decide if the town needs retail on that corner.

Developers tout the quality of the current proposal, more access and land for the YMCA, and their commitment to make road improvements. They say the housing would be marketed to older adults, who generate less traffic. Some people who live in the McKee Road-Weddington Road area welcome the proposal. Others say the road work won't be enough to handle traffic, especially after the interchange at I-485 and Weddington Road is open in a few years. The Matthews Planning Board recommended denial because it is inconsistent with the land-use plan. Myers said it's a good plan proposed for the wrong place.

During the meeting, commissioners asked developers to commit to road improvements and brick buildings. A motion to approve was on the floor, and commissioners were poised to vote when Myers chimed in. He also was uncomfortable with the short amount of time devoted to consideration. A public hearing was held last month. "We spend a lot more time on smaller-scaled projects," Myers said Wednesday. "If I would not have opened my mouth, they were ready to pass it in 15 minutes. We were simply getting ready to do what we told other people not to do." Commissioner Paul Bailey had said during the town meeting that things were moving too fast on a significant decision. He asked for a 30-day deferral. The board agreed and now will vote April 12. Commissioner Kress Query asked what will change in 30 days. "I have never made a mistake by waiting," Bailey said. "I've only made a mistake by rushing." Commissioners also gave second thought to another Charlotte-Matthews issue during the meeting.

Town leaders had opposed a Charlotte zoning request for offices and retail development at Monroe and Sardis Roads that ties in to the existing townhomes in Sardis Forest. Matthews acknowledged Monday that a private road that comes with the project might benefit the Matthews neighborhood. The Charlotte zoning committee recommended approval, but Charlotte staff said the South District Plan calls for apartments on that site. Matthews board members voted to rescind their opposition letter and remain neutral on the proposal.

Fortunately
Matthews
Sheds
Light
on the
Subject

Guess
the Mystery
Commercial
Developer

Opponents trying to halt project on McKee Road (Feb. 15, 2004)

MATTHEWS Plans to build on part of a family farm on McKee Road are drawing

debate in Matthews. The shopping and multi-family development is proposed for the northeast corner of McKee and Weddington Roads, on part of the B.C. Fincher family

farm. The residential part would back up to the Siskey YMCA.

At a public hearing on the request, developer representative Bailey Patrick called the area the very heart of one of the fastest-growing residential markets in Mecklenburg County. However, critics say the town should follow its land use plan for single-family homes on that corner. They also point out that town officials spoke against retail development proposals that came up on McKee Road in Charlotte's jurisdiction.

Patrick acknowledged that retail is not part of the town's plan for that corner, and that commissioners denied a previous shopping center proposed for that corner. But he called his proposed development a "superior, village-type gateway" with a grocery store, bank, pharmacy, restaurants and other shops.

Max Williams of WKB Properties, which is handling the residential portion, said impact on traffic would be low because the houses would be marketed to older adults. He said it would create walking access to the Y as well as another Y access point for drivers on McKee Road. Developers also will donate 8 acres to the Y.

Rick Andrews of Providence Hills says road improvements need to come before development, and the developer's plans to add turn lanes would not reduce the traffic problem. Dan Cummings, also of that neighborhood, said new turn lanes might help, but won't solve the problems of "decaying rural roads."

But Patrick said his project is not a strip mall, like proposed in the past, and the retail shops are meant to attract neighborhood residents. We're not solving all the transportation problems, but we'll make sure they're in better shape than they are now." he said.

The plan will be up for vote next month.

Michele Wayman

Mecklenburg Neighbors

The Charlotte Observer

mwayman@charlotteobserver.com

Lots of Retail on Rea Road

Aston Properties, Inc. is developing Colony Place, a 100,000 sq.ft. center located at the intersection of Colony and Rea Roads in Charlotte, NC. The 10-acre project will be anchored by Harris Teeter and Walgreens and will be tenanted by a bank and approximately 32,000 sq.ft. of shop space. Opening is slated for Fall 2003. The center will feature a 60-foot clock tower, brick and fieldstone chimneys, slate and copper roofs, tumbled colonial-style brick and stone buildings and parking lot screen walls. The center also has walkways, outdoor restaurant seating and benches and a fountain centerpiece.

More Shopping
Anyone?

The Commissioners of Union County amended the land-use plan for two parcels to allow 1.8 million sq.ft. of retail to be developed near Charlotte NC. The commission approved a planners blueprint for a one million sq. ft. development at the intersection of Idlewild Road and Interstate 485. The Stallings Town Council may annex 83 acres 25 of them in neighboring Mecklenburg County that would speed utility coverage to the area. The county commission also approved a land-use change for an 800 000 sq.ft. development located along Providence Road between Waxhaw and Weddington Roads.

source: http://tenant-search.net/dealmakers/2001issues/october05/newconstr.asp

Dejavu Anyone?

KERNERSVILLE - The Kernersville Board of Aldermen voted 4-1 Tuesday (October 2002) to allow a shopping center to be built at the corner of Union Cross and Sedge Garden Roads. Hundreds of neighborhood residents had expressed opposition. A second "no" vote would have killed the project, which needed a 4-1 supermajority to pass because opponents had filed a protest petition in the zoning case. The vote marked a change of fortune for developer Aston Properties, which plans to put a grocery store and shops on the 14 acres and call it Beeson's Crossroads. Only last month the developers had asked that the project be taken off the agenda. The town planning board had deadlocked 4-4 on the project .

Aston will spend $250,000 to widen both Sedge Garden and Union Cross roads at the intersection. One of the major complaints from neighbors was that the overloaded junction couldn't take any more traffic. Aston argued - and planning staffers and most aldermen agreed - that the new turn lanes proposed for the junction will improve the traffic flow. Another critical piece of the puzzle fell into place for the developers when aldermen agreed with them that Mayford Drive, a residential street, should not be connected to the new shopping center. According to city policies, the street connection is required. In approving the shopping center, the board added language giving itself an out should it change the policy. After the vote the board passed a motion to begin making that policy change. That change will have to make its way through planning-board review before the aldermen act on it.

source: http://www.journalnow.com/wsj/news/MGBASA5GT6D.html

Thanks Tom Clinton for this article.

Dejavu All Over Again?

Exec touts center's benefits Company wants to rezone land for Bi-Lo, other stores

KERNERSVILLE - Aston Properties is hoping that customers will be attracted to Beeson's Crossroads by tasteful landscaping and attractive "downtown" storefronts. The developers of the proposed shopping center are facing a tough sell as they try to convince people who live nearby that the center would be a good neighbor. The shopping center is planned for the corner of Union Cross and Sedge Garden roads. The land is undeveloped now. A 47,000-square-foot Bi-Lo supermarket would anchor the new center, with smaller shops nearby and at the outer corners of the property. The developers are asking the town to annex the property and rezone it from residential to commercial. "This is a neighborhood services center," said Kevin Flynn, the senior vice president of Aston Properties. "We have designed the center with a small-town downtown flair to it architecturally. There are large sidewalks with street trees and pedestrian-scale lights. We have created different little store fronts like you might find in a downtown, instead of hanging a canopy in a straight-line boring strip." . . . More than 75 people packed the small Kernersville Women's Club on Salisbury Street last Thursday night. They voiced concerns and discussed the project with the developers. Many stayed for over three hours. "I don't think that many people in this room give a hoot about what this shopping center looks like," said Donald Joyce, talking to Flynn from the back of the room. "They are concerned about the traffic." Joyce's remarks were followed by loud applause. The people who live on Mayford Drive, to the west of the property, don't like the idea that their street would connect with a new road to be built alongside the western boundary of the shopping center. The new road - called Beeson's Field Drive in planning documents - would become part of Kernersville's thoroughfare system as a residential collector street. Flynn told residents he backs their desire to prevent Mayford from connecting to Beeson's Field and the shopping center. But planning director Jeff Hatling said the next day that it would definitely be the planning staff's recommendation that Mayford be immediately connected to Beeson's Field Drive. The thoroughfare and street plan calls for connectivity, meaning that the street system offers residents multiple ways to travel, as opposed to forcing everybody out on one road, Hatling said. Planners will recommend that another street in the neighborhood, Coltrane Drive, be hooked to Beeson's Field Drive later.

Source: http://www.journalnow.com/wsj/news/MGB5HDVHB4D.html

Thanks Tom Clinton for this article