Huge Ballantyne development could improve traffic, developer says
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Northwood Office president: 75% of nearby intersections would be the same or better on traffic congestion
The massive new mixed-use complex proposed for the heart of Ballantyne would actually improve traffic at many of the area’s intersections, the developer told a couple hundred residents at a community meeting on Saturday.
Northwood Office is seeking a rezoning for 454 acres that is now home to much of the Ballantyne Corporate Park, the Ballantyne hotel and the golf course. It plans to build 1,000 apartments and 300,000 s.f. of retail in the first phase of a project it is calling Ballantyne Reimagined.
Some residents at a town-hall meeting with government officials on Saturday said they worried about the effects on traffic and schools. Plans to widen roads, add light rail and build new schools are years away, while the Ballantyne Reimagined rezoning is scheduled for a vote in April, and work could start by September.
Northwood president John Barton said that a 1,300-page traffic study shows that 75% of nearby intersections would have either the same amount of traffic congestion or less traffic congestion with the development compared with leaving the land as it is now.
“We have spent hours and hours and hours talking about all the important aspects of this traffic component and making sure we get it right,” he said. He said Northwood has “17,000 people here every day at Ballantyne Corporate Park. We have to make sure they can get in and out of the office park efficiently.”
It might sound counterintuitive that adding 1,000 apartments and new restaurants and shops could improve traffic. But city planners told The Ledger that’s possible because with new developments, they can require developers to add right-turn lanes to intersections and take other measures that improve traffic flow.
Northwood is also proposing to add a series of connector streets that would keep some traffic off of nearby roads such as Ballantyne Commons Parkway and Johnston Road. According to city records, one of the streets is proposed to be named “Curran Drive.” Ned Curran is the former CEO of The Bissell Cos., the original developer of Ballantyne.
Other highlights of the meeting:
Schedule: A public hearing on the development is scheduled for March 16 at 5:30 p.m. at the Government Center uptown. A zoning committee meeting is scheduled for March 31, and the City Council is expected to vote on the development April 20.
City Council member: Saturday’s meeting, convened by City Council member Ed Driggs, featured briefings by city staff members who talked about planning and transportation projects under development in south Charlotte. Driggs said halting development is not realistic: “Trying to prevent any further change is not an option. We can’t stand still. We need to accommodate growth and progress in a more deliberate fashion. … We have difficult traffic congestion here. Things need to change. We can’t continue down this path. But slamming on the brakes and calling for a total standstill is not the answer.” If new housing is not allowed to be built, housing prices will rise because so many people are moving to the area, he said.
Elected officials: The meeting was attended by a handful of elected officials, too, including county commissioners Pat Cotham and Susan Rodriguez-McDowell and school board members Sean Strain and Elyse Dashew.
Schools: Dashew said she wished local officials could work more closely together: “The city has no responsibility for building schools, and the school system has no control over the zoning and the permitting. Our schools have no control over tax incentives. Our schools are desperately overcrowded in this part of town. There is hardly any land to be had, and what land is available is top dollar. There has to be some way to be working together to break through this impasse. We’ve got to find a way to meet our school needs as well, because that’s what our community needs.” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is examining options for building a new high school in south Charlotte.
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The Charlotte Ledger is published by Tony Mecia, an award-winning former Charlotte Observer business reporter and editor. He lives in Charlotte with his wife and three children.