Author: Fllightdeck Media

Hundreds of homes are expected to be built at the former Howe Dairy Road property in south Gastonia after the project won Gastonia City Council approval. Phoenix-based real estate company, Suncrest Real Estate and Land, plans to build more than 700 single-family homes and 173 townhomes on 325 acres of land off Neal Hawkins Road, near Martha Rivers Park.

City Council unanimously approved the company’s land annexation and rezoning request at a meeting earlier this month.

“The city staff and Gastonia community members have been excellent to work with in this process,” said Sean Cooney, a managing partner at Suncrest Real Estate and Land. The project, titled Howe’s Landing Residential, will also include a 7-acre pond and an amenities area with a clubhouse, pool, grills and more.

The subdivision will have one homeowner’s association for the entire development and include a trail that extends to Martha Rivers Park. “There will be a lot of fun things to do here for folks,” said Chris Todd, the senior project manager for the project’s civil engineering.

The property could have up to 877 homes including townhomes and individual single-family homes.

Townhomes could range from the $200,000 to more than $300,000 and the single-family homes could start in the $400,000 range. “There will be a lot of fun things to do here for folks,” said Chris Todd, the senior project manager for the project’s civil engineering.

Gastonia resident Jessica Underwood was disappointed City Council gave its OK.

“I think that the traffic is the biggest issue,” said Underwood. “I’m just highly disappointed in our City Council. I do feel like all they care about is bringing in tax money and not thinking about the residents that have to live close to this.” 

Underwood wishes that the developers proposed half the amount of homes that were approved.

“It’s just high density,” said Underwood. “The things that are getting approved are really hurting our county.”

The developers told City Council and community members at meetings that they will comply with any traffic study recommendations.

Gastonia City Council encouraged developers to prioritize alleviating new traffic from the development.

“This looks like one of the better projects that we’ve seen in a long time,” said City Councilman Robert Kellogg. “I think this will be a beautiful community right next to Martha Rivers Park.”

The project consists of a multiphase project with the first phase starting with more than a hundred homes. Developers expect to start construction next spring.

An Arizona-based developer is looking to bring hundreds of new homes to the buzzing area around Knightdale.

This year, Suncrest Real Estate and Land filed its latest plans for a residential development called Brio. The Phoenix-based company wants to build up to 778 homes.

The project is situated off Old Crews Road north of Knightdale on a disjointed site totaling 268 acres across two unconnected assemblages. The land is owned by a collection of LLCs and individual landowners.

Filings with the Town of Knightdale call for a mix of single-family detached homes, townhomes and age-restricted homes. Amenities appear to include ample open space with parks, gathering areas, clubhouses and sports courts. Pricing and timeline information wasn’t included in the filings available online. Suncrest did not return requests for comment.

The project has been in the works for a while, with the developer holding its pre-submittal meeting in October 2020 followed by subsequent meetings and other plans filed since then.

McAdams handled planning and engineering services.

Suncrest has developments across the country, including one in Wake Forest called Del Webb at Traditions, which has 450 homesites.

The Knightdale development adds to the rapid growth in Knightdale and eastern Wake County.

Last year, developer Signature Property Group filed plans for the Elevate Riverview, calling for 364 apartments and 30 townhomes to serve as the residential portion of a multi-phase development in Knightdale.

On the commercial side of things, Wake Stone Property Company and Williams Realty & Building Company started work on the last of six buildings at Hinton Oaks Industrial Park last fall. Plans call for 250,000 square feet of space set to deliver in the fourth quarter of 2022.

A large mixed-use development in Lebanon that includes homes along with commercial and office space could break ground in early 2022 now that additional land has been rezoned.

The development plan for more than 350 acres calls for more than 1,850 homes, which include townhouses, flats, duplexes and single-family homes near South Hartmann Drive and south of Interstate 40, said Casey Werner, director of land development for Suncrest Real Estate & Land.

Around 335,000 square feet of commercial, office and medical office space is part of the development plan.

The first phase is targeted to start in early 2022 with townhomes and single-family homes, Werner said. Rooftops will support the commercial, Werner said.

The entire development includes land off Pinhook Road, Bartons Creek Road and South Hartmann.

The Lebanon City Council approved a preliminary plan earlier this year to build more than 600 single-family homes on about 240 of those acres. The development is named Barton Village. A separate approval process was needed to rezone 124.5 more acres of connecting property to the north.

Barton Village North was the name of the plan most recently approved by the council, which paves the way for the entire land to be developed.

Suncrest considers Barton Village one development even though the two approval processes were needed, Werner said. Suncrest plans for entire Barton Village property under the Specific Plan zoning include:

• 492 townhome units
• 704 flats
• 26 duplex units
• 632 single-family home lots
• 77,300 square feet of commercial space
• 33,300 square feet of office space
• 225,000 square feet of medical office space.

A specific plan that includes a master plan for the development is also approved, Lebanon Planning Director Paul Corder said.

“Overall it’s moving in the right direction for us,” Corder said about the approval process.

Suncrest anticipates Barton Village to yield around 1,000 jobs when finished. Suncrest projects a $1.6 billion regional economic impact, Werner said.

The developer is responsible for road infrastructure and will contribute money to a city sewer expansion project, Corder said. Sewer capacity is limited in the area now, which Corder said could impact how fast the project initially develop.