Land clearing has begun for Bainbridge Matthews, a future development located on Matthews-Mint Hill Road near Butler High School. This land was formerly the Oakhaven Mobile Home Park, Overcash homestead, and Query Homestead.

On December 11, 2017, the Board of Commissioners approved Rezoning Request 2017-663 with Higdon, Miller, Ross, Whitley and Urban in favor and Taylor and Melton opposed. The property, totaling 30.752 acres, was rezoned from R-12, O(CD), R-MH, RU, and BH to R-12MF(CD).

(What do those zoning codes mean? There’s a chart for that.)

Now demolished, the Overcash home, built in 1921, had significant remodeling and was therefore not a good candidate for historic preservation or relocation. The barn was in fair condition, but the Town had little need for it after repurposing the Idlewild Road barn. A log cabin on the site is likely over 100 years old was offered to the town for historic preservation. The cabin will need some reconditioning.

The multifamily Bainbridge Matthews complex consists of 350 rental units, including both apartments and townhomes. Two pocket parks will flank the entrance at Northeast Parkway and will be available for public use daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The developer will construct the portion on Northeast Parkway that will run through their property, as well as a multi-use path on one side and a sidewalk on the other. The developer has accounted for 18 bike parking spots throughout the complex.

Though not noted on the original staff report, in October 2017 the Planning Department added the following information:

• CMS indicates this project will generate 128 new students for Crown Point Elementary, Mint Hill Middle, and Butler High School. by this project.

• The trip generation report indicates a total of 2,245 cars per day.

Bainbridge will preserve at least 15% of the existing tree canopy (a minimum tree save of 4.79 acres) as directed by R12-MF zoning. The majority of tree save is along property boundaries.

In the process of approving any new development the board discusses the affect on town services, the tax base, and projected tax revenue from the project. Prior to development the tax revenue was $16,700 (total for both parcels), the anticipated tax revenue (after construction) is an estimated $128,000.

If you’re looking for the Cliff Notes version, here’s a handy dandy summary: