Graham’s city council gave its unanimous endorsement to a new variation of a rezoning for 38 acres off East Gilbreath Street. The new configuration, as recommended by the planning board and adopted by the city council, provides for 46 townhouses and 118 single-family homes.
That was a considerable cutback from the first proposal that came before the planning board in July, when 57 townhouses and 396 apartments were initially proposed.
The original proposal (July):
The new proposal (Oct. & Nov.):
Council member and mayor-elect Jennifer Talley praised the new configuration as “a huge win for Graham.”
Attorney Amanda Hodierne, representing the developer, also outlined the changes made since the planning board’s first consideration – and rejection – of the developer’s plans.
Hodierne repeated the information that the builder for the development would be Florida-based Lennar Homes, one of the nation’s largest home builders. The Graham subdivision will be the company’s first in Alamance County – although it has numerous construction sites nearby in Hillsborough and Chapel Hill in Orange County and farther to the east, in Cary. The company has projects in 21 states across the U.S.
During the planning board’s consideration last month, Brian Schwindt, Lennar’s vice president of land acquisition, described the kind of homes that the company intends to build.
BUILDER LENNAR’S MODELS PLANNED FOR SINGLE-FAMILY SECTION OF NEW SUBDIVISION
The single-family homes will have three to five bedrooms, with 1,400 to 2,600 square feet and two-car garages. Lot sizes will typically be 41 feet wide, with as much as 16 feet of that width taken up with a driveway. Houses would be 10 feet apart, based on getting the waiver from the city’s usual requirement of 25 feet.
The townhouses will have 1,300 to 1,600 square feet with two- and three-bedroom options. There will be no garages for the townhouse portion of the project, but rather a designated parking area.
Hodierne touted the fact that the residential development was considerably less dense than the earlier version that the planning board had shunned, with just 164 units, rather than the 453 in the townhouse and apartment configuration.
Hodierne acknowledged that the details and actual design layout would need to obtain Graham’s blessing in the future. “We have a long road ahead of us,” she said. “This is a good first step,” she described.
Hodierne told the city council that the subdivision would be a “high quality product” priced at “market rates.”
In response to questions from council member Melody Wiggins, Hodierne said that the walking trail along the back side of the acreage would “not be a fully-paved trail,” but rather a more natural substance.
In addition to parameters established by the planning board – for a dog park, buffered landscaping, stub-outs to future adjacent properties – the mayor included a proposal recommended by the city attorney to provide a easement for the city across the property.
The council approved the developer’s new plan unanimously, 5-0.
See earlier coverage of planning board consideration – of first version, and the revised one passed by the city council this week:
Revised plan wins unanimous planning board approval: https://alamancenews.com/developers-revised-plan-gets-planning-board-reversal-unanimous-approval/
Planning board not impressed with New Jersey developer’s plans for dense development of townhouses and apartments along Gilbreath Street: https://alamancenews.com/planning-board-unimpressed-with-new-jersey-developers-plans-for-large-gilbreath-street-multi-family-project-unanimously-recommend-against-it/
