Mebane could be on the verge of getting another major shopping center.
Plans have been filed with the city’s planning department by Koury Corporation in Greensboro for a large, multi-use development, anchored by a 127,735-square-foot building.
The entire acreage, generally along Hawfields-Trollingwood Road and Gregory Poole Lane, totals 82.921 acres; there are almost 300,000 square feet of retail space that would be built on 11.167 acres, and 683 apartments and townhomes that would be built on 45.53 acres and would have a density of about 15.69 dwelling units per acre.
Approximately 30 acres is designated for the shopping center and 1,471 parking spaces in front of it. The residential component would include 12 apartment buildings. Approximately 10 acres are designated for general office use, as well as three outparcels, fronting Trolling-wood-Hawfields Road, spanning 2.7, 2, and 1.1 acres.
The location is across from the Trollingwood-Hawfields Road entrance to GKN, a long-standing Mebane industry; beside the Copper Stone subdivision; and backs on to single-family homes along South Third Street (a-cross from Governor’s Green); and beside Gregory Poole Equipment Company and a future Duke Health office, both along Gregory Poole Lane.
[Story continues below overview map of location for property for shopping center.]
There have been unverified rumors for years that Target is looking to locate somewhere in Mebane (its Burlington store is at the westernmost exit in Alamance County), and the development has reignited fans and opponents of such a big box store. A potential location has been rumored at various large Mebane sites in the past few years, and The Alamance News has been unable to verify an actual location – or even a commitment from Target that it wants, or hopes, to build in Mebane.
The existing Target store in Alamance County, at 1475 University Drive in west Burlington, spans 124,170 square feet and opened in 2004.
What the plans do show is an additional 11 store fronts with a cumulative total of an additional 171,830 square feet beside the largest store, with square footages ranging from 3,500 to 22,250 square feet for each.
Additionally, the latest plans, as drawn, show 683 “dwelling units,” with a total of 1,143 bedrooms, in 12 apartment buildings behind the retail center.
The preliminary plan shows: 289 one-bedroom apartments; 290 two-bedroom apartments; and 66 three-bedroom apartments. There would be 38 two-bedroom townhomes.
A future phase of development could include the construction of two clubhouses that would have 10 parking spaces each.
The residential portion of the plans, designated as “phase 3;” would follow the phase one construction of the shopping center and parking lot; and the development of the three outparcels in “phase 2.”
[Story continues below graphic of development’s layout.]
Koury’s first filing was in July, and the company has gone through four rounds of “technical reviews” with the city’s technical review committee, the latest on October 8.
The city’s development director, Ashley Ownbey, cautioned that the latest version (shown in various illustrations in this edition) is subject to further change.
Ultimately, the company will need to seek a conditional rezoning, Ownbey noted, which will be considered by the city’s planning board and ultimately Mebane’s city council.
Company officials with the Koury Corporation did not get back with The Alamance News before press time on Wednesday afternoon; in an initial call from the newspaper, the company’s representatives did acknowledge the existence of the Mebane project.
