Four major subdivisions show 850 single-family homes and 463 townhouses
Mebane could see another surge in residential growth inasmuch as plans for four new subdivisions have been submitted to the city’s planning department. Two are on the northern side of town: one is on the Alamance County side; the other, on the Orange County side of the city. A third is along Oakwood Street Extension, in Orange County, while the largest is to the south in Alamance County.
A total of 1,313 yet-to-be-approved homes (850 single family homes and 463 townhouses) are part of four new projects that are just starting the review process and will ultimately need rezoning approval from the city council.
Hawfields Landing
The largest proposed subdivision, designated Hawfields Landing, is planned for 149 acres immediately beside the former Hawfields Presbyterian Home, now known as Compass, off NC 119 South.
The new configuration of plans submitted by Burlington developer Shawn Cummings shows 160 townhouses and 354 single-family homes.
The land would need to be annexed and rezoned. Cummings will also need to do extensive infrastructure to run water and sewer lines, as well as build a pump station to serve the subdivision, he explained in an interview earlier this week.
The proposed subdivision has changed since 2018 when Cummings first broached the plan to city officials. At the time, he had said there would be 279 single family homes, 62 townhouses, and 146 senior living apartments.
Cummings explained in an interview this week that after further research, he had concluded that there simply wasn’t sufficient interest in “deed-restricted” apartments that would be designated exclusively for seniors. Cummings speculated that perhaps such a limitation would be attractive in a larger urban area, but he did not think Alamance County would be a good market for such an approach.
Similarly, he noted that even though his “target market” would be seniors for the 160 two-story townhouses located on the northern side of the subdivision, near the retirement home, these would not be “deed restricted” either. “We’ll look at age targeting,” he said, but not at mandatory age restrictions. Each of the townhouses, which will be clustered in 10-unit buildings, will have a one- or two-car garage, Cummings said.
“Mebane is a great community for folks to move into,” he said, predicting that he and other developers will not squeeze each other out.
“Frankly, I see no excess capacity on the horizon. In fact, there is still a shortage [in houses and lots for construction].”
– Developer Shawn Cummings
The 354 single-family houses are not envisioned to be targeted to a specific demographic group. Cummings estimated that the prices (for both townhouses and single family), which are still very preliminary, he stressed, would likely be from $200,000 and perhaps “dip” into the low $300,000’s for some of the single-family homes.
No builder has been chosen for either portion of the project, he said. Cummings is currently overseeing another major project, along Old Hillsborough Road also in Mebane. That development has patio homes targeted for seniors being built by Eastwood Homes (Magnolia Glen Estates) and other single-family homes being built by Windsor Homes (Magnolia Glen).
Another change from his 2018 plans has been the elimination of a commercial section fronting NC 119. Instead, Cummings is now designating that area for amenities, which he said will be built during the first phase of construction.
In terms of the overall housing market in the county and Mebane, Cummings said all of Alamance County is “growing rapidly,” and he believes the market will remain strong in the coming years.
“Mebane is a great community for folks to move into,” he said, predicting that he and other developers will not squeeze each other out.
“Frankly,” he said, “I see no excess capacity on the horizon. In fact, there is still a shortage [in houses and lots for construction].”
Oakwood
The second-largest submission of plans for a new development is for a project named Oakwood, which is located on the Orange County side of the city.
The developer is listed as Meritage Homes of the Carolinas.
Submitted plans call for 279 single family homes and 138 townhouses on 133.9 acres between Oakwood Street Extension and East Washington Street, which runs on the south side of the railroad tracks that bisect the city.
Current zoning is light manufacturing and R20. The proposed rezoning is for R8 conditional, R10 conditional, and planned unit development (PUD).
Plans call for eight phases of construction beginning and ending with townhouses, with single-family in six phases in the middle.
Most of the amenities appear to be concentrated within the townhouse side of the development. A pool, cabana building, tot lot, turf play field, picnic shelter, volleyball court, and cornhole court are shown on the plans. A dog park is included within the single-family home section of the plans.
North Mebane Village
North Mebane Village is a combination single-family (88) home subdivision with a townhouse (165 units) component as well, with a slice that would accommodate 103,800 square feet of retail space. The project would be built off of North First Street, backing onto parts of the existing Mill Creek subdivision.
The 253 homes would be built on a lot with 53 acres in eight phases of construction, with amenities added during the fifth phase.
Amenities include a pool, pool house, three tennis courts, and basketball court shown as among the marked amenities.
According to the submitted plans, the developer, Glenwood Homes of Raleigh, will be asking that the current zoning (R8 and office and industrial use) be changed to allow a traditional neighborhood development and the 103,800 square feet of retail space (R8 conditional and B1 conditional).
In response to questions from The Alamance News, Penny Sekadlo, the engineer for the project, described potential home designs for North Mebane Village as having “a variety of home designs for all levels of home ownership. Specific models have not been selected at this stage of the project in the townhome section nor in the single family home lots. ”
She added, “A project this size warrants new designs to be added to the selection palette which will include several existing plans.”
Sekadlo added that the focus of the subdivision will be “a mixed- use development plan [for] a neighborhood that will meet the demands of the residents while recognizing the need for serenity in nature.”
Glenwood recently obtained approval in Graham to build 65 townhouses, in a subdivision to be named Bethany Townes, near Bethany Presbyterian Church off South Main Street.
Elsewhere in Alamance County, Glenwood Homes has also built townhouses at Villas at Southwick and single-family homes at Forest Creek (in Elon).
Saddle Club Trails
The smallest of the proposed new projects calls for 129 single family homes on 43.32 acres along Saddle Club Road in northern Mebane on the Orange County side of the city.
The land, now zoned R20, would be proposed to be rezoned R10 conditional use. The layout filed with the city shows 15.56 acres, or 36 percent of the acreage, in open space.
There is a walking trail throughout the subdivision, which also has a soccer field, a horseshoe pit, and a gazebo.
Penny Sekadlo, who is also serving as the engineer for this project (in addition to North Mebane Village), described the philosophy of this development as retaining “a large portion of the property in parkland designed for active and passive recreation.”
She also noted that the development’s housing styles would be varied.
This project is being proposed by Slippery Elm Properties of Raleigh, one of whose managing/members, Mitch Murphy, holds that position with both this company and with Glenwood Homes.
No timeframe for consideration has yet been outlined by the city for any of the four projects, each of which is being reviewed by the Technical Review Committee for specific tweaks or changes that might be required or requested.
But 2021 could be a busy one for the city’s planning board and city council as these plans are finalized and rezoning changes are considered.
OTHER RECENT MEBANE NEWS:
First of two new Bowman Road subdivisions now underway:https://alamancenews.com/first-of-two-new-bowman-road-subdivisions-now-underway/
Plans for 675,000 in warehouse space to be considered: https://alamancenews.com/675k-sq-ft-of-warehouse-space-proposed-near-1-2m-sq-ft-medline-project/
Chick-fil-A decides on Mebane for distribution center:https://alamancenews.com/breaking-tuesday-its-official-gov-confirms-that-chick-fil-a-will-build-distribution-center-in-mebane/
New privately-funded park planned for West Ten Road near Gravelly Hill Middle School:https://alamancenews.com/private-group-eyes-building-park-near-gravelly-hill-middle-school/
City council reluctant to proceed with Buckhorn Area Plan without Orange County commissioners’ input, vote: https://alamancenews.com/mebanes-city-council-reluctant-to-take-lead-on-buckhorn-area-plan-when-orange-commissioners-havent-considered-or-voted-on-it/
