Hindman Drive Infill Project Update

For those not in attendance at Monday night’s neighborhood meeting at the Northgate Soda Shop re: the infill development on Hindman, here are a few bullet items that the audience came away with:

• The existing buildings are the “Tyrolean Cottages” and are small units that were built in the 1970’s.  There were originally five cottages on three lots, and the new proposal calls for six lots of about 10,000 square feet each.
• The developer assured the audience that he would build homes in keeping with the neighborhood, maintaining the natural look that is there with natural building materials (stone and brick), boulders, trees, etc.  Since many of the trees are pine trees, there will be some removal based on an arborist’s advice to allow the higher quality trees (i.e. oaks, etc.) to thrive and grow.
• Because of the steep slope of the land, the houses will be built to suit the property, they will not be in a ‘straight line’ and neighbors uphill will still have their ‘good view’ over the houses.  The houses will also be unique and will have front porches.  Some of the properties will have access from the alley behind the properties and a garage could be behind the house this way.
• The houses will be between 2800 and 3500 sq. ft. with a smaller footprint since they will be two stories.  Thus, there will be more yard than we are seeing in many new developments since these lots are not the minimum allowed in R-6 zoning.
• The developer was honest in saying that the reason for 6 houses instead of 4 or 5 is economics.  He assured us they will be high quality homes and will be priced accordingly.
• If his permit is approved by the PC on Dec 12, they plan to immediately begin demolishing the existing houses and begin cleaning up and removing some of the pines to improve the look of the property.  They plan to leave many trees, working around them as much as possible.  The owner of the property was present and seemed to take a clear stand on minimizing tree removal.
• They do not have any firm plans or drawings at present which is a gap that the PC has to work with.  This is the reason that the infill ordinance task force was formed…to address this and give the PC more information to work with on these applications.  At present, it seems that this developer has met the minimum requirements and will likely be approved.
•  They referred to several projects they had done locally including completing Ridgeland at the Park condominiums, and the gated community at 623 North Main Street which was built about fifteen years ago.
•  In Charlotte they made reference to the Roswell Place Condominiums, Mayfair Townhomes, and Crownsgate.

If you are interested in hearing what was said and seeing the plans, go to the city website and/or attend the PC meeting on Thursday, Dec. 12, at 4PM, 10^th floor Council chambers at City Hall.