While seeking to rezone 11 acres of property on Airlie Road next to the Galleria shopping center site for urban mixed use, developers will present a concept for a project of exclusively residential units to Wilmington’s Technical Review Committee on Dec. 8.
The project, called Airlie at Wrightsville Sound, will feature 72 lots and initial plans show it would include a driveway connecting it to the 7.5-acre Galleria site on Wrightsville Avenue.
Wilmington home builder Dave Spetrino said Charlotte-based real estate developer State Street Companies was working to develop a plan that fit the residential and natural qualities of the street that’s been designated a North Carolina “scenic byway.”
“Airlie Road is going to be residential,” said Spetrino, who said his Plantation Building Corp. would be working on the project. “There’s not going to be a CVS there. It will have meandering streetscapes built around natural landscapes.”
Spetrino said the development would fit with the city’s plans for neighborhoods that offer shopping and other commercial offerings within walking or bicycle distance of residents. Additionally, he said the entire site has been surveyed for trees to avoid having to take any down. In April 2015, the developers faced criticism after live oak trees on the Galleria site were cut down.
“We know this land is going to be developed, we want it to be developed thoughtfully,” Spetrino said.
The property’s landowners are asking Wilmington to rezone the lots from residential R-15 to urban-mixed use UMX zoning, with a conditional use. Urban mixed use allows for both commercial and residential use on the same property, generally with retail shops or offices on the ground level, with residential units on higher levels.
While the developers are asking for a zoning change from residential to mixed-use, Spetrino said, it is making the application under zoning classifications that allow the city to stipulate how the property is used. In this case, the developers would be stipulating that all the project would be residential.
Spetrino said early plans for the property included 60 homes, with 45 being single-family residences and 15 being townhomes.
The city’s Technical Review Committee examines the project for any “red flags” before the rezoning proposal goes before the city’s planning committee and town council, planner Brian Chambers. The planning commission is scheduled to review the rezoning request on Jan. 4, 2017.
The city recently rezoned another property in the area to UMX when on Nov. 1, the Wilmington City Council voted 5-1 to rezone the 5.4-acre lot at 7000 Wrightsville Ave. from a residential R-15 to clear the way for a mixed-use development. A mobile home park currently occupies the lot.
Neighbors have opposed past efforts to rezone lots on Airlie Road, stating they want to ward off commercialization of the road. In August, Dockside Restaurant and Marina withdrew a plan for parking lot revisions after neighbors objected to the request to rezone the lot to commercial zoning.
The Wilmington Technical Review Committee is scheduled to review the conceptual plans at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 8, at its meeting room on the fourth floor of 305 Chestnut St. The meeting is open to the public, but no public comments will be taken.
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