Bethany Fuller | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | Aug. 5, 2007

It found them.

The couple is staring down a proposed 224-house residential development along Westmoreland Road.

The development by Landcraft Management, which bumps up against the Nestlers’ quiet cul-de-sac, is just the tip of the growth iceberg in the Troutman.

Iredell County commissioners will consider the Landcraft development and another 278- to 430-lot development on Overcash Road when they meet on Tuesday.

Once completed, these homes would join the ranks of new subdivisions like Autumn Grove and Falls Cove.

Troutman Town Manager David Saleeby said the growth that hit Cornelius, Davidson and Mooresville is really starting to spill over.

“In Troutman, the current 1,200 homes will have an additional 2,000 homes added in the next five years,” said Mike Smith, director of the Greater Statesville Economic Development Corporation.

The quiet drive down U.S. Highway 21 from Statesville has turned into an array of for-sale signs for new residential and commercial developments - not to mention the commercial construction.

Something new seems to turn up every week.

Construction on the Lowe’s Home Improvement store and Arby’s restaurant appears close to completion, bringing in new commercial life to the small town of more than a thousand.

County commissioners recently rezoned a parcel of property adjacent to Lowe’s for highway business, although there wasn’t a proposed use for the property stated on the application and there are still residential homes present.

Saleeby said the town is following its 20-year plan.

A lot of the proposed growth is actually outside of the town limits, he said.

“Those are out of our hands,” he said, referring to zoning approval.

The town has the ability to provide utilities, such as sewer and water, to new development within the town’s annexation limits, he said.

Statesville City Councilman Michael Johnson, who makes his living as a developer, said the development along U.S. 21 is going to continue into South Statesville, especially after Larkin is completed on Exit 45. That project will have 5,000 residential units as well as office and retail components.

Johnson said the Exit 45 area is ripe for development because it is one of the last two underdeveloped exits before Interstate 40.

Johnson is contributing to the growth by developing a piece of property he’s owned for three years. He plans to turn the plot next to Troutman Chair Co. into a multi-family development, which could include condominiums and a neighborhood business.

disturbing the peace?
Sara Nestler said all of the construction and rezoning has brought a whole new dynamic to the area.

She isn’t upset about the rezoning request for the property near her home. But she’s not excited about the large number of homes proposed.

One night, she said she noticed a blinking light outside. She later discovered it was the tower near the Wilco Hess gas station. Developers have cut down so many trees that they can now see the cell phone tower next to the interstate and hear the cars drive by, she said.

Fred Nestler called all the increasing development the “field of dreams” mentality. He said developers seem to think just because they build the homes that people will come, but that might not happen.

“They just build and build and build and they don’t think of the future,” he said.

There is one venue that is motivating developers and Realtors.

In the past, Lowe’s Co. Inc., has projected a total 12,000 employees at its corporate offices in Mt. Mourne, County Commissioner Sara Haire Tice said.

“They are going to need housing,” she said. “With new jobs comes new people, and new people add housing. As long as our population increases, the need for houses increases.”

why it’s happening
One reason for the development could be the location of Troutman.

The developers of The Point on Brawley School Road recently began construction on home sites at the latest development in Troutman, Falls Cove.

The location in Troutman is ideal for families with one spouse working in Winston-Salem and the other working in Charlotte, said Leslie Mitchell, north division sales manager for Crescent Communities Realty.

“We have developed multiple communities around Lake Norman,” Mitchell said.

Falls Cove boast 740 homes on 900 acres and is broken up into two divisions, Streamwood and Parkwood.

Mitchell said Crescent Resources is expecting Falls Cove to sell out within seven years. Other properties in Iredell County, such as The Pointe and The Farms, have sold out just as quickly.

The Pointe, located off of Brawley School Road, had 944 homes and sold out within eight years.

Falls Cove and the proposed developments have planned activity areas, including cabannas, pools, walking trails and a picnic area.

“We try to create a lifestyle,” Mitchell said.

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