07/31/2019
Another article on a Development in Ballantyne with the trendy Live, Work, Play (now called "mixed-use") vibe! This is an article from The Charlotte Business Journal...
After Northwood Office unveiled its dramatic transformation of its 455-acre holding in Ballantyne, retailers and other groups came "out of the woodwork."
"Every restaurateur has run the demographics in the area — they love the park space, all the things we’ve outlined," continued John Barton, president of Northwood Office. "We’re talking to a lot of people about a lot of things."
Northwood Office this month filed a rezoning petition with the city of Charlotte to allow its ambitious redevelopment plans at Ballantyne, a suburban area of south Charlotte long dominated by office space, hotels and a golf course. The first phase, to take place over the next six or so years, would revamp a roughly 25-acre swath of land behind The Ballantyne hotel, called Ballantyne Center, that's today the 18th hole on the golf course. There, Northwood Office is seeking entitlements to build 1,200 apartments, 300,000 square feet of retail space, an amphitheater and green space.
While specific entitlements and uses are detailed for the first two phases, the rezoning applications calls for the entire 454.2 acres to be rezoned from conditional business park and office district to mixed-use development district with optional provisions.
Detailed maps filed with the rezoning petition depict nine development areas throughout the Northwood-controlled land, most with maximum building heights between 200 and 300 feet. The first two phases of development are in Ballantyne East, where most of the undeveloped land is today and where 300-foot-tall entitlements are being sought. A height setback is depicted on the three sides of the property away from Interstate 485, keeping the tallest, densest development in the core of the park.
The amount of retail in the first phase has increased since the vision was unveiled last month, which Barton said takes into account the potential for a grocery store in addition to previously planned inline and boutique retail. A second phase — which calls for 1,000 apartments, 300 townhouses and 400,000 square feet of office space — would be developed in the next six to 12 years.
Barton declined to name any grocers the firm is in discussions with but said, if approved, the store would be built on the eastern side of North Community House Road, away from the core of the redevelopment so as to mitigate traffic impact. But developing a grocery store as part of the project is consistent with the vision of Ballantyne Reimagined, Barton added. Existing grocers in the greater Ballantyne area include Harris Teeter, Publix and Sprouts Farmers Market.
Another key aspect of plans filed with the city is a commitment to include workforce housing in both phases — about 8% of the units in each phase, or 96 in phase one and 80 in phase two, with 30-year affordability commitments. The units would be income-restricted for those earning at or below 80% of the area median income and are subject to approval of housing tax credits or grants, according to a note filed with the rezoning petition's site plan.
Barton said details of the workforce housing, including whether those units would be mixed in with market-rate units, are still being ironed out. Northwood Ravin, the Charlotte-based multifamily division of Northwood Investors, is spearheading the apartment development at Ballantyne.
"We still need to work through all of that, all of the different iterations of what the affordable-housing commitments mean," Barton continued.
A phase three of development is referenced in the rezoning petition, which says could include 800,000 square feet of office space, 50,000 square feet of retail space, 220 hotel rooms and 1,500 residential units. But any development for phase three is reliant on a transportation study and necessary transportation "events," which could include transit coming to the area, significant road improvements or "transportation innovations" that result in significantly less traffic on nearby roads. A third phase is likely at least a decade away.
Northwood says it plans to increase park space at Ballantyne significantly, using much of the golf course for open green space and ancillary development.
Northwood Investors acquired Ballantyne Corporate Park from The Bissell Cos., its owner and developer since inception, in 2017 for more than $1 billion. Following the sale, the firm completed a year-plus-long master plan with Sasaki, a planning firm out of Massachusetts, to map out the park's future. Northwood's plans revealed last month will dramatically change the area dynamic, adding, for the first time, non-commercial uses in the form of apartment towers in addition to a substantial amount of retail space and programming.
Over its 25-year history, Ballantyne has been a hotspot for corporate relocations and major office operations but company preferences have shifted, evidenced by the boom currently underway in center city and South End. In fact, longtime Ballantyne tenant LendingTree will be moving its headquarters to South End in early 2021, largely because of the area's proximity to the light rail, housing and amenities.
Barton said the plans for Ballantyne are necessary to provide amenities that employers want to recruit workforce and to make Charlotte more competitive from an economic development standpoint.
"This is a Charlotte asset and really makes Charlotte more competitive as we think about recruiting large companies," he continued.
So far, Barton said feedback from area residents has been largely in favor of what Northwood has planned at Ballantyne, including connecting the park to the larger greenway system and, potentially, a future transit corridor, something the Charlotte Area Transit System is studying now.
Northwood is hosting a community meeting for its rezoning and redevelopment plans at 7 p.m. on Aug. 28 at The Ballantyne.
