Over the next 10 years, around 1,000 new housing units are expected to be built in the town of Elon.
Three new projects have been approved by the Elon Town Council for development: PARC Northwest, PARC East and, most recently, PARC Village. The three-part project is the first time GreenHawk Corporation has worked with the town.
PARC Village was approved by the town of Elon Town Council on March 24 to be constructed behind Schar Center. This is the third GreenHawk project, and PARC Village will be different from the other developments. The area where PARC Village will be located received a conditional rezoning to be a mixed-use development, allowing for both residential and commercial structures on the property.
According to GreenHawk’s development plans presented to the town council, PARC Village will include housing units, office and retail buildings, a hotel, and a grocery store.
Town of Elon Planning Director Lori Oakley said conditional rezonings are common for large developments and require the developers to follow the guidelines and requirements set by the town.
While there is some flexibility embedded into the contracts, the town of Elon is responsible for ensuring GreenHawk’s compliance with the agreed conditions. The conditions will also apply to any future owners or developers if the project is acquired, Oakley said.
Expanding the town of Elon
The town of Elon has not seen major development since the completion of the Cable Square subdivision three years ago, according to Town Manager Richard Roedner.
“If we build three houses a year, we’ve had a busy year because we’re so small and we’re mostly built out,” Roedner said.
Roedner said some community members are hesitant about the new developments because they haven’t seen many changes, besides construction through Elon University. However, he said the town emphasized the importance of blending the new development into the community during its conversations with GreenHawk.
“Our goal is that it’s going to blend, it’s going to fit, and it will be something that the entire town can benefit from,” Roedner said.
In 2019, the town of Elon developed a strategic plan called Envision Elon 2040, which detailed the town’s aspirations for expansion and development. According to Envision Elon 2040, the area designated for PARC Village was already set aside for a mixed-use development.
The plan projects that the population of the town of Elon will be 18,977 people by 2040, with university growth, projected at 100 students per year, accounting for around 25% of the growth. As of June 1, 2023, the population of the town was 11,520 people according to the U.S. Census.
According to Roedner, the town of Elon is 42% non-taxable. With the new development, the town will lower that percentage through an increased collection of property taxes.
“I don’t know of another community that has such a high percentage of non-taxable property,” Roedner said. “This will help us build up our taxable base, which is how we fund our government, and allows us to do additional things, additional services that people have asked for.”
Traffic concerns
With PARC Village neighboring Elon University, questions about traffic and safety were raised by the school. Patrick Noltemeyer, Elon University’s associate vice president, said the university has been in contact with GreenHawk to address pedestrian safety in the area once PARC Village and its sister projects are completed. With an increase in traffic in the area, Noltemeyer said the university is especially concerned with the safety of students who run in the area.
“We would prefer that the traffic be slowed on University Drive to enable safe pedestrian passage for anybody that’s making that run,” Noltemeyer said.
Noltemeyer also said GreenHawk agreed to create an access point off Williamson Avenue near the northernmost exit of the Schar Center parking lot through PARC Village for travel during large university events, such as Convocation and Elon Athletics game days.
“They’ve agreed to provide an access point into their development so that cars could turn left into the GreenHawk development out of the Schar Center parking lot and weave their way through the development as another point of egress out onto University Drive,” Noltemeyer said.
According to Roedner, traffic studies have been conducted by both GreenHawk and the North Carolina Department of Transportation. With these studies in mind, Roedner said two new intersections will be created to better control the flow of traffic.
While traffic is top of mind for Elon University, town of Elon Mayor Emily Sharpe is focused on the walkability of the area. As the town pushes to encourage more multi-modal transportation in accordance with its Envision Elon 2040 plan, she sees the PARC developments as a step in the right direction.
“It’s about people of all ages who want to have the type of lifestyle that you might find in a big city, but here in our small town,” Sharpe said.
Since there isn’t a grocery store within town limits, the town of Elon is considered a food desert. GreenHawk plans to include a grocery store in PARC Village, which would keep more people in town, Oakley said.
“Bringing these services to town, keeping folks in town, hopefully keeping them walking, keeping them on sidewalks that will be built would be great to get them out of their car,” Oakley said. “As a planner, I’d love to see the different forms of transportation, the multimodal aspect of it, and to be able to walk to a grocery store or a restaurant. I think it’ll be great.”
A 10-year build
Construction for PARC Village isn’t anticipated to begin for a few more years, according to Oakley. However, she said the first GreenHawk development, PARC Northwest, is expected to have houses built and occupied by the end of 2025. The development will have a variety of housing options like PARC Village with 150 multifamily apartment units, 130 single family detached units and 130 townhome units according to the town of Elon’s website. PARC Northwest sits on 57.7 acres of land with 100,000 square feet set aside for non-residential use.
The initial timeline for PARC Northwest had houses built sooner, however, Roedner said construction delays pushed the completion date back. Roedner said that while GreenHawk plans to be completed with PARC Village within the next 10 years, many external factors can delay development.
“If interest rates go real high again, that might slow them down,” Roedner said. “If interest rates drop to where they were a couple years ago and finance becomes easy, that might speed the process up.”
Over the next decade, Sharpe said the town will see significant change, but she is excited for the town’s growth.
“I think any time you have a big change, it can be concerning,” Sharpe said. “But I am looking forward to it. I feel really positive about it, and it’s something that we’ve needed for a long time.”