A Texas developer plans a Lake Norman mixed-use community that will include 259 multifamily homes and commercial space, public records show.
High Street District Development Inc., a subsidiary of Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co., has submitted plans for the project to the Huntersville Planning Department.
The 11.87-acre development would be on Old Statesville Road near Mount Holly-Huntersville Road.
The developer’s rezoning request calls for removing a greenhouse and accessory buildings for the development called Old Statesville Road Mixed-Use, town documents show.
This sketch shows the layout of High Street District Development Inc.’s proposed mixed-use community in Huntersville. Seamon Whiteside
Timetable for a decision
On Tuesday, the Huntersville Board of Commissioners will consider scheduling a public hearing on the rezoning request for 6 p.m. Feb. 3 at Town Hall, 101 Huntersville-Concord Road.
The Huntersville Planning Board would then consider making a recommendation on the rezoning at a meeting to be announced. The Planning Board is an advisory panel that makes recommendations to the Town Board, which has final say.
A date for the Town Board vote also is still to be scheduled.
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
The Knox Crossing mixed-use community would include around 330 apartments and 430 townhomes, according to the developer’s site plan.
Cline Design Associates
A South Carolina developer plans a major mixed-use community at a prime Lake Norman intersection that will include hundreds of apartments and townhomes and a grocery store, public records show.
Knox Crossing by Mount Pleasant developer WLA Enterprises Inc. would cover 44 vacant acres on the northeast corner of Sam Furr Road (N.C. 73) and Old Statesville Road (N.C. 115) in Huntersville, according to the developer’s rezoning application.
Plans call for around 330 apartments and 430 townhomes in four- and five-story buildings, according to the developer’s site plan filed at the Huntersville Planning Department.
The development also would include a gas station and retail shops.
The Knox Crossing mixed-use community would include around 330 apartments and 430 townhomes, according to the developer’s site plan. Cline Design Associates
Timetable for a decision
On Tuesday, the Huntersville Board of Commissioners will consider scheduling a public hearing on the rezoning request at 6 p.m. Feb. 3 at Town Hall, 101 Huntersville-Concord Road.
The Huntersville Planning Board would consider making a recommendation on the rezoning at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at Town Hall. The Planning Board is an advisory panel that makes recommendations to the Town Board, which has final say.
At 6 p.m. March 17, the Town Board is scheduled to vote on the request.
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
The Huntersville Fire Department said commuters should find an alternate route on Interstate 485 this evening after a deadly crash just before Harris Boulevard shut down part of the highway.
WSOC
A deadly crash on Interstate 485 near Huntersville closed part of the outer loop of the highway Wednesday afternoon and will slow traffic during the evening commute.
Jeff A. Chamer is a breaking news reporter for the Charlotte Observer. He’s lived a few places, but mainly in Michigan where he grew up. Before joining the Observer, Jeff covered K-12 and higher education at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette in Massachusetts.
Signs are placed outside Providence Baptist Church, indicating where voters can enter precinct 36 and cast their ballot for the election in Charlotte, NC on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.
Melissa Melvin-Rodriguez
mrodriguez@charlotteobserver.com
Huntersville Mayor Christy Clark held a commanding lead over challenger Derek Partee in the race for mayor on Tuesday, cementing a political shift that began in 2023 when Democrats swept every town board seat.
Clark secured 64.6% of the vote to Partee’s 33.7%, according to final returns from the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections.
Huntersville’s contest was one of several local races decided Tuesday as voters across Mecklenburg County chose mayors and town boards in Cornelius, Matthews, Mint Hill, Pineville and Davidson. All returns are unofficial.
Huntersville election results
The Huntersville mayoral race was a rematch between incumbent Clark, a former state lawmaker and registered Democrat, and former commissioner Partee, a registered Republican who lost to Clark in 2023. The campaign centered on growth, public safety and whether Democrats would maintain the gains they made in 2023, when they swept every town seat.
“I am so grateful to Huntersville voters for giving me and a majority of the current board a chance to serve again,” Clark said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer. “Prioritizing public safety and infrastructure will continue to be a priority for this board.”
For the six-member town board, Jennifer Hunt, Nick Walsh, Edwin Quarles, LaToya Rivers, Scott Coronet and Heather Smallwood secured seats, according to unofficial results. All five Democrats on the ballot won, along with one Republican, Smallwood.
Democrats Hunt, Quarles, Rivers and Nick Walsh sought reelection, joined by newcomer Coronet. Republicans Dan Boone, Frank Gammon, Smallwood and Jamie Wideman ran in coordination under the “No More Than 4” banner to consolidate conservative votes. Partee distanced himself from the slate and campaigned independently.
Mecklenburg County Democratic Party chair Wesley Harris told The Charlotte Observer last month that the 2023 results reflected years of organizing in northern Mecklenburg, and could indicate how the area will lean in statewide races next year.
“Huntersville is an area that has been trending blue for a while,” he said. “We finally reached that critical point in 2023 where we got our folks out.”
Cornelius election results
Former commissioner Denis Bilodeau beat Mayor Woody Washam Jr. in the Cornelius mayoral race, with 43.8% to 36.8%., a rematch of the 2023 race where Washam won by just five votes.
Bilodeau campaigned on frustration with what he called “business-as-usual” leadership and urged more locally funded road fixes instead of waiting on the state. Washam stressed controlled growth, fiscal stability and transportation investment.
For the board of commissioners, candidates Michael D. Osborne, Susan Johnson, Todd Sansbury, Robert Carney and Colin Furcht came out on top with all precincts reported.
Town of Matthews election results
With five of six precincts counted, Mayor John Higdon led the mayoral race with 65.2% of the vote compared to 34.6% for Commissioner Leon Threatt.
“I’m honored that the people of Matthews have once again placed their trust in me to serve another term as mayor. I remain committed to being responsive to residents’ concerns and available for open, transparent dialogue,” Higdon said in a statement to the Observer. “I also want to thank Leon Threatt for running a respectful and clean campaign, and I sincerely wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”
The race came amid significant board turnover in Matthews, with all six commissioner seats on the ballot and at least three were guaranteed to be filled by newcomers.
Candidates Susan Chambers, John Urban, Kerry Lamson, Brian Hacker, Jennefer Cross Garrity and Jonathan Clayton led the commission race with five of six precincts counted.
Mint Hill election results
With all precincts counted, Dale Dalton defeated Tim Radzicki in the Mint Hill mayor’s race with 64% of the vote to 35%.
Mint Hill’s new mayor will replace Brad Simmons, who did not run again. Both Dalton and Radzicki are sitting commissioners.
In the race for two commission seats, Twanna Henderson and Trey Long came out on top with all precincts counted.
Incumbents Henderson and Patrick Holton faced challengers Long, Patrick O’Brien and Matt Schwoebel.
Pineville election results
Nick Gallo and Joshua Simelton won council seats with all three precincts counted. The two faced three other competitors, Les Gladden, Yvette Isaacs and Tony Jennings.
Davidson election results
Davidson’s election centered on the Town Board, where six candidates ran for five seats. With all two precincts counted, Incumbents Ryan Fay, Steve Justus, Tracy Mattison Brandon and Autumn Rierson Michael and former commissioner Connie Wessner won seats, with only newcomer David Lusk trailing Wessner by 588 votes.
This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 9:10 PM.
Terms were not disclosed Wednesday of developer Jamestown’s sale of the property to Houston-based Hines U.S. Property Partners.
The mixed-use development Birkdale VIllage in Huntersville has been sold. Birkdale Village
Hines announced the acquisition in a news release Wednesday afternoon, calling the iconic mixed-use development near Lake Norman a “premier” community that is 99% leased.
In May, Birkdale Village was up for sale less than a year after getting a new owner, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Two months prior, the Huntersville Board of Commissioners approved Jamestown’s request to add to the development a 125-room, full-service hotel, 150 multi-family units, 26,715 square feet of commercial space and an office building.
History of development ownership
In August 2024, Jamestown announced the acquisition of Birkdale Village owner North American Properties’ Atlanta subsidiary. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Jamestown’s projects have included some of the most iconic buildings in the U.S., such as One Times Square, where the New Year’s Eve ball drops in New York City.
Jamestown also is a joint owner of two North Carolina properties: Optimist Hall in Charlotte and the mixed-use development, Raleigh Iron Works.
Birkdale Village was a joint venture partnership with Jamestown, Nuveen Real Estate and North American Properties, Jamestown said.
The community was among the first of its kind in the Charlotte area when it was built in 2003 by Charlotte firms Crosland and Pappas Properties.
In 2022, North American Properties’ invested $20 million to transform the 52-acre property into an entertainment destination with the addition of an outdoor stage, green space and retail kiosks. Retailers include Apple, lululemon, Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma.
Birkdale Village had a total assessed value of $37.3 million in 2023, Mecklenburg County public tax records show. Its current assessed value is under review, according to the county.
Notable Hines buildings are The Lipstick Building in New York City, a 34-story building that opened in 1986 at 885 Third Ave., known for its curvy design; and the largest skyscraper in Texas, the 75-story JPMorgan Chase Tower in Houston.
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This story was originally published October 22, 2025 at 5:09 PM.
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
Police revealed new details Tuesday about the woman who was killed on a busy Lake Norman road last week.
Elizabeth Wagstrom, a 63-year-old Huntersville resident, was lying in the 10000 block of eastbound Gilead Road when a driver hit her around 6 a.m. Friday, Oct. 3, police said in a news release. She had dark clothes on, officers said.
Wagstrom was pronounced dead at the scene, and no charges are expected, police said.
Police aren’t saying if they know why Wagstrom was in the road, but asked anyone with information about the collision to call Sgt. Bryan Gantt at 704-464-5371.
The driver remained on scene and cooperated with investigators, according to a police statement on Friday. “No determination has been made regarding factors that contributed to this collision,” officials said.
“The Huntersville Police Department extends sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased,” according to the police statement.
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
The remaining 200 acres of a dairy farm in Huntersville will be turned into a residential community.
The Westmoreland Dairy Farm, which began operations in the early 1900s, was sold to developer Shea Homes in August for more than $24.6 million, according to Mecklenburg County records. Foundry Commercial assisted in the sale and announced it in a Friday news release.
Records indicate three separate sales to Shea Homes on Aug. 26. It’s unclear when operations will cease on the farm. Comment requests to Foundry and the farm’s Facebook page weren’t immediately answered. Plans and details for the site are still being finalized. But according to the release, Shea intends to build a residential neighborhood with “higher-end single-family homes” with some valued at more than $1 million.
The farm off of Westmoreland Road and Sam Furr Road isn’t a stranger to large size redevelopment plans.
A massive $800 million mixed-used community called Lagoona Bay Beach Club was planned for the site in 2023. The development went through several iterations, one of which included a beach resort, recreational lagoon and more than 600 homes.
But residents expressed concern over the size of the development and traffic congestion. So did the Huntersville Planning Board, which said the plan would turn Sam Furr Road “from a rural corridor into a fully intensified one.”
According to Foundry, Westmoreland is the last operational dairy farm in Mecklenburg County. It goes by several names, including Westmoreland & Sons Farm.
Thomas Westmoreland Jr., who was not involved in the farm’s operations, confirmed the sale. He said the farm has been in the family since 1913.
But with rising farm costs and a loss of property due to development, operations weren’t sustainable.
In a 2024 Spectrum News story, Chris Westmoreland said the farm started as a cotton farm and transitioned to dairy cattle in the 1950s. In 2011, the farm switch to corn, soybeans, wheat, beef cattle and hay.
Chris Westmoreland at the time said the farm had already lost 500 acres due to development.
Westmoreland is the latest farm to sell in Huntersville.
In May, the Wallace Farm was sold to Denali, a Russellville, Arkansas-based organic recycling company. Denali planned to take over the operations of the farm’s two facilities — the 75-acre facility in Huntersville and a 162-acre site in Advance, near Greensboro and Winston-Salem. The Wallace Farm had been owned by the Wallace family since 1863.
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 3:43 PM.
Desiree Mathurin covers growth and development for The Charlotte Observer. The native New Yorker returned to the East Coast after covering neighborhood news in Denver at Denverite and Colorado Public Radio. She’s also reported on high school sports at Newsday and southern-regional news for AP. Desiree is exploring Charlotte and the Carolinas, and is looking forward to taking readers along for the ride. Send tips and coffee shop recommendations.
A pedestrian was killed on a busy Lake Norman road on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, and police asked witnesses to come forward and anyone with video of the scene.
A pedestrian was killed on a busy Lake Norman road Friday, and police asked witnesses and anyone with video of the scene to come forward.
A driver hit the adult around 6 a.m. on eastbound Gilead Road in the 10000 block, Huntersville police said. That’s near Reese Boulevard, west of Interstate 77 exit 23.
The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Their name is being withheld until their family is contacted, police said.
The driver stayed at the scene and is cooperating with investigators, police said.
“Sincere condolences”
Officers haven’t determined what might have contributed to the collision.
Police asked witnesses and anyone with video, including dash camera footage of the area around 6 a.m., to call Sgt. Bryan Gantt of the department’s traffic safety section at 704-464-5371.
“The Huntersville Police Department extends sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased,” police officials said in a statement.
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
Portrait of retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Joseph Reale Sr. taken on May 27, 2024.
Ryan Oehrli
Charlotte Observer Staff
Veterans, their families and others came together in Huntersville Monday to remember those who died serving the country.
The event, hosted by the local American Legion post, drew hundreds to Veterans Park on Memorial Day. Mayor Christy Clark, a local JROTC program, the North Mecklenburg Community Chorus and others participated.
“They were brothers in arms, but also brothers bonded by sacrifice,” said American Legion Post Commander Ross Monks, a retired Army officer and former candidate for the county’s board of commissioners.
Among those remembered Monday were Navy SEALs Nathan Gage Ingram and Christopher J. Chambers, who died this year trying to board an unflagged ship that reportedly was carrying Iranian-made weapons to Yemen. Others who served in World War II, the Korean War, the war in Vietnam and in Iraq also were honored.
“As proud Americans, we should all remember that our freedom is not free,” said Monks. “It is only possible because of heroes. Some from our own families and neighborhoods have paid a high price.”
There are about a million Americans who’ve died serving, said Joseph Reale Sr., a retired lieutenant colonel after 30 years in the Army, who also was in attendance Monday.
“We benefit from that sacrifice,” he said.
Reale, 78, recalled growing up in a time when military service was a “rite of passage.” And through his years working with the American Legion, he’s seen the military’s ties run deep, especially in smaller towns such as Huntersville.
“I think the last few generations have missed that concept of serving — putting their hand up and volunteering,” Reale said.
People will often walk up to him and thank him for his service.
His response: “Thank you for allowing me to serve,” he says while shaking their hand.
“Because that’s the freedom that we have, that if you want to serve you can serve,” he said.
This story was originally published May 27, 2024, 4:07 PM.
Related stories from Charlotte Observer
Ryan Oehrli writes about public safety and criminal justice for The Charlotte Observer. He previously worked at the Asheville Citizen Times. A North Carolina native, he grew up in Little Washington.
Google Fiber is expanding in North Carolina with right-of-way agreements in the works in several more cities and towns, a company official said.
JOHN SLEEZER
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
Google Fiber is expanding in North Carolina, a company official said Friday.
The high-speed internet provider is nearing right-of-way agreements to add service in Mooresville, Wilmington and Kannapolis, Jess George, head of government and community affairs for Google Fiber’s east region, told The Charlotte Observer in an exclusive interview.
Wilmington will become the first community along the North Carolina coast with the service, she said. The company did not provide details on the timing or exact locations of the expansion. But George said she anticipates “big announcements” about the plans for Mooresville, Kannapolis and Wilmington “within the next couple of months.”
“It’s a very exciting time,” George said. “We’re thrilled to be able to serve these communities.”
Earlier in the week, Google Fiber revealed that it will expand to the Union County town of Stallings and extend service to its first community in Huntersville, Hambright Junction. Google Fiber will be the sole internet provider in that neighborhood, a 300-unit, multi-family development, company officials said.
Ongoing Charlotte-area expansion
Google Fiber arrived in Charlotte in July 2016. The first neighborhood to get the gigabit high-speed internet service was Highland Creek, which is mostly north of Interstate 485, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
The company has served Concord residents since 2022.
Google Fiber has no projected start date for service in Stallings and has not decided which areas of the town will be served first, George said.
“We will now go into high-level design,” she said.
Google Fiber “huts”
To begin rolling out the service, Google Fiber first identifies where to build a fiber “hut” in a community, George said.
Huts hold all of the hardware for the Google Fiber internet network and are typically constructed near an existing cell phone tower or other transmission site, she said.
Google Fiber huts are 28 feet long and 9 feet tall, The (Raleigh) News & Observer previously reported.
“They’re the size of a trailer,” George said.
An entire construction project in a community can take two to three years to complete, George told The Charlotte Observer in March 2023 when the company first announced its Huntersville plans.
Google Fiber is already serving some customers in Huntersville, George said Friday. The company doesn’t disclose its exact number of customers in communities, she previously said.
The company, however, doesn’t “cherry-pick” neighborhoods, she said.
“Our goal is to construct our network to as many Huntersville residents as possible,” George told the Observer when Google first announced its plans.
By doing so, the company aims to “bridge the digital divide” in communities, she said Friday.
Besides offering higher internet speeds, the company also helps lower internet bills in communities by providing competition to existing providers, she said.
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
Saint Augustine’s University launched a Falcon Pride Initiative Fund with the goal of raising $5 million to prove the school is financially stable as it seeks to keep accreditation
A Charlotte based coffeehouse and roastery launched a special HBCU series, donating 30% of proceeds from its “1867” branded coffee beans to the Falcon Pride Initiative Fund
The owner, a fellow HBCU graduate, says she wants to do what she can to help
St. Augustine’s launched the fund in February, hoping to raise $5 million to elevate its financial stability as the university seeks to keep its accreditation.
Marcia Cox, Kaldi’s Coffeehouse & Roastery owner, graduated from North Carolina A&T in 2023. She said when she saw another historically Black university in need, she wanted to step in and help.
“It just felt like the right thing to do,” Cox said. “I just felt like if that were my school, and I were a student there or an alum there, I’d want someone to do something to help out as well and bring awareness.”
Cox launched an HBCU line of coffee beans. Roastery customers can order special North Carolina A&T, Winston-Salem State University and St. Augustine’s University branded coffee. The N.C. A&T and WSSU options will donate 10% of proceeds to the respective schools. Thirty percent of profits from the St. Augustine’s branded coffee beans will be donated to the Falcon Pride Initiative Fund.
Cox says in two weeks, she has received more than 30 orders for the St. Augustine’s line and plans to write her first check to the university at the end of the month.
