Apartment complex proposed for city
By LEE HINNANT
A Carolina Beach developer hopes to construct a 64-unit apartment complex off Tram Road, and will seek a zoning change for the land at Monday’s meeting of the Whiteville Planning and Zoning Board.
Brad Parker has asked that a 10-acre tract between Tram and Blue Jean Road be rezoned from R-12 residential to R-6 multifamily. The current zoning allows single- family houses with a minimum lot size of 1,200 square feet. The R-6 MF designation would allow single-family houses, duplexes, a bed and breakfast inn and apartments.
City Planner Chad Hicks said the land, owned by Cecil Knight, is vacant and has R-6 MF zoned tracts on three adjoining sides.
Parker said he wanted to build a high-quality complex with rents working people could afford. The units will not be subsidized, he said, and the investment will be about $7.5 million.
The proposed Oakcrest Grove apartments would have road access to Tram Road only, although the property borders parts of Blue Jeans Road. The conceptual site plan calls for extras such as a separate place to wash cars, a clubhouse, a playground and toddler toys with benches.
“They will be two-story, garden style apartments with no breezeways,” Parker said. “They’ll look much like townhouses.”
Parker said the complex would have landscaping and significant buffer areas to minimize the impact on surrounding properties.
Parker developed the Cardinal Point apartment complex in Shallotte’s Highlands subdivision, off U.S. 17.
Oakcrest Grove will have one, two and three-bedroom units with rents ranging from about $310 to $500 a month, Parker said. If approved, construction would likely begin about February 2007, he said.
The Planning and Zoning Board meets in regular session at 12:30 p.m. at City Hall to consider the request.
The board will also consider a request from Ivan Cortes of Hispanic Rock Ministries for a conditional use permit for a new church at Thompson Town Road and Slippery Log Road. The tract is zoned RA-20 residential/agricultural and is outside the city limits but within the zoning jurisdiction.