Town Approves 96-Acre Development

A 96-acre commercial-retail-residential development between Hungryneck Blvd. and Rifle Range Road gained support from Mount Pleasant's Planning Commission Wedesday night.

Central Mount Pleasant was initially given town approval in 2007, but when the housing market tanked, developers shelved the plans. In June, McAllister Development Co. asked for changes to the development in response to an improving housing market.

It took two appearances before the Planning Commission, but on Wednesday commissioners OK'd the modifications with some limits and conditions.

Here's what the project includes:

• Up to 719 residential units;
• Up to 405 apartment or condominium units (included in the overall residential unit total);
• Up to 275,000 square feet of retail space;
• Up to 75,000 square feet commercial office space.

In its new application, McAllister changed the layout of the project, pushing a three-story apartment complex to one corner, which opened up more than 40 acres of commercial land in the middle of the development.

That worried residents who feared the developer would court big-box stores for the property. Town planners, however, say that though the developer has shifted its land allottment, McAllister does not have approval for traditional large-scale retailers, such as Costco, Home Depot or Sam's Club.

"There is a provision ... for this development that limits the first floor area of any one commercial tenant to 70,000 square feet," said Christiane Farrell, town planning manager. 

"So they could, for example, have a single tenant who has a first floor area of 60,000 square feet but if anything over 70,000 square feet were ever proposed, an amendment to the planned development and development agreement would be required," Farrell said.

Though some big-box stores have built two-story locations (see this Home Depot in Chicago and this three-story Walmart-Sam's Club in suburban Dallas), it's not the norm.

Residents erupted in protest earlier this spring when a developer proposed more than 300,000 square feet of retail space for a 40-acre parcel across from Mount Pleasant Towne Centre. Around that same time, the town erased rules that limited big-box stores to parcels of land 50 acres or larger.

The Central Mount Pleasant proposal now heads to the town council's planning committee and the full town council vote. Both panels meet in early September.