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4 , 0 0 0 HOM ES P LA NNE D OFF LA KE W YLI E PUB LIC G OLF COURS E TO A DD TO OPEN SPA CE Publis hed: Charlotte Observer , Sunday, August 2 2 , 1999 Se ct io n: M A IN NEWS Page: 1 A By DOUG SMIT H , Staff Writer One of the Carolinas' biggest landholders is targeting southwest Mecklenburg ' s Lake Wylie area for a 1 , 80 0 - acre development that eventually could include more than 4 , 0 0 0 single-family houses, to wnhomes and apartments . Evergreen , by Crescent Resources Inc., would be one of Charlotte's largest - ever planned communities . The land management and development company, formed 3 0 years ago by Duke Energy , said it will go to unprecedented lengths to preserve stream channels, wetlands and wildlife corridors . Evergreen rivals two early 1 9 90s Char lotte golf - course communities in size. Highland Creek in northeast Mecklenburg covers 1 , 7 80 acres and may eventually top 5 , 0 0 0 homes. Ballantyne , south of Interstate 4 8 5 , spans 2 , 0 0 0 acres and may have 4 , 5 0 0 homes plus offices, shops and hotels . The Close family ' s 6, 5 0 0 - acre Clear Springs development in Fort Mil l, S.C., is larger. It eventually will include six neighborhoods, an industrial park and offices . The project has the potential to transform a slice of Mecklenburg that has remained relatively untouched by a housing boom that has escalated as the county ' s population climbed from 5 1 1 , 4 3 3 in 1 9 90 to 64 4 , 3 3 8 tod ay . Through July of this year, for example, the Home Builders Association of Charlotte says builders were issued permits for 5 , 2 60 single - family houses compared with 4 , 704 during the same period last year and 3 , 702 in 1 9 9 7. Crescent started planning the new golf course and recreation - oriented community 2 - 1 / 2 years ago, primarily on timberland it owns in the lower Steele Creek basin south of N . C . 4 9 to near the S . C . st ate line . Road improvements and utility line extensions associated with such large projects generally open up the area to more home builders and developers . ``The honest truth is, we would like for that land to stay the way it is and not be developed, but we are not naive enough to believe that is a realistic future for our community , ' ' said longtime resident Al Wingate, chairman of the Steele Creek Residents Association's land use committee. Property owners have participated in preliminary discussions with Crescent and are planning a mid - September communitywide meeting. ` `We are optimistic , ' ' Wingate said. ``They already have responded to some of our concerns. What we want from Crescent is the nicest, most environmentally friendly, most neighborhood friendly project it can be - sensitive to our land and our quality of life . ' ' Crescent still must apply for a rezoning, get public water and sewer lines extended through the property and build a north - south connector road from N . C . 4 9 to McKee Road south of Youngblood Road . It also must coordinate work with the state ' s widening of N . C . 4 9 from the Buster Boyd Bridge to Carowinds Boulevard, targeted for completion in fall 2 0 0 2 . Philip Hayes, Crescent's director of land sales, said the company will complete its development plan and file a rezoning application with the Charlotte - Mecklenburg Planning Commission after next month ' s Steele Creek community meeting . As currently zoned, he said, the land could be developed with up to 9, 0 0 0 residences, but Crescent will seek a classification that cuts density to less than half that number. Charlotte-Mecklenburg planners were reluctant to comment before a petition is filed. But, they say, the concept seems consistent with the Southwest Dist rict Plan , w hich calls for low - density clustering of homes, environmental sensitivity to lake edges and drain age, use of public water - sewer instead of septic tanks and abundant open space . Hayes said Crescent will set aside almost 3 5 0 acres - about 1 3 times more than new buffer regulations require - for open space. Including the public - play golf course, whose layout will mesh with the buffers, Evergreen will have 5 5 0 acres of preserved or open spa ce. Residential construction probably won ' t go into full swing before 2 0 0 4 , but the golf course likely will be started earlier. It could open in 2 0 0 1 or 2 0 0 2 . Hayes envisions Evergreen as a collection of ``villages ' ' linked by trails and preservation buffers with a broad range of housing prices and types, including an equestrian community of 1 - 1 / 2 - acre to 2 - 1 / 2 - acre lots where residents can keep horses . Crescent will buy some small parcels needed to complete its plan, coordinate the various phases and oversee development, but it plans to sell tracts to other developers and home builders rather than developing them itself. Developers would have to adhere to Crescent's master plan. Neighborhoods will be integrated with a village center, which will include a grocery store, a drugstore, a day - care center, shops and offices plus sites for an elementary school and an emergency services office. The community is expected to include single - family hous es, luxury golf - course homes, townhomes and possibly apartments on upper floors of the retail village. Also planned are an equestrian center, a soccer center, a tag football field and tennis courts in the woods. Residents will have a choice of four separate trail systems: scenic, bike, fitness and equestrian. Most home sites will be adjacent to the trails, which Crescent expects to link with the county ' s 1 , 0 0 0 - acre McDowell Park on the opposite side of N . C . 4 9. Hayes said Crescent will steer development along ridge lines of the land rather than do extensive grading of lower elevations to preserve the site ' s natural elements and control runoff within the watershed. Evergreen includes only a few slivers of waterfront property and will have no community boatslips or water access facilities. Hayes said Crescent was concerned about contributing to congestion on Lake Wylie. Crescent said an environmental panel consisting of representatives from the Catawba Lands Conservancy , the Carolinas Land Conservation Network and the Sierra Club is monitoring its plans and advising it on the development . Once construction starts, Evergreen likely will take five to seven years to complete .

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