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Boone grows up: proposal made for new mixed-use development |
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Tuesday, 07 November 2006 |
by LILLIAN HOGAN
News Editor
Boone could be the next Asheville. Well, sort of.
A mixed-use development including Barnes & Noble, Starbucks Café,
FedEx Kinkos, a restaurant, a four-level 428-space subterranean parking
structure, 110 affordable housing units and a University Club for
faculty, alumni and guests to dine has been proposed for Boone.
J. Douglas Gale, president of Gale Financial Market Econometrics in Creston, N.C., is heading the project.
 Active Image | Garrett Price | The Appalachian
Alpine Restoration is one of three properties J. Douglas Gale plans to purchase for the mixed-use development on West King Street.
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The proposal, dubbed Kraut Creek Development, is estimated at $51 million.
The structure is suggested for the 2.2 acres of land at the junction of
Poplar Grove Connector, West King and Rivers streets across from
Watauga County Health Services Department.
The area is currently divided into three properties: the old Coleman
Tobacco property, Austin’s City Limits and Alpine Restoration.
The properties are currently in escrow under a definitive agreement and are to be purchased by Gale for $1.24 million.
Kraut Creek runs through the property. Gale is proposing a walkway along the creek.
The development will give “particular attention to water reclamation
and landscape beautification for public enjoyment,” Gale said.
Junior community and regional planning major Aaron C. Baggarly said he
has “a hard time believing that this proposed development will happen.”
Baggarly said the lot does not have the space to build everything Gale proposes.
“If he were to scale his ideas down to a realistic approach, then I would be more in favor of his ideas,” he said.
Gale and Versar, Inc., an architectural/engineering/general contracting
company, began market, engineering, financial and traffic studies Oct.
26. The survey is expected to take about two months to complete.
After information is gathered and zoning issues are resolved, Gale will
host a public forum to receive input from the community and local
government agencies.
Gale hopes to obtain a use permit in March 2007 and commence construction in April 2007.
Gale said Boone’s continued growth outlook, especially with Appalachian
State University’s enrollment expected to swell by 25 percent in three
to five years, is a good reason why this development is needed.
“Such a planned development would complement Boone’s downtown character
and upgrade the eyesore that currently exists,” Gale said.
Baggarly said, “The chain businesses [Gale] wants to bring into his
mixed use development are great stores, but Boone is not really the
market for these companies.”
Director of Downtown Boone Development Association Tuesdae K. Rice said
she has met with Gale about the project and is “very enthusiastic about
the proposal.”
“Smart development is an advantage not only to ASU, but also to people who live in and visit the town,” she said.
Town of Boone Planning Supervisor George Cole said no one has contacted
the Boone Area Planning Commission about the Kraut Creek Development
project yet.
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