City council grants approval to major Centerpoint development

WILMINGTON -- Another major development on Military Cutoff Road has been given the city council's stamp of approval.

Centerpoint, which went before the city council Tuesday with rezoning and special use permit requests, is one of four developments to snag land on the busy roadway.

The $250-million project, being developed by Swain & Associates, includes a 200-room hotel, 300 apartments, parking decks, retail, restaurants, offices and a 75,000-square-foot medical services building. It will also feature a man-made creek and pedestrian walking trail.

The council's unanimous vote rezones the 23-acre property, which is mostly residential since being annexed by the city in 1998, to urban-mixed use. The special use permit enables developers to build up to 75 feet high; without the permit, the maximum height would be 55 feet. CenterPoint’s tallest planned buildings are the 75-foot hotel and the 68-foot residential building.

Swain president David Swain expressed the immense undertaking and sprawl of the project in his comments to the council.

“I am confident it will change the face of retail environment in our community, it will set the stage for the next generation of development and I am convinced it will define the type of first-class quality projects that we want in our community,” he said.

Swain, along with collaborators and Wilmington Planning Commission members Richard Collier and Bruce Bowman, gave a more than one-hour detailed presentation of the project's ins and outs for council.

The center would have access points at Eastwood Road, Calypso Drive (including one proposed connection with Mayfaire Town Center), and Military Cutoff Road and Drysdale Drive.

Concerns about the burden on the latter roadway have been a big talking point through the development. A traffic impact analysis found CenterPoint would generate 20,865 two-way car trips per day, and increase delays at Cavalier Drive by 186 percent.

But Collier said Swain is making sure traffic concerns are eased in the planning process, including a commitment to not begin construction on Centerpoint until the N.C. Department of Transportation begins scheduled four-lane improvements on Drysdale.

"We focused our project on resolving the traffic before we ever get here," Collier said.

Swain said his company met with multiple community stakeholders, including the Eastport and Landfall communities.

The meetings and concessions made prior to Tuesday's meeting had an impact, as only one person spoke in opposition to the project.

Two people spoke in favor of the development, including Nicole Cook with Cambridge Village, the 228-unit residential community that butts up against the Centerpoint's property.

"It is important to us to have quality neighbors that will complement the residents and meets their ability to function so we are in favor," she said.

Reporter Hunter Ingram can be reached at 910-343-2327 or Hunter.Ingram@StarNewsOnline.com.