Town board votes ‘no’ on Huntersville Birkdale Village project

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — A much-debated plan for additional development at Birkdale Village in Huntersville failed after a vote by the town board on Monday night.

Board members voted 4-2 against a rezoning plan that would’ve paved the way for additional office space, stores and parking at the popular community hub off Sam Furr Road.

North American Properties was hoping to develop a 110-foot building with 150,000 square feet of office space, 25,000 square feet of street-level retail space and 450 parking spots.

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A representative for the developer told Channel 9′s Joe Bruno that he believes the city will come to regret voting down the proposal.

“It was good for traffic. It created a parking solution. It created an aesthetic many people liked. Created new jobs, small businesses,” said Tim Perry, senior vice president of North American Properties.

For months, a vocal group of concerned Huntersville residents opposed the plan. They took issue with the project’s proposed height, as well as the expected rise in traffic.

“Those are people who are clearly against what Huntersville needs most,” Perry said.

Those opponents were rejoicing on Monday night. They took to the podium one at a time ahead of the vote to have their voices hear.

“Once the buildings are built skyscraper height … it is going to be New York City,” said resident Kim DiBenedictis.

Another resident compared it to when Coca-Cola changed the recipe for Coke.

“People discovered they didn’t want bigger, they didn’t want better,” Isidore Zarsdias said. “They wanted the original recipe. They wanted to nostalgia. They wanted what we have in Birkdale Village.”

The Huntersville planning board had previously voted against the proposal, as well.

As for the future of Birkdale Village, Perry told Channel 9 it is back to the drawing board.

(WATCH BELOW: Developers scaling back expansion plans for Birkdale Village)