Fairview Drive area to get new apartment complex

A new development of duplexes and/or quadraplexes is planned off Fairview Drive and a nearby apartment complex, Fairview Village, has been sold.

After a recent public hearing, the Lexington City Council approved rezoning approximately nine acres along Fairview Drive and to the south of Fairway Drive for the new development.

The property underwent clear-cutting before being acquired by Biesecker Holdings LLC and will now be developed by Team 21 LLC, a local residential builder.

The property is surrounded by single-family homes to the north, west and east (across Fairview Drive) and is adjacent to the south by a multifamily neighborhood owned by the Lexington Housing Authority, Pleasant Village. Team 21 was approved by the Lexington City Council to build 66 units in a development of duplexes and/or quadraplexes, or a mix of both.

The company had originally planned to develop only half the property with half the number of units with one entrance and exit on Fairview Drive but the Lexington Planning Board/Board of Adjustment rejected that plan primarily due to concerns about traffic congestion on Fairview Drive, an already busy thoroughfare.

The revised plan, which incorporates planning board staff suggestions to address neighbors’ concerns, now incorporates an adjacent parcel, allowing for access points at both Fairview Drive and Domino Drive to increase traffic flow.

The conditional rezoning also calls for impact buffers provided to all other adjacent residentially owned property, landscaping and amenities such as courtyards and areas with grills, seating, swings, play structures and garden areas in at least three areas of the development.

Buildings materials will be limited to vinyl siding, wood siding, fiber cement siding, stone and/or brick accents, metal roofs and asphalt shingle roofs. Several people spoke in opposition to the development at the hearing, with most of the concerns raised about an increase in area traffic.

While the traffic impact study included in the conditional zoning application stated there should not be a significant impact in the area, improvements such as turn lanes might be necessary on Fairview Drive, according to city officials. Jonathan Cochran, manager at Team 21 LLC, said in an interview the company will be required to follow NCDOT guidelines since Fairview Drive is a state-owned road.

“We will work with DOT transportation engineers on traffic control measures for an acceptable safety level,” he said. Cochran said the engineering phase of the site plan will begin soon and a number of tree stumps will need to be removed even though the site appears to be cleared. Other initial steps include getting an erosion control plan in place and a grading permit. “We would love for this to be underway by 2025,’’ Cochran said. The developer said the complex will likely have a mix of apartments ranging from one-bedroom and one-bath units up to three-bedroom and two-bath units. Cochran said the unique tract of land is narrow and abutting other residential housing so they decided to make it a one-story development to blend in with adjoining neighborhoods and keep it from being such a dense development.

Cochran said the development will not be age restricted but he believes there is a need for affordable housing for able-bodied seniors who are downsizing, especially for the smaller units. He said the largest units will likely draw interest from families. “I constantly get calls about the need for senior living but for able- bodied people,” he noted. “So it will be senior friendly.”

Not far down the road, Fairview Village Apartments, at 812 Fairview Drive, was recently purchased by Fairview Lex Acquisition, a New Jersey commercial and residential real-estate developer and affiliate of family-owned Bedrin Organization of Glen Rock, N.J. The seller is Fairview Village Apartments of Howell, N.J.

One of Lexington’s older large apartment complexes, with 120 units, Fairview Village was sold for $14.1 million. The new owner has long been a retail landlord in the Triad, with 10 retail centers in Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point. This is its second apartment community purchase in the region in four months.

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