Davidson commissioners approve rezoning for potential industrial center along Highway 64
A plan to build a new 272,000-square-foot industrial center in Davidson County along U.S. Highway 64 will move forward after the Davidson County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a request to rezone land where a company wants to build the center.
Three people spoke in opposition to the rezoning request during a public hearing held this week. They presented the commissioners with a petition with several names of people living in the vicinity who oppose the plan, said Scott Leonard, director of the Davidson County Planning and Zoning Department.
The rezoning application submitted by Davidson Craven LLC of Reynolda Village in Winston-Salem asked that 35.05 acres of property currently zoned community shopping district RA-1 be changed to a heavy industrial district.
More: New industrial center may be on the horizon for Highway 64 corridor in Davidson County
The land is currently wooded and has open fields for growing soybeans and corn on the southeast side of New Bowers Road, 150 feet south of the U.S. Highway 64 East intersection with Interstate 85 in the Conrad Hill township. Those who spoke in opposition to the zoning said they did not want to see the loss of farmland going to build a large industrial center that would create traffic issues with tractor-trailers coming from the center on New Bowers Road trying to turn left onto Highway 64, Leonard said.
The land is owned by Dr. Samuel R. Harris, et al., and is being sold to Davidson Craven.
"The (NC) DOT has come up with a traffic improvement plan for this area," Leonard said. "The DOT plans to make this a right turn only area for any large trucks coming from the facility down New Bowers Road trying to turn onto Highway 64. They will create a U-turn area, which will be safer for traffic that needs to turn around and travel in the other direction."
A cement barrier will be placed on Highway 64 in front of New Bowers Road preventing left-hand turns onto Highway 64.
The Davidson County Planning and Zoning Department staff and the Planning and Zoning Board had previously recommended the commissioners approve the rezoning request.
"This section is identified on the Davidson County Land Development Plan as a commercial and industrial center at that intersection" said Lee Crook, assistant planning director and zoning administrator, in an earlier interview with The Dispatch. "The entire Highway 64 area is identified as a growth corridor on the same plan."
The application for rezoning includes drawings showing a 272,000-square-foot warehouse-type building with truck bays located on the land. Leonard said a business that has need for manufacturing space and distribution space will likely be the kind of industry to locate in the building. Davidson Craven has already created advertisements announcing the coming of the center and its availability for leasing, which were included in the rezoning packet presented to the commissioners.
A year ago, Davidson County extended sewer lines on both sides of the highway to encourage commercial and industrial development along the Highway 64 corridor.
Now engineers for the industrial center project will meet with the members of the planning and zoning department staff in February, and a committee, to discuss permitting issues and other aspects needed to begin construction, Leonard said.
Developer Jonathan Smith, who represented Davidson Craven at the public hearing, said they hope to break ground on the project in the spring.
More: Need a COVID test? Here's how to get one sent to your house for free through USPS
Jill Doss-Raines is The Dispatch trending topics and personality profiles senior reporter and is always looking for tips about businesses and entertainment events, secret and new menu items, and interesting people in Davidson County. Contact me at jill.doss-raines@the-dispatch.com and subscribe to us at the-dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Dispatch: Potential industrial center site gets nod from Davidson County commissioners with approved rezoning
