The urban living trend has spread to Matthews, where developers plan to start the town's first high-density downtown housing project by early this winter.

The Downtown Group plans 36 townhomes and 24 business/residential condos in Park Square, to be built on slightly more than four acres at 316 E. John St., across from the post office.

Neotraditional development, which mixes housing, shops, services and restaurants in pedestrian-friendly communities similar to old-time small towns, is a hot trend in real estate.

Developers often start from scratch in combining retail and residential in projects like Birkdale Village in Huntersville and Phillips Place in SouthPark.

But in Matthews, a 22,127-population town in southeast Mecklenburg, many shops, restaurants and other amenities are in place and within easy walking distance of the Park Square site.

Matthews Mayor Lee Myers said the town worked closely with the developers on the design of the project during the rezoning process.

"If you had asked me 10 years ago if we'd ever be doing anything like this, I would have said no," Myers said. "But there are a lot of pluses here -- at this location I think it works."

Some nearby residents protested the rezoning, but Matthews officials say the high-density housing will be consistent with the town's development master plan.

Myers believes more people living downtown could enhance the Matthews Station mixed-used project in the heart of town and perhaps help attract a specialty grocery store.

Real estate analyst Frank Warren of Frank Warren Associates said much of what happens next in downtown Matthews' residential development probably will be determined by where mass transit stations ultimately are built.

"I don't see a flood of activity," he said. "The development sites are going to be limited, and I'm not sure the town wants to be a mecca of high-density housing."

Park Square's developers opened a sales center in a two-bedroom house that will be moved from the site before condo construction begins.

"We think the exciting thing about this is people can own a piece of downtown Matthews, something that hasn't been available to the general public before," said Tim Crawford of Citiline.

His company is a partner in The Downtown Group with real estate investor/developer Curtis Kennington.

The most visible building from John Street will be a two-story masonry structure designed to mesh architecturally with downtown storefronts.

Second-floor residential condos will have recessed balconies, and first-floor business condos will have recessed entrances. Upstairs units can be combined with downstairs units to create a live-work condo.

Prices for a residential condo start at $113,990 for 1,018 square feet. A 1,018-square-foot business condo in the same building will sell for $157,990.

Two-story townhomes will be built around a landscaped park-like area. Prices start at $116,990 for a 1,152-square-foot unit.

Reinhardt Architecture Inc. designed the buildings and worked with Mayflower Design Studio on the landscape planning.

Crawford said Emma Littlejohn of The Littlejohn Group assisted with marketing, and Allen Tate Realtors' Matthews office is handling residential sales. Citiline will handle business condo sales. The Downtown Group is negotiating with Maleady Builders Inc. to construct the buildings.

The developers control the four acres needed for the $9 million project, but they haven't purchased it. They plan to close in December on about 40 percent of the land.