Concord's next big thing -- a 255-acre community named Christenbury -- is a cooperative effort, conceived in part by the owners of the land, supported by city leaders and embraced by two residential developers from Charlotte.

Family members commissioned a land planner in 2000 to give them a vision of how to transform their acreage off Derita Road , roughly between the Highland Creek residential development and Concord Regional Airport .

"We knew Northlake mall and Interstate 485 were coming, and the growth around Concord Mills, Highland Creek and Lowe's Motor Speedway was changing the whole character of this area," said Ken Christenbury, who runs Christenbury Farms Corp.

The corporation was another example of the family's foresight.

"When my father was head of the corporation close to 30 years ago, he decided it would be better to give away shares to the family rather than break up the land," Christenbury said. Today, the corporation has about 30 family shareholders, he said.

Family members received nearly a dozen offers, but Christenbury said they were determined to attract a sensitive development of mid- to upper-end homes that would save much of the farm's wooded landscape.

Enter Ray Killian Jr. of Killian-Simonini LLC and Tom Waters of Provident Development Group.

To illustrate what they had in mind, Killian showed the Christenburys Heydon Hall, a gated community in south Charlotte where Simonini Builders' houses sell for $500,000 to $1.5 million.

"They wanted to do a nicer community, not one of those mass developments -- that's why we chose them," Christenbury said. "Other people offered us more money, but they wouldn't commit to the type of development we wanted."

About 37 percent of the acreage in Christenbury is to be preserved for nature trails, parkland and a greenway along Clarks Creek.

Killian-Simonini LLC and Provident Development Group acquired 217 acres from Christenbury Farms, plus three other parcels, including a 17-acre commercial tract. They paid an average of about $45,000 an acre for the 255-acre site.

The developers plan a $300 million community of about 470 homes in four villages, plus a 135,000-square-foot neighborhood shopping center anchored by a grocery store.

They expect to start work within 45 days and complete the first houses by next summer.

The first village will be a gated enclave of 117 houses priced from about $500,000 to about $900,000. Simonini Builders will build on 80 percent of the village's lots, and Provident Homes on about 20 percent.

Killian said they plan to name it Christenbury Hall to reinforce the national award-winning Heydon Hall luxury-home brand.

Christenbury's development plan won Concord 's support at a time when the city and Cabarrus County are trying to slow rapid residential growth.

Cabarrus issued 2,022 building permits last year, up 10 percent from 2003. In June, the county lifted a six-month moratorium on new subdivisions.

Both Concord and Cabarrus have revised development guidelines to make subdivisions less dense, alleviating enrollment pressure on schools and encouraging more high-end homes on larger lots.

Elected officials believe expensive homes like those planned in Christenbury will help offset a surge in demand for lower-cost homes and generate higher property tax revenues.

The Concord City Council approved annexing and rezoning the Christenbury acreage in February. Also, the city will provide water and sewer service.

"You get what you expect," said Concord Mayor Scott Padgett. "If we set our standards higher, we will get better quality development -- these gentlemen recognized that ... That's what they wanted to do."

Christenbury's gated community -- a first for Concord -- is ahead of the city's policy on such housing, which is awaiting final approval by the council.

Having upper end homes so close to Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord Regional Airport and a large concentration of NASCAR racing teams could precipitate more corporate office development in the area, Padgett said.

Christenbury Farms is prepared for that, too.

Its master plan envisions that the family's remaining 200 acres of farmland likely will be developed as mixed-use with substantial office and commercial space.

How quickly that occurs will be up to the Christenburys and when they decide to sell, the mayor said.

Said Ken Christenbury: "We do have some land ... under contract ... we haven't seen a plan, but we've been told they're talking about a Target, a CVS and a Lowes Foods."

Christenbury Parkway

The N.C. Department of Transportation and property owners are cooperating to build Christenbury Parkway -- the main entrance to the new community.

The parkway -- an extension of Concord Mills Boulevard beyond Derita Road -- will give neighboring Highland Creek residents easier access to Interstate 85.

That project is one of several planned improvements to the transportation network around Christenbury and Highland Creek. Doug

Smith

Got, Alotta, Charlotte!

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