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Research Commerce Park set for Lane Street
Contributed photo
An artist's rendering of building design in the planned Research Commerce Park, slated for land around Lake Fisher off Lane Street in Kannapolis.
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Published: November 1, 2009
KANNAPOLIS — A new commercial park planned for Lane Street in Kannapolis is back.
The Research Commerce Park, slated for 35 acres on Lake Fisher right off Interstate 85, will be an eastern gateway into the city and the North Carolina Research Campus.
What started out as plans for a high-end residential and commercial area along the lake has evolved into a LEED-certified commercial park, with hotels and medical office space, on Kannapolis' eastern end.
The city has targeted Exit 63 as prime area for development, since it is the first exit to Kannapolis on southbound I-85. Along with Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium, CMC-NorthEast has slated a healthplex, CMC-Kannapolis, for the land where Lane Street Church of God currently sits.
Infrastructure installation for the commercial park should begin sometime early in 2010, said lead developer Doug Ehmann.
Plans for a development on Lake Fisher have been in the works for about three years now, but the economic downturn put those plans on hold. It took a partnership with the City of Concord, the City of Kannapolis and the LandTrust of Central North Carolina to get back on track.
For Ehmann, moving forward with the project — and especially a green project — is personally gratifying, he said.
"We thought we would go all green and make it eco-friendly," Ehmann said. "There will be three rain gardens and a bio-retention pond so all the runoff is collected."
Once in the retention pond, the ground will filter the water and release it into Lake Fisher.
"The water will be cleaner than what is in the lake," Ehmann said.
Ehmann designed the master plan for Fisher Lake Farms about three years ago. The development at that time was supposed to be a high-end mixed-use complex constructed in a French villa architecture style. It included a gated community, a hotel, retail space and a convenience store.
But the economy put a halt to the residential side, Ehmann said. The new development still has the retail space and a couple of hotels on the master plan, but the interior of the property will have medical office space instead of houses.
"It will be an alternative for companies that want to be close to the research campus, but don't quite fit there," Ehmann said.
While looking at other options for Fisher Lake Farms, Ehmann brought on board Anthony Sparrow, the residential development chief for Castle & Cooke North Carolina and oversaw the development of Irish Creek.
When he left, Ehmann contacted Sparrow about this project.
"This is a great project because it brings together two cities and a developer to make something good," Sparrow said. "It's a positive for everyone."
For the next year, Ehmann and Sparrow worked with the cities of Concord and Kannapolis on the new development. Because Lake Fisher is Concord's reservoir, there were watershed easements that protected the lake. Ehmann traded Concord some land, and put the rest of it in a land trust to preserve it for the future.
"That way, if a new city council comes along, they can't develop the land around the lake," Ehmann said.
No contracts have been signed yet, Ehmann said, but he is in talks with potential tenants.
This is the latest development to gain traction in Kannapolis in the bad economy. Kellswater Bridge LLC is moving forward with Kellswater Commons, the commercial part of the planned community on Kannapolis Parkway and Rogers Lake Road.
Contact Web reporter Ben McNeely: 704-789-9131
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