When driving along New Town Road just south of Charlotte in the hamlet of Marvin, have you ever taken the wrong roundabout exit and ended up nowhere? Yeah, me too! I just called that a mini-vacation, wandering down a road that will soon have lovely and expensive new homes. On the right side of Meadowlark Lane will be Jones Homes USA's latest Marvin development, Heritage. Have you seen the dirt moving on New Town Road and the sign? That's it! But what about the left side of Meadowlark? Mixed-Use, baby.
HERITAGE DISTRICT ~ MIXED-USE
There are three sections of Mixed-Use in the Marvin Heritage District (MHD), two on either side of New Town Road and one just east of them. Before you imagine the worst, there are a number of commercial ventures that will clearly not be allowed here. It's evident in the Marvin Development Ordinance that there will be no ABC liquor stores, pawn shops, gas stations, or drive-throughs. But Mixed-Use is so much more. Imaging residential intermingling with commercial. Check out my YouTube real estate video commentary here on this blog post.
WHAT ABOUT COMMERCIAL-ONLY SPACE?
And so much more will make this a very cool commercial district. Two Commercial-Only tracts will be on either side of the Marvin Village Hall's new building. WHAT IS THE CIVIC AREA? The lovely white-frame church known as Banks Presbyterian and the Marvin Campus of the Weddington United Methodist Church lie at the heart of MHD. Plus, the cemetery across from Banks remains as part of this Civic-Subsection. Therein lies the bodies of the two spinsters who caused quite a controversy upon their death and bequeathal of 800 acres to the African-American man whom they raised in their home there.
THE VILLAGE OF MARVIN
Marvin is just a few decades old, yet the vibe is highly-identifiable. In keeping with that, their goal is to build a Village Center that promotes Marvin's Heritage. Everything from having the builder of the 68 homes to create architectural designs that are consistent with existing residential in Marvin. Thank you, Jones Homes USA, for listening to input and working hard to fulfill the vision.
MARVIN HERITAGE VILLAGE
The Ordinance addresses everything from Regulation of Nuisances to Murals and Works of Art in Outdoor Public View. The development requirements for Marvin include guidelines that require commercial and Jones Homes USA's homes to mimic the appearance of existing single-family houses in the area. The Village aims to preserve about 30% of the land as public open space, prioritizes walkability, and regulates allowable commercial uses. Furthermore, the design guidelines are geared towards capturing the rural feeling which has made the Village of Marvin so attractive.