Kannapolis CBAH Site - Prosperity Ridge

Location: Kannapolis, Cabarrus County (Prosperity Ridge Site)

CDC Partner: Prosperity Unlimited CDC

Land Trust Partner: Land Trust for Central North Carolina

Site Description: Prosperity Unlimited currently owns a six-acre site, which was formerly a family farm. The site has gently sloping elevations throughout and is mostly open space, although there are a few stands of old hardwoods located on the property.

Challenges: Because of the site’s sloping landscape, the CDC could incur significant infrastructure and grading expenses. Prosperity Unlimited would also like to preserve the hardwoods, if possible. Proximity to Lake Fisher adds additional development constraints, limiting the number and density of lots allowed on the property. The City of Kannapolis is also under extreme growth pressure due to its proximity to the City of Charlotte and the future Biotechnology Center to be located in Kannapolis.

Solution: The pictures below show both the initial subdivision design created by an engineering firm (left), and a later design created by Randall Arendt, a renowned landscape architect (right). The engineer-drawn design preserved minimal open space (only a small flag lot of open space was planned, accessible by only a few homeowners), planned for the removal of the hardwoods, and disregarded much of the sloping landscape (which would have required shifting large amount of earth at great expense).

Arendt’s design has only one less lot, but produces a higher-quality subdivision, preserves much more open space, and, because of reduced grading and infrastructure costs, represents a cost-savings to the developer. Prosperity Unlimited estimates that Arendt’s design will save $13,000 per lot (compared to the original engineer-drawn design) due to the narrower street widths and reduced grading costs.

Update: Since Randall Arendt’s initial conservation plan was created, Prosperity Unlimited has gained site control of an additional 25 acres that connect to these original six acres. Louise Mack, executive director of Prosperity Unlimited, was so pleased with Arendt’s original design that she asked him to create another plan for the entire property. Using the design below, the CDC will break ground later this year on “Prosperity Ridge.”