The Village, an upscale, mixed-use, high-density project that is expected to change the face of downtown Fayetteville, is ready for the next step in a process that began early this year.

“I can't believe we're finally here,” said developer Bob Rolader before unveiling several color renderings during a Planning Commission work session last week.

Following a three-month series of meetings between developers, elected and appointed city officials, City Council last April approved a general concept for 203 homes plus offices, a retail square, parks and a hotel on the 110-acre McElwaney property, on Ga. Highway 54 west near the Courthouse Square.

Now, after five months of detailed engineering work “to make sure the plan we had designed on paper would work on the ground,” developer Bob Rolader is asking for zoning that will match the design concept. The city Planning Commission will consider his request for PCD (Planned Community Development) zoning during its business meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

But first, the commission will consider whether to recommend creation of the PCD zoning category. It currently doesn't exist (see related story).

If the category is created and then attached to Rolader's project, it will pave the way for a neo-traditional community designed to offer “a live-work environment,” Rolader said.

When the project is built out, possibly ten to 15 years from now, west-bound travelers leaving Fayetteville will pass a hotel/conference center on the corner of Hwy. 54 and Tiger Trail, nestled in an existing pecan grove and designed to save many of the trees. Next will come an entrance into the project, a right turn that will open onto a commercial square lined with small businesses.

“It will be sort of like the Courthouse Square, only without the courthouse in it,” said Rolader. Restaurants, shops, possibly a small grocery... all are expected to serve primarily the residents of the community, Rolader said, to cut down on traffic.

Farther in, north of the square, the shops will give way to a series of neighborhoods, also arranged to face small squares, parks that will be maintained by the homeowners associations. Sidewalks and trees will line the narrow streets, contributing to what Rolader calls “that `Leave it to Beaver' look and feel.”

Garages will be tucked away on the sides and rears of houses, often faced onto service alleyways. “We're trying to have everything where we don't get the garage in your face,” said Rolader.

Closest to the shops and to the northeast of the property along Tiger Trail will be 30 attached “Charleston-style” condominiums, as small as 1,200 square feet and selling for a minimum of $150,000.

Toward the center will be 75 “village” lots, about 45 by 120 feet with detached homes of about 1,850 square feet, starting around $175,000.

To the northwest, 76 cottage lots will be about 55 by 120 feet, homes will be about 2,250 square feet and will start at $200,000.

In the northwestern corner of the property, the most wooded part, 22 “estate” lots, about 70 by 120 feet, will be occupied by 3,000-sq. ft. homes starting at $250,000. Restrictive covenants will prohibit the cutting of trees at the rear of these lots, Rolader said, but Planning Commission members suggested the wooded portion be deeded to the homeowners association, for added protection.

Farther west on 54, an additional entrance into the development will be a parkway, winding through small offices and larger campus-style office, then looping past the estate homes, turning east through the other neighborhoods before exiting on Tiger Trail.

Small offices will be geared toward professionals, and it's hoped that many of them will live in the community, Rolader said.

The larger offices at the southwest corner of the property are aimed at attracting corporate relocation, he added.

Drainage questions involving two creeks that run through the property have been worked out, said Rolader, who added he is in the process of negotiating a detailed development agreement with the city.

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