🏘 Rezoning Request for New Townhomes

South Oak Partners, a Charlotte-based developer, is requesting a rezoning in the City Center area of Bessemer City to build a 19-unit, three-story brick townhome development.

What's next: City leaders held a public hearing July 8 to hear arguments in favor for and against the rezoning, which they could vote on later this month. 

The development, which will take up a little less than one acre of land on the corner of East Pennsylvania Avenue and South 8th Street, comes with road improvements at the intersection including new sidewalks, rear-loaded two-car garages for each 1700-sqare-foot unit, and brick finish on the outside to compliment the Osage Mill Development, Nathan Hester, the city’s development services director, said at the public hearing. 

What they're saying: Josh Ross, the city manager for Bessemer City, said in a recent interview that while concerns for the city’s schools are more influenced by the district and county’s plans for accommodating future growth, the townhomes are expected to host a mixture of different types of families.

Yes, and: The roads in Bessemer City are a grid system, which helps mitigate potential traffic issues. A water and sewer master plan completed by the city two years ago included a study that leads city leaders to believe the development will not have a negative impact.  

• According to Ross, the development is part of a bigger plan to bring dense development to the city’s center to accommodate future growth. 

• City Council will vote on whether to grant the rezoning at a work session July 30.