The estimated $1-billion undertaking will take an estimated four years to complete. Instead of a segregated office park, shopping center, subdivision and residential complex, Ayrsley will be a large urban village with residences above stores, offices next door to restaurants, sidewalks and pocket parks, all linked in a pedestrian-friendly environment.

The project's dense nature would allow more homes, stores and offices to fit in a much smaller area. The 10-story to 12-story hotels would be the tallest buildings. There would be no single-family homes, townhouses, apartment buildings or lofts. Hodges hopes the project will attract young professionals and technology workers.

Ayrsley will have two hotels, 280,000 sf of shops and restaurants, 1.3 million sf of office space, 1,600 homes and possibly a movie complex. The project needs city approval before breaking ground.

In a published report, Hodges calls the project unique because of its location in Charlotte's second-largest employment area outside of uptown. Fifty thousand people currently work in southwest Charlotte.

The area itself is undergoing rapid change driven by the improving I-485 that will connect southwest Charlotte more closely to Interstate 85 and the airport. Also, Microsoft is moving its East Coast production support center to the area.

Architect Tom Low of Duany's firm says in a published report that Ayrsley will be a satellite town, much like Cambridge is to Boston, instead of the office tower/parking lot fringe cities that surround Atlanta. Low calls the Ayrsley project a test for how well Charlotte's suburban-oriented design rules and street regulations can deal with new urbanist development.

Ayrsley is not the largest project under way in the Charlotte area. Others are Clear Springs in Fort Mill, SC, a 6,200-acre mixed-use project; Ballantyne in south Charlotte, a 2,000-acre mixed-use project; and Gateway Village, a 15-acre mixed-use development Uptown.

Instant Insights /

Area's First Duany-Designed Urban Village Plans Spring Ground-breaking in Southwest Sector

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