The City of Kannapolis is seeking qualified development partners for the redevelopment of the City owned Block Six Property in the heart of downtown on West Avenue. The block is currently the home of Lee Clothing and the temporary home of the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Team Offices. It is adjacent to the Swanee Theatre and near Atrium Health Ballpark, across the street from the VIDA Apartments and two blocks south of the North Carolina Research Campus.
The City’s goal is that this 2.68 acre site develops as a mix of multifamily residential rental units, ground floor commercial space and structured parking to support the development program and that this development integrates into the existing downtown businesses, educational, entertainment, government and cultural uses in the area.
The City is seeking experienced private development companies to submit their qualifications by January 19, 2024. The qualification proposals will be reviewed by City of Kannapolis staff and the Development Finance Initiative (DFI), a program of the UNC School of Government. Qualified development groups will then be invited to participate in a request for development proposals which will be presented to the Kannapolis City Council.
“We continue our focus on downtown revitalization, and we are prioritizing sewer capacity allocation to projects such as Block 6, creating an opportunity for this block to be developed much faster than other parts of the City. We invite developers to express their interest in submitting a proposal for an urban product integral to the growth of our downtown,” commented Kannapolis City Manager Mike Legg.
Since 2015, the City of Kannapolis has invested over $120 million in supporting the revitalization of downtown, which includes infrastructure improvements, construction of the West Avenue linear park and streetscape and the Atrium Health Ballpark (the new home of the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers) and a parking deck in the VIDA Mixed Use District. Renovations to the historic Gem Theatre are also underway.
Details on the RFQ can be found here.
For more information contact Eric Thomas, with the Development Finance Initiative, at ethomas@sog.unc.edu. The deadline for developer qualification responses is January 19, 2024.