news-record.com

A developer’s plan to increase a planned apartment complex on Hedgecock Road from 18 to 24 units was stopped in its tracks Monday night after the High Point City Council unanimously denied the request.

Hedgecock Road LLC already has a permit to build 18 units on the 2.6 acre property but would like to increase the development to 24 units.

Brian Craven, manager of the LLC, said increasing the number of units would allow the developer to create a higher quality product for the area because more rent will help pay for the cost. Instead of vinyl siding, buildings in the development would have a stone veneer or brick facade. They also would have enclosed balconies, which would increase the square footage of the apartments, allowing the developer to increase the rent.

A neighbor asked why the developer couldn’t just increase the quality of the products used in the 18-unit complex and still raise rent.

Residents from nearby subdivisions, made up mostly of single-family homes, twin homes and town homes, said a three-story apartment building would not fit in with the surrounding neighborhood and would decrease the value of their properties, long-term investments they defended with protest petitions, pictures of the neighborhood and testimony from residents and one property manager.

The council voted against the rezoning because it did not fit the city’s land-use plan for the Northeast Davidson area and would not create a smooth transition from single-family homes to the apartment complex.