Southlake

Development Coming To The South Side

                Residents on the south side of the Lake have long watched in envy as commercial development boomed at Westlake Corner. Over the past 10 years, they’ve seen grocery stores, fast food chains, banks and other businesses flood Westlake, bringing with them the conveniences that make life at the Lake a little less remote.

                Now, a group of local developers is working to bring some of those same amenities to the south side by building Southlake Towne Center off Route 40 in Union Hall. In 2005, Southlake Towne Center Partners, LLC, an affiliate of The Resource Companies, purchased an 85-acre tract of land for development. Jack Mergner, president of The Resource Companies, together with Ron Willard, Sr. and C. Douglas Dalton, Jr. are collaborating on the project with plans to develop 23 of the 85 acres. The commercial center will have a high-end look similar to Westlake Towne Center, including arched entryways and brick veneer, Mergner said.

                The Franklin County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors approved the plan last year and a traffic impact study has been completed. The project may include a traffic light at the intersection of Rt. 40 and Rt. 945, across from the Whistle Stop convenience store.

                Mergner said he and his partners are in “active discussions” with numerous grocery store chains, one of which will anchor 35,000-40,000 square feet of space. He’s also courting restaurants and other complimentary businesses for roughly 50,000 additional square feet of office space. Site grading and infrastructure work is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2006 for construction of the first building, which will house a branch office of Prudential Waterfront Properties. Larry Heaton, president of Franklin Community Bank, said he is also considering the site to open a third branch office.

                “We’ve had a lot of interest and inquiries from a wide range of businesses,” Mergner said, which is good news to residents in communities such as The Water’s Edge, Contentment Island, Pelican Point, Land’s End and Vista Point.

                Jo Powell, who has lived at The Water’s Edge for more than nine years, said she welcomed the development. She generally drives 30 minutes to Rocky Mount, Gretna or Westlake to shop.

                “It’s always a trip and you have to do everything while you’re out because you have to go so far,” Powell said, noting that she hopes commercial development will remain modest. “Sometimes when I’m at Westlake and sitting in all the traffic I think, ‘Be careful what you wish for.”