After visiting a North Carolina development on which Londonderry’s Woodmont Commons is to be modeled after, Town Manager Kevin Smith said he is confident the development will be “a huge asset” to the Town.
Smith visited Birkdale Village in Huntersville, N.C., with Planning Board members Rick Brideau and Giovanni Verani.
The group plans to present their findings from the trip at the Planning Board’s Aug. 12 meeting, at which Smith said they will share photos and a slideshow detailing what they learned about the project.
Developer Mike Kettenbach has hired Shook Kelley, Inc., the firm that completed the planned unit development (PUD) models for Birkdale Village, to complete the models for Woodmont Commons.
“It’s a great development,” said Smith, who additionally plans to share with the Planning Board his conversations with the designers and developer to provide insight into their plans for Londonderry.
With no other developments like Birkdale Village in the region, Smith said information gathered through the visit will help planning staff and the Board to more accurately visualize the proposed project.
The Town anticipates Woodmont will present site plans for the first phase of construction sometime this summer.
Smith said Planning Board Chairman Art Rugg and member Mary Soares also volunteered to travel with them to North Carolina on Friday, July 10, but were unable to fit the trip into their schedules.
The expense of the trip is to be paid from the Administrator and Planning Board’s travel budget, which will have to be approved by the Town Council.