SPRING LAKE — The Spring Lake Board of Aldermen on Monday approved requests for a 120-home neighborhood, a six-unit townhome complex, a new day care center and a Starbucks cafe on Monday.
The new subdivision, Caelin Farms, will be located off Odell Road and be built in three phases.
The conditional zoning for the 120-unit neighborhood was approved in 2021, but the two-year preliminary plan was set to expire next month. All infrastructure including roads are in place.
“Once they get the final plat approval, they can start building Phase 1,” said Christopher Portman, Cumberland County senior planner.
The neighborhood is being built by Stafford Land Co. of Southern Pines. Owner Bob Stafford, who attended Monday’s meeting, said the company hopes to start building the first 15 homes within 30 days.
Another development conditionally approved on Monday night is a six-unit townhome complex that will be built off Chapel Hill Road. The project was proposed by Alternative Investment Holdings.
A new day care center on Ziglar Circle off N.C. 87 was approved under the new land use plan, which was adopted last year, that calls for commercial development at this location.
And Starbucks will have a new home in Spring Lake.
“We have worked long and hard with Starbucks, with Walgreens and Skyland Shopping Center. I think Starbucks is pleased with the site,” said George Rose, the site engineer for the project.
Rose said Starbucks will have a drive-thru and an eat-in cafe.
Alderman Raul Palacios said he is concerned about a possible saturation of coffee shops because three others are in close proximity, but he welcomes new development. Other coffee shops within three blocks include 7Brew Drive Thru, Morning Jump Coffee and Dunkin’, which plans to open in September.
“We have 50-60,000 people passing through there every day. Starbucks has its own crowd; 7 Brew has its own crowd; Dunkin’ has its own crowd. We thought we’d have a problem with Morning Jump when 7 Brew came, but Morning Jump’s line is still wrapped around the corner every morning because they offer specialty coffees, and specialty coffees cater to a specialty crowd. I don’t think one will impede the other. It’s providing another opportunity,” said Mayor Kia Anthony.
The Starbucks request was approved unanimously.
Parks board representation
In other news, Alderman Marvin Lackman reported that the Spring Lake Matters cleanups have yielded 3,030 pounds of trash collected by 43 volunteers this year, including Lackman, Alderwoman Adrian Thompson, Mayor Pro Tem Robyn Chadwick and Alderman Raul Palacios.
Lackman said at an Aug. 5 cleanup at Mendoza Park, he and other volunteers spent more than two hours weeding a sanded area of the playground so that children could play there.
“Fayetteville-Cumberland County Parks & Recreation needs to step it up. We talked about Spring Lake having representation on that board, and my name is now in that hat,” said Lackman.
The Spring Lake Parks and Recreation Department transitioned to oversight by Fayetteville-Cumberland County in 2022. The board asked to have a seat on the advisory committee at that time.
After the meeting, Lackman said that request has not yet been fulfilled.
“When this partnership came up almost two years ago, our parks were in desperate need of attention, whether it be new equipment or grounds maintenance. They still are in need. We have yet to see any significant changes,” Lackman said. “But cleaning the park is an easy way to beautify the park for our residents and children. After we finished weeding the play area, a woman brought her two children to play, and it warmed my heart. This was not an expensive endeavor, just a little time.”
The board went into closed session for 40 minutes to discuss matters of personnel and attorney-client privilege. It returned with no action taken.
The next board meeting will be at 6 p.m. Aug. 28 in the Grady Howard Conference Room at Spring Lake Town Hall.
