By Mark Wineka

Salisbury Post

CHINA GROVE — Castle & Cooke, developers of the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, expects to close next week on the purchase of 184 acres off Shue Road.

The land eventually will be a single-family housing development of 225 to 270 lots, according to Anthony Sparrow, vice president of residential development for Castle & Cooke.

It aims at complementing the residential units Castle & Cooke plans on the research campus and around the Kannapolis Country Club, whose golf course is under a major redesign and renovation.

Sparrow said homes in the Shue Road development probably would have a mid-level price range from $300,000 to $500,000.

The number of houses will depend on the best fit of lots on the land, he said, describing it as a beautiful piece of property.

Sparrow estimated that 60 to 65 percent of the tract is wooded, with the rest in pasture, including a creek.

No definite timetable exists yet for the property’s development. Sparrow said it will depend on market assessments “and everything else we’re doing” on the campus and at the country club.

Considerable planning for the site and approvals from China Grove are necessary before any kind of construction begins, Sparrow noted.

Multiple builders will be involved in the project once it gets under way, Sparrow said.

The property in question was annexed by China Grove in 2005, and the homes will rely on water and sewer services from the town, Sparrow said.

China Grove Properties LLC, represented by Quincy Cummings, owns two large tracts off Shue and Collins roads expected to be part of the development. China Grove Properties had planned a 300-unit subdivision before Castle & Cooke became interested in the area.

Castle & Cooke has hired Love Golf Design and professional golfer Davis Love III to redesign the Kannapolis Country Club course. Plans call for 585 high-end homes, ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million to be built around the golf course.

The company also plans to build some 275 town homes and condominiums on the former Pillowtex Plant No. 4 site, which is part of the 350-acre biotech research campus. Those units will range in price from $100,000 to $400,000.

The overall campus plan also calls for apartments above new retail stores and housing units elsewhere on the campus site.

For now, much of Sparrow’s attention has focused on the Country Club project, which will sign on 15 to 20 builders later this year. The first lot could be drawn this summer, with houses going up by 2008.

Construction of the first Plant No. 4 units could start this spring and be ready for occupancy by the end of the year.

Both the country club and Shue Road sites are in Rowan County.

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263, or mwineka@salisburypost.com.