CHINA GROVE — Northern China Grove continues to see booming growth as a new 364-lot subdivision was approved by the town council Tuesday.

The subdivision will be called Noah’s Run and on property that sits between Shue and Collins roads. Grants Creek bounds it to the north.

The subdivision is comprised of two parcels totaling 176 acres already within the town limits. It includes a variety of lot sizes and home types and is currently in an expired conditional-use rezoning district with no approved uses.

In 2005, a conditional use rezoning for the parcels was approved, but development has yet to come to fruition. In 2020, a request for a rezone was made but ultimately denied.

According to the latest request, the new subdivision features plans for 112 townhomes, 69 50-foot lots, 168 60-foot lots and 15 70-five-foot lots. The max density would be 18 units per acre, with an average density of slightly more than two units per acre.

The China Grove Land Use Plan cites this property in the rural residential category. According to the land use plan, rural-residential districts are designed for “residential purposes that preserve the existing rural character while offering larger lots.”

Amended zoning would put the parcels into a mixed-residential district, permitting higher-density residential areas to provide a mix of housing types.

Andrew McDonald, a market partner with True Homes, the company set to develop the property, indicated that while the plans include a combination of single-family lots and townhouse units, the higher-density spaces would be confined to internal corridors of the property. Any development visible from the main roadways in China Grove would be single-family lots.

The neighborhood will have two entrances along Shue Road, and then Collins Road will be extended into the neighborhood.

The same team that will design Noah’s Run is currently developing the Kensington project, a 174-home project adjacent to the property to the south. Collins Road, which services the Kensington project, will eventually be extended into Noah’s Run.

Any school-aged children in the subdivision will attend China Grove Elementary and Middle schools and Carson High School.

Utilities will be serviced by Salisbury-Rowan Utilities, with infrastructure installed by the developer.

True Homes offers a Community Hero Homes program to support the upward mobility of local, community-serving professionals such as healthcare workers, police officers, firefighters and teachers.

McDonald indicated the intention to reserve 10 homes in the new community for that purpose. During the meeting, that number was increased to 15 to make way for five additional homes for veterans.

When the China Grove Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend the requested rezoning, several conditions were established, including a prohibition on vinyl siding for single-family homes, usable rear yards, and a pedestrian connection to Kensington.

Any lots that featured elevation changes of eight feet or more were required to be at least 60-foot lots to prevent formations of steep slopes.

During the public hearing segment of the meeting, a few residents expressed skepticism about China Grove’s current infrastructure capacity, namely police, roadways and schools, to handle so many new residents and school-aged children.

A centralized county entity maintains schools in Rowan County, but the budget China Grove approved on Tuesday allocated additional funding for the police, fire and public works departments.

The name Noah’s Run is a tribute to an early postmaster in the area named Noah Partee. McDonald said that they wanted the community’s name to pay homage to the area’s history.