Auburn development takes first step toward reality

Developers reached the first step toward a 225-acre residential development and shopping center becoming a reality when the Auburn Planning Commission approved the annexation and rezoning of the property at Thursday’s meeting.

The Auburn City Council still must vote to annex and rezone the property.

The residential development, Cary Creek, and the shopping center, The Shoppes at Cary Creek, will be on the northeast side of the intersection of North College Street and East University Drive.

The shopping center, which will be the first phase of the project, will include a grocery store, retail stores and office space — a 3- to 5-year project, developer Charles Pick said. Later, single- and multi-family residences will be built, probably on a 10-year scale, he said.

“Cary Creek is a legacy project for us,” Pick said. “Our goal is to make this development an asset to the north Auburn community and a success for the entire city.”

Some residents who spoke at the meeting said they were concerned about whether their property might be impacted and which stores might locate in the shops.

Others said they were glad the developers planned to protect creeks on the land and preserve old hardwood trees nearby.

Commission Chairwoman Brenda Rawls and commission member Emily Sparrow both thanked Pick for requesting annexation of all the land at one time. In a separate issue, at Tuesday’s city council meeting, the council annexed land for a residential development, but the developer didn’t request all the potentially developed land be annexed simultaneously.

The planning commission also approved rezoning the Pick property from residential to commercial zoning and approved commercial use for the land. The city council must vote on the requests.