Mount Airy’s Greentree Village development project moves forward

The Greentree Village development project is moving forward in Mount Airy, with construction of 39 townhouses, 16 villas and five single-family homes on a 12.67-acre property at North Main Street and Candice Drive in Carroll County, likely to begin within three years, said John Breeding, the town’s director of planning and zoning administrator.

The townhouses will be constructed in groups of five or six, with every other unit set back two feet. Villas, which are slightly wider versions of townhouses, will be constructed in groups of four. Single-family homes, villas, and some townhouses will include four-car attached garages, while other townhouses will have three-car garages, according to planning documents.

About 165 people are expected to live in Greentree Village once it is complete.

Plans include a 1.7-acre park for residents of Greentree Village, including a combined pickleball court with a basketball hoop and a playground. The development will be connected via a pedestrian trail to the Summit Ridge and Sterling Glen residential subdivisions of Mount Airy.

The project’s concept plan has been approved, and the town’s Planning Commission in June approved a waiver that will allow several of the streets and intersections to be within 750 feet of one another, which is otherwise prohibited in Mount Airy.

The distance between streets had been among the project’s hurdles, due to the unique shape of the property.

In April 2022, town residents voiced concerns to the Planning Commission about the proposed development, citing the possibility of increased traffic and loss of open space. Residents protested outside a town meeting that same month , saying they wanted to keep a small-town feeling in Mount Airy.

Breeding said the planning commission has addressed the concerns. The Greentree project “has been getting less community pushback,” he said.

Although planning for the development is entering its final stages, the project still requires the approval of state, county and town reviewing agencies. Breeding said plans for a 18,688 square-foot commercial portion of the project will require separate approval.

The project will not require an infrastructure investment from Mount Airy, according to planning documents.