Burlington Planners Back Rezoning of 39-Acre Site for Potential Apartments

Burlington's Planning & Zoning Commission voted 6-0 on March 29 to recommend converting a 39-acre site along Konica Drive from industrial zoning to Office & Institutional, clearing a path for what could become as many as 320 apartments on the city's far western edge.

The unanimous recommendation now moves to Burlington's City Council for final consideration. If council approves the rezoning, the developer could proceed with detailed site plans and formal subdivision approvals before any construction begins.

Greensboro attorney Nathan Duggins represented the applicant before the board, telling commissioners he was "90 percent" confident the developer's actual plan would be multifamily housing, even though the Office & Institutional designation technically permits a wide range of uses. Duggins described his client as a "regional local developer" but declined to name the company. Figures from the staff presentation and application materials put the anticipated build-out at roughly 240 to 320 apartment units, with primary access running off Konica Drive rather than NC-61.

The site sits in an industrial stretch where Ametek and Zink Imaging already operate, a warehouse is under construction, and Red Oak Brewery sits directly across the street. Duggins framed the proposed housing as a complement to the corridor's industrial growth, pointing specifically to the planned 200-acre Food Lion distribution center nearby, projected to employ roughly 500 people, as a built-in pool of prospective tenants.

Chair James Kirkpatrick was joined by commissioners Mike Mills, Ethan Raynor, Lee Roane, Ryan Spadaccini, and Jonathan Sanders in the unanimous vote.

The stakes for Burlington's council are substantial. Rezoning nearly 40 acres within a predominantly industrial corridor to allow dense residential development raises questions about traffic capacity on Konica Drive, school enrollment demand, and whether utilities and emergency services can absorb several hundred new households. The council's decision will be the first formal signal of whether that stretch of western Burlington is headed for a significant land-use transformation.