Three new apartment buildings in downtown Concord expected to bring in more than 500 people

CONCORD, N.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) – City leaders and developers in Concord put shovel to ground Thursday and launched work on three new apartment buildings. The Novi Flats, Novi Rise, and Novi Lofts are expected to bring more than 500 people to downtown Concord.

The buildings include 304 units and 15,000 square feet of commercial space. Together, the projects bring more than $70 million in private investment to the city. The three buildings are part of 10 developments currently in the works in Downtown Concord.

Concord Mayor Bill Dusch says now that Concord has several new major developments underway, he hopes the city can stand apart from downtown Charlotte.

“We really appreciate being next to Charlotte. Without them, our growth would not have occurred. But now that we’re getting our growth, we have to stand on our own with our own ideas and own concepts to keep people coming into our downtown and to our city,” he said. “This is a great time for downtown Concord, and for the city of Concord, and Cabarrus County.”

This undertaking comes shortly after the city announced Red Bull, Rauch, and Ball Corp. will team up to invest more than $1 billion into a new Concord manufacturing facility.

Many who work in downtown Concord are excited for their new neighbors.

“It definitely means more business for us as well as all the other small businesses in downtown Concord, which I think especially after the whole pandemic situation is going to be really, really good for downtown Concord,” said Escape Artist employee Taya Hanno.

The new apartment buildings will include both market-rate and workforce housing rates. But for those who have lived in Concord their whole lives, preserving the town’s history and charm is a major concern when it comes to new development.

“Concord has been around for a long time. You want to keep as much history of it as you can,” said Hanno.

Project Developer Peter Flotz with Lansing-Melbourne Group says he’s working to incorporate the town’s history into the apartment design.

“We literally are talking about which way the bricks should go to duplicate some of the headers over the windows on Union Street,” he said.

“Along the way, we lost our vision for a while. We took down buildings we should not have taken down. This is a way to start building it back, and building it back the right way,” said Mayor Dusch.

In terms of traffic, the mayor says the biggest transportation issues occur closer to the Mecklenburg County line, so he feels the downtown area is ready and able to handle the increase in people.

The three buildings are expected to open Fall 2022.