The Town of Aberdeen reviewed architectural plans for the old Aberdeen Elementary School on Highway 1 at a special meeting on Jan. 16.
Architect Fabio Lemos opened his presentation on the conceptual plans, noting he had reduced residential density, and the town approved the plan two and a half years ago. The project will go through the county and town regulation planning process.
Map of the future Aberdeen Station mixed-use development. Image via Fabio Lemos.
Lemos planned 32 one and two-story houses in a gated community with a pool and clubhouse in the residential area. The $400,000 to $500,000 houses will have a private backyard and office space to work from home. The residential area will be under a homeowners’ association.
It will have three apartment units with 12 apartments in each, as towers, plus 20 additional apartments, with two parking spaces allotted for each. Lemos estimated apartment costs at upper $200,000 to mid $100,000.
Apartments at Aberdeen Station. Image via Fabio Lemos.
The plans include a daycare to serve residents and the public, a parking deck and a pickleball area.
A discussion on parking during events held at the town-owned 700-seat auditorium revealed the need for the parking deck as a solution.
“It can adapt to the market changes very quickly,” Lemos said about the project plans in the prime real estate area for commuters.
Lemos said they will use high-quality materials for the residential areas and the repurposed school with retail and office spaces.
The existing school cafeteria will be converted into three restaurants, a bar, an ice-cream parlor, and a wine shop with a café with an alfresco experience to enjoy North Carolina’s weather.
“Very sound building, keep some of the walls,” Lemos said about the school and moving his Pinehurst office to this building. “My son is planning to live in one of these houses.”
The mixed-use development is called “Aberdeen Station” and is scheduled to be completed in 36 months once construction begins.
Feature photo: Image of homes in the gated community of Aberdeen Station. Image via Fabio Lemos.
~Written by Sandhills Sentinel journalist Stephanie M. Sellers; BS Mass Communications and Journalism, MFA Creative Writing. Stephanie is also an English instructor at Central Carolina Community College and Father Vincent Capodanno High School. She is the author of young adult fiction, including When the Yellow Slugs Sing and Sky’s River Stone, and a scholarly fiction on North Carolina’s Tuscarora Natives, which is available at the Special Collections Library at UNC-CH.
To read Sandhills Sentinel’s first article on Aberdeen Station, please click below:
