Having prepared the Downtown Master Plan for Lowell, the City retained Metrocology to prepare a plan to expand downtown’s footprint to connect to I-85 exit 22, less than half a mile away. The City also wanted the plan to influence the NCDOT’s reconstruction and widening project slated for the Gaston County segment of I-85. The widening would reconfigure and improve all the exists along the Corridor, two of which provide direct access to downtown Lowell. With the reconstruction, the City saw an opportunity to establish a Gateway development to take advantage of the visibility and accessibility to the greater metropolitan region afforded by its location.

Due to the numerous owners within the 140- acre planning area, the City wanted the plan to serve as a technical guide for where to invest in new water, sewer, and street extensions in addition to strategic land purchases, and rezonings to comprehensively set the stage for new growth.

The Master Plan devotes significant attention to the optimum design for the I-85 widening and exit reconstruction needed to support the mixed use, walkable character for the Gateway. Metrocology designed an expanded exit, using roundabouts to create two exit and entry points along the Interstate which served to remove truck traffic from important pedestrian oriented streets.

The master plan can support up to 1,250 units of residential, in a mix of attached and multi family; up to 250,000 ft2 of retail, both ground floor and stand alone; two hotels with 225 total keys; and up to 1,000,000 ft2 of industrial warehousing and logistics users, that would front I-85. The final developable program would be determined by the market.