City Manager Jason Blanton briefed the Mount Holly City Council on several development and community items during the meeting, including a preliminary downtown housing project, a county rezoning matter, an upcoming museum opening and progress on a pedestrian bridge at River Street Park.

Blanton said Streetlights — a developer with a preliminary concept for downtown Mount Holly — is currently proposing about 105 residential units in a project staff reviewed last week. “This is a preliminary view of what Streetlights is currently looking at with a 105 units in downtown Mount Holly,” Blanton said. He said staff will return to council with additional information toward a possible development agreement late in the year.

Blanton also updated the council on a Gaston County matter known locally as the Holly Springs property. He said the property owner had sought a conditional rezoning in July for a proposal of 204 units at the corner of Rankin and West Catawba. Blanton told the council that, according to the county manager, the owner was pursuing a by-right development and was no longer seeking a conditional rezoning; the Gaston County Commissioners were scheduled to revisit the matter at 6 p.m. the following day. “This is ultimately at the discretion of the Gaston County Commissioners as this is not in the city limits of Mount Holly,” Blanton said.

Blanton invited the public to the Mount Holly Museum grand opening at the municipal complex on Sunday, Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. He also said the River Street Park pedestrian bridge — funded in part with ARPA dollars — is progressing but some federal reviews remain paused because of the federal government shutdown. “We are needing some reviews from some federal offices prior to finalizing certain aspects of that project,” Blanton said. He estimated the project could come online within the next 12 months but emphasized reviews outside city control were pending.

Blanton opened the report by noting that David Childers was honored by the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame on Oct. 16 and reviewed several recent community events, including the pumpkin piddle paddle and a lantern parade. Council did not take new policy votes on the development items during the meeting; staff said they would return with more details.