Village plan adopted, first of eleven

Greensboro, North Carolina, City Council adopted a 79-acre new urban village plan in March. Christopher Village is the first of 11 neighborhoods on a thousand-acre site about 5 miles northwest of the city center. Dover, Kohl & Partners designed it for developer David Couch. 

The development includes preserved commons, forests and squares, mixed-use and live-work, and an estimated 268 housing units, according to urban designer Victor Dover.

Christopher Village will have six kinds of missing middle housing, small blocks, mid-block alleys and lanes, “pocket neighborhoods” and cottage courts, Dover says. Small blocks over a large site will set a pattern of urbanism that will last for a long time. Street networks tend to stay in place for centuries and impact public health and safety. Greensboro is a mid-sized city with about 300,000 residents.

“There's provision for storefront businesses, civic uses, live/work rowhouses, plus an allowance for expanded home-based businesses throughout. The housing will include a whole range of sizes and prices and luxury levels, and both ownership and rental housing options,” he notes. Construction may begin in 2026 with homes starting in the “$300,000s to more than $2 million,” according to Business North Carolina.

The city annexed the property, and Christopher Village will be on city water and sewer. The annexation from the Town of Summerfield was key to moving this project forward. Mayor Nancy Vaughan was quoted by real estate broker Deborah Proehl-Moser: “Quite frankly, I am pleased that we are able to work with the developer and help be part of the solution — I think it is very important,” Vaughan said. “When Summerfield talks about wanting to come and have a conversation with the City of Greensboro, I can tell you I have watched these conversations and public hearings over the last couple of years and I can see why the developer was frustrated.”