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Developer seeks approval for large housing proposal in Clemmons area

A map showing the location of a proposed housing development off of Idols Road in Forsyth County near Clemmons. Image courtesy of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Planning and Development Services.

Forsyth County commissioners are reviewing a plan for a major housing development in the Clemmons area. The Riverwalk development would be a nearly 320-acre site near Clemmons and the Yadkin River. More than 530 single family homes and townhomes would be built.   

Local officials say the developer, RS Parker, plans to make it a community for people aged 55 and older.

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Deputy Director of Planning and Development Services Kirk Ericson says this type of smaller housing is limited in the area.

“I think from a planning perspective, any additional housing you can add in the community is going to take some pressure off of existing prices simply because we have such a supply side problem right now," says Ericson. "Anything we can do to relieve that is going to put downward pressure in those existing homes.”

At a recent planning board meeting, some residents raised concerns about traffic congestion and the projects' proximity to Tanglewood Park and the Yadkin River.

Ericson says the developer is proposing a buffer from the park's golf course to protect the view, and the portion of the project in the Yadkin's floodplain will remain open space. He adds that road improvements to accommodate the extra traffic would be part of the plan.

The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners will revisit the proposal at a meeting on Thursday. A public hearing is scheduled for June 23.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brownon Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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