News

The rezoning request at Jamil and Tram Roads

An office complex is in the works at the corner of Tram and Jamil Roads, one of the gateways into our neighborhood.

The proposed brick building is to become the corporate headquarters of Mungo Homes, a company once owned by the Mungo family, which developed Whitehall in the 1960s and '70s. None of the plans has been finalized.

The re-zoning request

A zoning hearing on Tuesday, January 25, will consider Mungo Homes' request to rezone the rear part of the property, abutting the Whitehall residential area, to ID (Intensive Development) to allow for the proposed office building. The hearing is at 6:00 p.m. at Lexington County Council on the second floor of the County Administration Building in downtown Lexington.

Project details

Here is what the Whitehall HOA board has learned from the developers about the project:

The two-story building will have about 40,000 square feet of office space for Mungo Homes and its affiliated businesses. It will not have any retail space.
The main entrance will be on Tram Road, with a second entrance on Jamil. The building will face Jamil. There will be about 200 parking spaces.
The 20-acre site will be landscaped and lighted. It will have two ponds. The most visible pond will be along Jamil and likely will have a fountain. The other pond will serve to handle storm water runoff.
The property's green spaces will include picnic-style benches for Mungo employees.
The back of the property, the section abutting Whitehall and farthest from Jamil Road, will have at least a 50-foot wide vegetative buffer from adjacent property.
Completion of the project is likely two years away if County Council approves rezoning the back portion of the property.
The site is large enough that a second building might be added as Mungo Homes grows.

Increased traffic

A traffic impact study will consider both the current traffic load and the expected increase in traffic from two new gas stations under construction at each end of Jamil Road, and a new housing development and new church on Sidney Road.

The Whitehall Homeowners Association board has requested that Mungo Homes join the board in asking the SC Department of Transportation for a traffic light at Tram and Jamil.

Good neighbors

The WHOA board requested that Mungo Homes widen the buffer to 75 feet and leave as many trees in the buffer as practical.

The board also requested that lighting of the property be consistent with a residential neighborhood, and that lights be directed away from homes.

Stewart Mungo, a developer of the project, has said he intends the property to become an asset to Whitehall and to blend with its residential elements.

Unlike most of the recent developments along Jamil, this project holds the promise of being an improvement.

For these reasons, the Whitehall HOA board has endorsed the project.

What's up with those new gas stations?

We were concerned about two new QT gas stations under construction nearby, at both ends of Jamil Road — at Piney Grove Road and at St. Andrews Road. WHOA president Clif LeBlanc has gotten answers that address some of those concerns. Here’s what he found out.

“Big trucks!” Nope. .....

“More flood water!” They’ll keep it under control. ....

“More traffic!” Yes, but QT is designing for efficient movement. .....

WHOA will keep an eye on it. ......