by Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

After a flurry of news articles last weekend left things unclear on who all the players were in a massive retail and mixed use complex proposed near Mebane, the principles in the project issued a detailed statement Wednesday outlining their vision for a proposed 1.1 million square foot development.
In an interview Tuesday, John Fugo of Montgomery Capital Development Corp., which was part of the group that developed Southern Village, said he will be the project manager for Buckhorn Village, which is being developed by a partnership including Montgomery, Hillsborough’s Gateway developer George Horton of Tryon Investment Group and Meadowmont developers Roger and Ben Perry of East West Partners.
Former Chapel Hill Mayor Rosemary Waldorf, who works for Bryan Properties, is also working on the project, Fugo said.
The group put together Buckhorn Road Associates last September after being asked by county officials to explore a retail center for the county’s Buckhorn Road Economic Development District, which is located near the intersection of Buckhorn Road and I-85 between Mebane and Efland.
According to the statement issued by the partnership, it acquired control over 128 acres that is currently occupied in part by the Buckhorn Road Flea Market. The statement says that at buildout, Buckhorn Village could be valued at $125 million and generate about $1.6 million in property tax revenue and $6 million in retail sales tax revenue for the county.
Orange County took in a little more than $21 million in sales taxes last year and officials throughout the county have worried about the growing “leakage” of sales taxes thanks to the growth of nearby but out-of-county shopping centers such as Durham’s Streets at Southpoint.
“Buckhorn Village will eventually help Orange County retain much of the sales taxes that are currently being lost to retail projects in Durham and Alamance counties,” Fugo is quoted as saying in the release.
The partnership has been in talks with the county for several month over the scope and shape of the project, which is located in one of the counties specially designated economic development districts. Sewer and water service for the site will come from the town of Mebane and the area is likely to become part of the town.
A public hearing on the matter is scheduled for late February.