Some are comparing Marvin's Village to Stonecrest because our proposal has a similar amount of square footage devoted to retail.

The reality is that the two developments couldn't be more different.

In fact, it is easy to see the primary difference in these aerial photos. In roughly the same location that Stonecrest has a massive sea of asphalt pavement, we have a forested conservation area.

How can we do this? By building two parking decks, hidden out of site behind mixed-use live/work/shop space. The cost per parking space for such decks is 12 times the amount for an asphalt parking lot. That cost would be offset by the residential component of Marvin's Village. Aside from preserving greenspace, such decks encourage pedestrian activity, rather than requiring shoppers to drive from store to store as at a traditional big-box shopping center.

The other differences are less obvious to the eye but just as important. Whereas Stonecrest has a movie theater attracting traffic and rowdy teens at all hours of every day, we have a Village Green with a bandshell, attracting occasional cultural events, and 95 percent of the time serving as passive parkland.

Stonecrest also has two major entrances, one on Rea and one on Ballantyne Commons, which lead directly into other heavy-traffic shopping and office complexes, resulting in traffic tie-ups around those intersections. Our retail component has five different entrances, more effectively dispersing vehicles, and none of those intersections will ever feed additional office or retail.

Stonecrest is specifically geared toward drawing cars off I-485 - no one in their right mind would go to Stonecrest on foot. Conversely, our shopping areas will serve primarily the neighborhoods in the immediate area, and both the Canterfield Creek and Marvin Creek neighborhoods would be connected to Marvin's Village by trails accessible only on foot and bike.

In sum, Marvin's Village would provide the pedestrian-oriented, conservation friendly, public-park laden amenity that the Village of Marvin needs as a community gathering space.