'New urbanism' is the latest buzzword among developers in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County and is used to describe compact, pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use developments with lifestyles reminiscent of small towns of the past. But although a national trend, the concept hasn't spread much to Charlotte's surrounding counties.

      With one exception: Afton Village www.AftonVillage.com, a 170-acre community taking shape on the outskirts of Concord in Cabarrus County, located off I-85 at Poplar Tent Road. But you'll never see or hear the word `urbanism' mentioned in any of its promotional or sales materials. "People here associate urban with Manhattan, when it's really more like Dilworth," says Dave Mayfield, Afton Village's creator and developer. "A much better word is traditional neighborhood design."    

      In fact, Mayfield, a Charlotte native, admits he was inspired by the city's historic neighborhoods of Dilworth, Myers Park and Eastover when planning Afton Village. "When I was growing up in Eastover, I could go wherever I wanted on my bicycle, but when my kids were growing up in a new neighborhood, they were captives," says Mayfield, 52. "I also learned about community at the neighborhood grocery store my family ran in Dilworth."

      When completed, Afton Village will feature 600 to 700 residential units, including both single family homes and a variety of multifamily offerings, as well as 320,000 square feet of retail, commercial and institutional uses, including a 65,000-square-foot YMCA that will break ground next spring. Seven homebuilders are now building at Afton Village, and some 60 families already live there. A 60-acre park bisects the community and provides a major recreational amenity for residents. The result is a community with the character and charm of a small Southern town.

      Mayfield's building arm has started work on the first commercial buildings, which will include both residential and retail uses. The 7,500-square-foot, three-story Foundry will open later this year. The ground floor will have a coffeehouse and a sales office for Afton Village Land Company, while the top two floors will each have two condominiums. The firm will later build a larger structure with 20 condominiums and seven retail bays.

      "All our leasing will fit with the Afton Village philosophy of creating a community," Mayfield explains. "It's why we donated land for the Y. The coffeehouse will provide a gathering place for the community. The retail offerings will not compete with places like Concord Mills and will cater to day-to-day service needs  -- like restaurants, insurance agencies, accountants, attorneys, a dry cleaners and a shoe repair. We're talking to a family practice about a medical office. The vitality of Afton is that it will have a daytime life, as well as an evening and weekend life."

      The residential offerings will also be varied. Mayfield, Mitchell Hartsell Construction and Traditional Builders are building condominium projects. Mayfield and Mitchell Hartsell are also developing single family homes, as are G.A. Ford Builders, Wightman Homes, John F. Swinson and Lifestyle Custom Homes. All the homes are being custom built, so no two will be alike. Mayfield is also in the design stage of a retirement building that will include 60-80 units.

      While there will be a great deal of variety in the housing stock, there will also be common design themes and characteristics that draw on traditional Southern architecture. Houses will have deep front porches, high ceilings, tall windows and classic architectural detailing. Design codes require that at least 70 percent of the homes have a usable front porch at least eight feet deep and 12 feet wide. The front porches must also be set back and be higher than the adjacent sidewalk to give the porches

an appropriate level of privacy.

      "We have set design standards - call them guidelines or performance criteria - that the builders can interpret in their own way," Mayfield says. "So you get consistency with diversity. You'll see single-family homes next to duplexes, next to townhomes. And they'll all be of the same quality."

      An unusual design feature of Afton Village homes is the rear location of all residential garages, the majority of which are served by an alley system. A perfect location for unsightly garages, utility transformers garbage collection and guest parking, the service alley preserves the streetscape for porches, sidewalks, street trees and people.

      A particular housing product that has become quite popular at Afton Village is a carriage house, a small detached home (about 1,200 feet) with a private garage and living space above it. "We'll be integrating these in small lots throughout the Village," Mayfield says. Afton Village builders are also offering specialized custom home-offices for those who want to utilize a home office as their primary work place.  This mixture is creating the ambience Mayfield is striving for. "We have been successful in attracting people of all ages at different periods of their lives," he says. "We pride ourselves in creating a neighborhood that's authentic -- and part of that is having people of all ages."

      Because of the wide range of housing options being offered at Afton Village, Afton Village Land Company is handling all sales. "We want to have a consistent message," Mayfield says. "Because we have so many housing types, it requires a bit of study. People in real estate generally specialize in one type."  Mayfield's wife Anne, who has her own consulting firm, has developed much of the development's marketing strategies.

      Dave Mayfield admits that even without the term 'new urbanism,' some consumer education was necessary. So the first 10 homes were built on spec in 1998. "The concepts were foreign, and we felt we needed to show people how it worked," he explains. "We felt they had to actually see it -- not just a picture. Once people saw it, there was no resistance."

      But it's a style that isn't for everyone. "We are not all things to all people." Mayfield observes. "If you want to live in the country, this isn't it. If you want to hit golf balls in your backyard, you can't do that here. We are about community, being a pedestrian-friendly place, and being compact, while still giving residents a sense of privacy and security."

      The emphasis on pedestrians is a basic part of Afton Village's master plan. Tree-lined streets and a network of wide sidewalks will create a strong pedestrian connection between residential and commercial areas and the park.

      For a place to be pedestrian-friendly, Mayfield explains, you need wide sidewalks that are pleasant and safe to walk on; destinations that people can walk to; and not too steep a grade. "We moved lots of dirt to get the grade down to 5-7%," he notes. One of the major purposes of the front porches to provide people with a place to sit and watch - or talk to - neighbors walking by.

      Although Mayfield is now doing development full-time, his first love is architecture. That is, after all, his training. After earning his B.S. in architecture from North Carolina State University, he earned a masters in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a masters in landscape architecture from Harvard. Both graduate degrees are with a concentration in urban design, and he worked in that area for several years before returning to his native state in 1988.

      "I'm now taking the concepts I had been using in cities for so long and applying them in a greenfield from scratch," Mayfield says. "Developing Afton Village is giving me an opportunity to explore and execute urban design ideas I never could as an architect.

      "I'm not a spreadsheet developer," Mayfield adds. "I go in with concepts and find a way to make them financially possible."

      At Afton Village, the approach is paying off.