Developers got the green light this week to move forward with two large projects?a shopping and office center on NC 42 near the new medical center and a new mixed use subdivision on Vinson Road near the Glen Laurel subdivision. Both were recommended recently by the Town Planning Board.

The Lundy Group intends to build the shopping and office center on a 50.6-acre tract near the site of the the new Johnston Medical Center - Clayton, which is expected to open later this year. The complex, which is intended to provide support services for the medical center, will include shops, restaurants, a bank, a motel and office space. The new subdivision?which includes 52 lots for single-family homes, a day care center and office building?will be built on a 30.3-acre tract on Vinson Road across from Powhatan Elementary School. The developers promised to save as many trees in the area as possible, in keeping with the town's tree preservation program.