Tailored to niches

DOUG SMITH

The appeal of embraceable locations Savvy Charlotte developers are navigating the unsettled housing market by tailoring projects to meet specific niches.

Smaller developments in hot neighborhoods are less risky, easier to finance and more likely to attract buyers today than new subdivisions and condo towers.

"Anything that is well targeted and priced appropriately is selling," said housing analyst Emma Littlejohn of The Littlejohn Group. "Location is something you can't duplicate."

Established neighborhoods near uptown have some of the strongest appeal because they are easily accessible to jobs, dining, arts and entertainment.

But, said Littlejohn, "You can't underestimate the cost of commuting. With gas prices going higher, homeowners are looking for savings and convenience."

Some of Charlotte's most desirable neighborhoods lie inside a crescent that follows the city's cross-town Route 4 network of Eastway Drive, Wendover Road, Woodlawn Road, etc.

For a closer look at how builders are seeking out vacant or underdeveloped parcels to perpetuate this Next Big Thing trend, we're focusing on four projects.

Two are in neighborhoods considered to be a sure thing among residential developers -- Dilworth and Eastover -- and two are in neighborhoods emerging as popular close-in locations -- Cotswold and NoDa.

In the accompanying reports, read more about these projects and why developers believe buyers will embrace them.

Parkside, Dilworth

Residential developers like to build near a park to create an amenity for homeowners. But it's difficult to imagine anyone getting closer than Dancy Properties' planned Dilworth project.

A footbridge will connect its eight residences on about 0.75 acres off Waverly Avenue to neighboring Latta Park.

The footbridge from the neighborhood to the park will make it easy for homeowners to enjoy the green space and walking trails.

Developer Joe Dancy said he didn't seek a rezoning and intentionally aimed at keeping Parkside small to blend the townhomes and flats with Dilworth.

The estimated $6 million to $6.5 million development consists of two buildings, each with four units and separate names.

Parkside Latta will have three townhomes of about 2,800 square feet each ($792,000-$798,000) and one 3,575-square- foot penthouse listed at just under $1.15 million.

Two units have been purchased in Parkside Olmstead, which has two townhomes and two stacked flats. The remaining units in that building are priced at $792,000.

Amenities include private terraces, secure parking garage, landscaped courtyards, elevators, hardwood flooring, 10-foot ceilings, granite counter tops, separate ceramic tile showers, and garden tubs.

Via II architects designed the project. 

Dancy wants to start construction this summer and finish in about a year. He's talking with two bank lenders.

Royal Truss at Steel Gardens, NoDa

In trendy NoDa north of uptown Charlotte, buyers typically are looking for a home that reflects the artsy character of the neighborhood.Royal Truss at Steel Gardens blends in with 24 lofts inside a 30,000-square-foot former bow-truss roofed warehouse.

The units, 1,075 to 1,098 square feet, have two-story floor plans, 24-foot ceilings, original concrete flooring downstairs, and granite counter tops.

Front entrances are recessed into the building to create outdoor space, and electronic garage-style doors roll up to make living rooms an extension of the homeowners' patios.

Nine units have skylights, holdovers from the building's warehouse days.

Artists, musicians and dancers began revitalizing the North Charlotte mill village now known as NoDa in the 1970s.

Today the possibility of a light-rail line through the neighborhood is generating renewed interest.

Royal Truss construction has been completed, and six units have been sold for prices ranging from the $190,000s to the low $200,000s. Three owners have moved in.

Developer The Carolina Group Partners LLC embraced the loft project, calling it an opportunity to save an old building while creating something funky within Bonterra Builders' Steel Gardens community of single-family houses, townhomes and condos at Spencer Street and Herrin Avenue.

Royal Truss, across from North Charlotte Park, also includes live-work space that will be occupied by Urbana Urban Design & Architecture.

Element at Craig Avenue, Cotswold

Combine eco-friendly green development with modern design and you get Element, a seven-home infill development planned on roughly 0.25-acre lots on Craig Avenue in Cotswold.

Liquid Design has created 2,300 to 3,000-square-foot contemporary single-family houses with 10- to 14-foot ceilings, flat roofs, expansive windows and soaring open spaces for developer Cobalt DBS/Painted Plumb Inc.

Houses are priced from the upper $400,000s to the upper $500,000s.

Rusty Gibbs, who is handling sales with Chris Wargo at Cobalt Realty, describes what they're doing as "creating an enclave for like-minded individuals."

He said buyers "can go as green as they like or accept one of our standard green certifications."

Cotswold is one of city's hottest up-and-coming areas for infill residential development because of its proximity to uptown and southeast Charlotte shopping and services.

Element will be at the end of Craig Avenue on the east side of Sharon Amity Road not far from Sharon Memorial Park.

Cobalt has sold one house and expects to start construction of the estimated $4 million project within 30 days with financing through SunTrust Banks Inc., Gibbs said.

The developers want to create a fully sustainable neighborhood with a tree-save area, shared common space and a dog park.

Homes will have covered parking, outdoor living spaces, exterior cedar paneling and concrete pavers.

Optional features include synthetic grass, koi ponds, dog showers, solar hot water heaters and rain-water collection systems.

Gibbs said he's negotiating with a buyer on a second sale.

The Cherokee, Eastover

Brian Speas of Carnegie Co. wants to start work within 60 days on The Cherokee, a 20-unit condo project at Fenton Place and Cherokee Road.

This will be his third project in Eastover, and it will follow his tried-and true formula: spacious 2,200- to 3,400-square foot, amenity-packed units selling for $990,000 to just over $1.45 million.

Well-heeled buyers in Eastover and Myers Park are familiar with his speciality -- nine-unit Eastover Place recently wrapped up -- and they put their names on a list to await announcement of his luxury projects.

This time, six of those on the list have contracted to buy condos in The Cherokee.

Speas said he has arranged financing through BB&T and will start construction when two more units sell.

The timing looks good, he said, because when The Cherokee is completed in late 2009, the housing crisis should be over.

Condos in the four-story structure, designed by Schrader Design, will be flats, but the front facade will feature varied brick and roof treatments that give the building the appearance of townhomes.

Amenities include private patios and terraces with gas grills, Viking gas cook tops, Sub-Zero refrigerators, Bosch dishwashers, master baths with separate tile showers, and soaking tubs.

A landscaped garden will be on the corner of Fenton and Cherokee, and parking will be underground.

Emily Bourgeois of Bourgeoisie Inc. designed cabinetry and molding, and Clancy & Theys Construction Co. will build the $26 million project. Speas, whose Carnegie Co., is handling sales is developing The Cherokee with partner Patrick Hunter III.