February 26, 2008

Spark For North End

Eyes of the city will be on residential-retail development at Statesville and Oaklawn

DOUG SMITH

Ever since South End came into its own during the 1990s, revitalization leaders have sought the spark that would ignite a North End renaissance.

Now, Bobby Drakeford, president of The Drakeford Co., is planning what could be a starting point: North End Square, a residential-retail development at Statesville and Oaklawn avenues.

He plans 78 townhomes and condos, and The Providence Group of the Carolinas has plans to develop a 12,000-square-foot neighborhood shopping center.

The 7-acre site is in the Statesville Avenue corridor, a blighted area the city has targeted for intensive revitalization just north of the Interstate 277 loop.

"North End could be like South End," said A.C. Shull, program manager for special projects in the city's economic development department. "Being that close to uptown, it has all kinds of potential."

Valued at $18 million, North End Square will offer condos starting from $175,000 (1,168 square feet) while providing needed retail services. In cost and square footage, it's a relatively small redevelopment.

But, Shull said, "Every big developer is watching to see how Bobby is going to do it. It's truly a case of a small project that will be a great influence on some large sites around it."

That means North End Square has the potential to become a Next Big Thing.

What happens there, Shull said, will "greatly influence" the potential future use of two big neighbors on Statesville Avenue: a 37-acre drugstore distribution center and a 22.5-acre business park.

With residential revitalization under way, Shull believes industrial land eventually could shift toward retail and residential uses.

"We've had some pretty capable developers looking in the Statesville corridor for opportunities," he said.

One big site almost came into play last year, Shull said. Eckerd was negotiating to move its distribution operations and 500 jobs to the airport, freeing its Statesville Avenue land for redevelopment.

But before a deal could be struck, he said, Rite Aid Corp. acquired Eckerd. Now, Shull said, the chain is reassessing assets and isn't talking about its plans for the distribution center property.

Residential redevelopment in the area got a boost about three years ago when the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership and the Charlotte Housing Authority completed The Park at Oaklawn, a neighborhood of affordable apartments and single-family houses.

They used $34.7 million in federal grants to replace the aging and crime-ridden Fairview Homes public housing project off Statesville Avenue.

Today, the housing partnership has another project on deck -- the planned redevelopment of nearby Double Oaks Apartments as a community of about 940 apartments, condos and townhomes.

The City Council committed $25 million in loans and grants to the $120 million project, which is to include 300 apartments that could be rented by low-income tenants.

Pat Garrett, president of The Housing Partnership, said master planning is under way, relocation of residents has begun, and the first rezoning request has been filed for the Double Oaks Apartments site.

The initial construction phase -- 48 apartments -- could start as early as summer, she said. The anticipated 10-year makeover also is to include shops and services in later phases.

The Housing Partnership began working in the area in 1990 because "it was sort of the next one that begged for attention," Garrett said.

North End Square could set the tone for what happens there next, she believes. "We are excited about it -- we hope Bobby is successful," Garrett said.

The city economic development department began working with Drakeford about two years ago to create a magnet project.

The city owned the urban renewal tract and had used it for a street maintenance landfill. The city spent about $40,000 -- half the cleanup cost -- to help the developer remove buried asphalt and concrete debris, Shull said.

It also discounted the original price of the land by 50 percent to $330,620 to hold down the cost of the residential units and allow Drakeford to sell them in an affordable range, he said.

At roughly $150 per square foot, the residences will sell for about half the per-square-foot price of an uptown condo, Shull said.

District 2 City Council member James Mitchell said, "This area has been a well kept secret in infill development. You really are on the edge of downtown."

The only disappointment to residents, he said, is that North End Square won't have a grocery store. "A market study showed that the time just isn't right for it," Mitchell said.

Broker Henry Breaux said The Providence Group expects to break ground on the shopping center by late summer or early fall and open it in spring 2009.

The complex, to face Statesville Avenue, will be divided into 10 retail units to include such likely tenants as a sit-down restaurant, a pharmacy, an insurance company, a mobile phone store, a barber shop, a mail services store and a dry cleaner.

Drakeford said residential builder Saussy Burbank is aiming to start work by fall on the first construction phase -- 26 townhomes and 12 condos.

"I'm probably the smallest stakeholder in the whole corridor," he said. "There are about 150 acres out there waiting to be developed."

The Residences

• Townhomes: 50 two-story and three-story units with brick on three sides. From 1,416 to 1,901 square feet. Priced from $177,500 to $235,000.• Condos: 28 units in a four-story, 50-foot tall building. Condos range from 1,168 to 1,243 square feet. Prices: $175,000 to $195,000.

• Home financing: The Drakeford Co. said preferred lenders will make available second mortgages below market rate to assist with down payments.

• Features: Uptown skyline views, decks, individual courtyards, balconies, ceramic-tile floors in bathrooms, cultured-marble vanity tops, 42-inch kitchen cabinets, optional two-car garages with some units.

• Development team: The Drakeford Co., developer; Saussy Burbank, contractor; LAVA Studio and Planworx Design, architects; Turnbull Sigmon Design, civil engineer; Wachovia, lender.

• Sales and marketing: My Townhome. Sales kickoff event, March 6, 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m., Byron's South End.

• Timetable: First phase construction expected to begin this fall.

• Info: www.northendsquarecondos.com.

The shops

• Size: 12,000-square-foot shopping center divided into 10 retail units with parking in back.

• Tenants: Anticipated neighborhood-services providers such as a barber shop, dry cleaner, mobile phone store, nail salon, pharmacy, restaurant.

• Timetable: Construction expected to start by late summer or early fall and open in spring 2009.

• Leasing: Rates start at $18.50 per square foot annually.

• Development team: The Providence Group of the Carolinas, developer; Providence broker Henry Breaux, leasing; Overcash Demmitt Architects, project architect. No contractor selected.

• Information: www.provgrp.com and www.northendsquarecondos.com.

Projects and sites in the North End area

1. Double Oaks Apartments redevelopment | 940 residential units planned along with retail and office space on almost 100 acres.

2. The Park at Oaklawn | 332 residential units and community center completed on 32 acres in 2005.

3. Hercules Business Park | 22.5 acres of industrial land that someday could be redeveloped as mixed use.

4. Rite Aid Distribution Center | 37 acres of industrial land that someday could be redeveloped as mixed use.

5. North End Square | Planned mixed-use project of shops, restaurants, condos and townhomes on 7 acres of urban renewal land.

6. Uptown Village North Carolina Music Factory | Entertainment, office and residential project on 35 acres.

7. City View Terrace | 51 residential units proposed on 4 acres at 12th and Graham streets.

8. Alpha Mill | Crosland LLC's redevelopment combining a historic mill and new construction to create 167 residential units.

9. Bloc 90 | 90 residential units planned on 2.2 acres at North Davidson and 15th streets.

10. Seigle Point | More than 250 mixed-income residential units replacing the old Piedmont Courts public housing complex in a 23-acre revitalization project.

Doug Smith