Charlotte Fine Homes Blog

Timothy Jones has joined Helen Adams Realty

Timothy Jones — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:11:00 GMT

I would like to anounce to all my clients and website visitors that effective the week of February 11 that I have joined the Helen Adams Realty. I am very excited to be joining one of the top real estate firms in the Charlotte area. I believe that Helen Adams has a track record of showing a strong commitment to customer service and client satisfaction. This fact coupled with my own desire to further my client services has made this a perfect fir for me. I look forward to working with all he professionals at Helen Adams Realty and taking my business to the next level.

Price Reduced on 7227 High Point Ct in Lake Wylie

Timothy Jones — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:52:00 GMT

Lake Wylie, Charlotte - Announcing a price reduction on 7227 High Point Ct, a 3,600 sq. ft., 3 bath, 3 bdrm single story. Now MLS® $499,000 - Waterfront. Client must sell bring all offers. subject to bank approval short sale

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Price Reduced on 8016 Stonehaven Dr in Weddington Chase

Timothy Jones — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:29:00 GMT

Weddington Chase, Waxhaw - Announcing a price reduction on 8016 Stonehaven Dr, a 4,430 sq. ft., 4 bath, 5 bdrm single story. Now MLS® $530,000 - Well Below Market Value.

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Price Reduced on 7227 High Point Ct in Lake Wylie

Timothy Jones — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:05:00 GMT

Lake Wylie, Charlotte - Announcing a price reduction on 7227 High Point Ct, a 3,600 sq. ft., 3 bath, 3 bdrm single story. Now MLS® $555,000 - Waterfront.

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New to the market and priced to move!!! 8016 Stonehaven Dr in Weddington Chase

Timothy Jones — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:42:00 GMT

Weddington Chase, Waxhaw - Announcing a price reduction on 8016 Stonehaven Dr, a 4,430 sq. ft., 4 bath, 5 bdrm single story. Now MLS® $575,000 - Well Below Market Value.

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Tips for selling a vacant home

Timothy Jones — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:30:00 GMT

As the real estate market continues to stabilize, sellers may find that their property remains on the market significantly longer than the days of “list today, sold tomorrow.” There is also more competition for buyers. So, it can be frustrating to put your home on the market, expecting a fast sale, only to find that after six months you’re still waiting for an offer. This is especially true if you need to move quickly and leave your unsold home vacant.

Besides creating a marketing challenge, a vacant home can also be a target for vandalism. Here are strategies you can use to hasten a sale and protect your property during the process.

· Instead of producing a spacious appearance, an empty room tends to look smaller than a furnished room. So, leave behind a few select pieces of furniture and keep the window treatments in place. A chair or lamp on a small table will confer a sense of scale and help potential buyers gauge whether their furniture will fit the space.

· If you decide to remove the furniture, have the house cleaned and painted. Furniture, rugs and decorations tend to hide or minimize imperfections. When furniture and artwork have been removed, every blemish and bruise becomes accentuated, faded paint and wallpaper become more noticeable and scratches and nicks stand out.

· Repaint brightly and boldly colored rooms to a neutral tone. What was an eye-popping room when fully-furnished may appear stark and small when empty.

· To thwart unwelcome visits, give the house a lived-in look. Set a couple of lamps on timers, and ask a neighbor or friend check on the house daily to collect mail, park a car in the driveway, and close and open drapes and windows. Continue using a gardening service or hire someone to cut the grass regularly. During the winter months, arrange to have snow shoveled from the walks and driveway.

· If available, consider employing a home manager or house sitter. At little or no cost to homeowners, the house is furnished and decorated for show-to-sell condition. Most companies require home managers to mow the lawn, shovel snow, even pay pool maintenance and utilities. Having someone living on site discourages vandalism, protects against deterioration and weather hazards and may even reduce insurance costs. (Check with your insurance carrier.)

· Leave the utilities connected. Depending on the season, make sure the thermostat in the house is set at a comfortable level. You don't want a potential buyer to run through the home because it is too hot or cold.

· Review your homeowner's insurance policy with your insurance agent to find out what the stipulations and coverage pertain to your vacant home.

· Find a real estate professional with experience selling vacant houses. Often, these sales professionals specialize in relocation. You want to make sure that you are comfortable with your lines of communication. If you will be residing in another town, come up with an agreement on how often your representative will check on the home and what should be done if a problem develops.

Although a vacant house presents certain challenges, it does not need to be difficult to sell.

How has Charlotte been affected by the real estate downturn?

Timothy Jones — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:47:00 GMT

Charlotte has not been spared from the slumping real estate market that this country has been experienceing in the past 2 years. The bright spot is that we are not getting hammered like some other parts of the country (California, Florida, Nevada) because our market was not feasted upon by all the speculators looking for the quick buck. Charlotte is a conservative banking town and while property values have certainly increased over the past years, they have not run out of control. Is our market down? Yes. But even though sales are off about 35% from last year our property values are not taking a nose dive but have decreased slightly. There are some good opportunities in the market with forclosures and builder discounts, however those sellers who have a good home priced correctly are having good success in moving these properties. Now is a great time to be buying a home. With mortgage rates still in the 6% range and the best selection of homes that this market has seen in quite a few years..... Buy! Buy! Buy! I will caution though not every seller in this market is going to accept your low ball offer for their quality home in a good neighborhood.

Now utilizing YouTube for all new Listings

Timothy Jones — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 20:43:00 GMT

I am always looking for new methods to get exposure for my client listings and get these properties sold. You Tube is another means to get exposure for properties. If your real estate agent is not using all the resource to get your listings sold give me a call and let me show you what a marketing program is all about.

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New to the Market 348 Park square Pl in Park Square

Timothy Jones — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:35:00 GMT

Park Square, Matthews - Announcing a new property listing 348 Park square Pl, a 1,468 sq. ft., 2 bath, 2 bdrm 2 story. Now MLS® $172,000 - In the Heart of Matthews. Property information...(read more)

America's Undervalued Real Estate Markets

Timothy Jones — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 15:23:00 GMT

Note that this information is outdated.

Forbes magazine article about Charlotte real estate market

New to The Market 1031 Park West Dr in Park West

Timothy Jones — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 16:05:00 GMT

New to the market 1031 Park West Dr, a 1,404 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm 3 story. Now MLS® $277,000 - 3 Bdr Townhome. Award winning David Furman Design. This property is a rare find for the Dilworth area. Walk to shopping, resturants, Freedom Park. Minutes from center city. This property won't last long.

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The right stage can be very important to selling your home!

Timothy Jones — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 17:25:00 GMT

Stage it, sell it

It can pay to market your home before putting it on the market

CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK

ckirkpatrick@charlotteobserver.com

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DAVID T. FOSTER III/Observer Staff

Chris Slaymon (left) of CORT furniture rental unpacks a picture frame as Michael Moulton, broker-in-charge at Bee Home Solutions, directs the installation of new furnishings brought into one of his company’s houses last week. Moulton often stages a home that he is selling to give prospective buyers an idea of the living space in the house.

Video | Home staging

A slowing housing market is usually considered bad economic news. But for CORT furniture rental, it has meant business growth.

The Charlotte store has been expanding in a new niche market called staging -- filling a house for sale with simple-but-chic furniture to give it warmth and class. It's using props to engineer an idea of domestic bliss for a marketing edge -- down to artwork, rugs and plants.

As home sales have declined in the Charlotte region amid a national mortgage lending crisis, the trend of staging single family homes has shown up more often in the region. A chapter of the national organization of professional stagers opened here two years ago and membership has doubled in just the past year to 20.

CORT, a Virginia-based nationwide chain, has seen its staging business for private homes grow in the Charlotte area from almost nothing three years ago to about $30,000 a month, said Jarrod Clay, senior account executive for Charlotte's only CORT location. Staging accounts for about 15 percent of the store's revenue, surging in the past year, he said. "It's more than quadrupled. It's leaps and bounds."

CORT provides furniture directly to homeowners, who can rent prepackaged rooms already designed that are delivered and later picked up. The store also rents to the independent professionals or "stagers" popping up on the Charlotte scene. They work with homeowners, real estate investors and homebuilders. They rent furniture or have their own stock, Clay said.

Homes used to sell so quickly in Charlotte there wasn't the need for private homeowners to stage or for agents to consider unorthodox marketing strategies, said Lisa Hines, an accredited stager in Charlotte and real estate agent with Wilkinson and Associates.

"Now, it's slower, and agents are having to do everything they can to sell those homes," she said.

Local housing sales fluctuated up and down by single-digit percentages starting in September 2006, which saw the first drop in closings in more than three years. Then came the summertime sales blues, which brought falling closings by double-digit percentages for each summer month compared to last year.

Local stagers, who often have backgrounds in design, say homes sell quicker after they've been decked out. The statistics bear it out, says Phyllis Graham, who owns Charlotte's Show Homes franchise and is also president of the Charlotte chapter of staging professionals.

The International Association of Home Staging Professionals says that nationally the homes sell in roughly half the time.

Staging is not a panacea for a dead market or an inferior home, Graham said. Some houses just won't sell quickly or near the asking price, no matter how the furniture is arranged. But for most homes, the effect can be dramatic, she said.

Graham staged a Charlotte home for Mason "Chip" Smith. His now-80-year-old mother lived there for 10 years but needed to move into an assisted living facility. Graham moved out much of the older furniture, which was "wall-to-wall" and had cluttered the house.

She put in some of her own furniture and paid attention to the smaller details, such as replacing a bed comforter and playing background music during showings, Smith said. It sold last spring inside of two months for close to the asking price, Smith said.

"It was so dramatic. She made the small house seem so big," said Smith, who is chief executive of Mullen Publications, which prints newspapers for high schools and colleges. "It's really perfect for baby boomers. You're already caregivers for your parents, and then you have to go in and market their home."

Staging first took shape in Charlotte about three years ago with homebuilders dressing up their newly built properties. The phenomenon moved from new homes to existing homes as real estate agents began looking for an extra edge in the slowing market.

Marcyne Touchton started Domaine Staging in Charlotte only a year ago but said she feels like a veteran in the young Charlotte industry.

"I've had three clients in a month and a half, and they want it staged before they even got an agent," she said. "It increases your chances. What do you do when you go to sell your car? You detail it, of course."

Independent designers and CORT have been staging homes since the 1980s in California, where it first became commonplace. "You wouldn't consider selling a home there without first having it staged," Graham said.

The concept crept eastward due in part to the recent popularity of home makeover reality shows. It has reached extremes in other cities, where some sellers have added stand-in family pets and hired attractive actors to pose as husband and wife engaged in domestic banter.

But stagers usually recommend staying away from those faux personal touches because each buyer should be able to imagine the home belongs to them.

Graham said staging is smart real estate marketing but hiring actors can cross an ethical line. She includes a plaque at each house saying it's been staged. She also advertises the homes as staged to let real estate agents know the properties will be made up and worth a visit, she said.

Hines said successful staging works on the principle that the open space of a home should flow. Clutter is the enemy because buyers can be distracted or turned off, she said. She has to fight to persuade clients to box up and hide their stacks of books and papers, and collections of figurines. She said they resist: "It's a lot of work, basically moving out while you're still living there."

Real estate investor Michael Moulton, whose company Bee Home Solutions buys four or five investment properties a month, started staging about eight months ago. He studied sales figures last month and decided a house he wanted to sell on the edge of the modest Merry Oaks neighborhood needed to be staged.

He hired CORT to deliver furniture Monday to the remodeled, three-bedroom house. He chose furniture with earth tones and simple styles, as well as artwork and a bowl of potpourri. The queen bed in the back bedroom would not be slept in. No one would eat dinner at the dark wood table in the kitchen.

Moulton said there's no way to know for sure the effect on any particular property for sale. But he believes it improves the chances of selling a home faster and close to the asking price than if it were left empty or filled with too much furniture. Bee Home buys and sells investment properties and also rents. The 1,400-square-foot house staged Monday has been on the market since the previous week and is listed at $194,500, he said.

"We want them to imagine this is their home," Moulton said. "A lot of the buyers don't have any imagination at all."

Christopher D. Kirkpatrick:704-358-5169

SETTING THE STAGE YOURSELF

Homeowners can go to www.stagedhomes.com for tips on preparing homes for sale. Those include:

• Clear unnecessary objects from furniture and kitchen countertops. If it hasn't been used for three months, put it away.

• Clear refrigerator fronts of messages and pictures. A sparse kitchen helps the buyer mentally move their own things into your kitchen.

• Remove unnecessary items from bathroom countertops, tubs, shower stalls and toilet tops. Keep only the most needed items in one small group on the counter. Coordinate towels to one or two colors.

• Rearrange or remove some of the furniture in the house, if necessary. Thin out as much as possible to make rooms appear larger. Take down or rearrange certain pictures or objects on walls.

• During showings turn on all lights and lamps. Have radio on during the day for viewings.

• Clear patios or decks of all small items, such as small planters, flower pots, charcoal, barbecues and toys.

• Check paint condition of the house -- especially the front door and trim.

Source: Stagedhomes.com

TO STAGE OR NOT TO STAGE?

• The International Association of Home Staging Professionals, which has a two-year-old Charlotte chapter and offers professional seminars, says staged homes sell faster. The chapter's membership handled 20 Charlotte-area homes in the past three months that sold after an average 42 days on the market, according to its president, Phyllis Graham. That compares to a 116-day average for the broader, Charlotte market, according to August figures from Carolina Multiple Listing Services.

• Homeowners looking to transform the interior of their property for a sale can hire a professional stager or take some basic steps on their own to entice potential buyers. Phyllis Graham, president of the local chapter, says homeowners should expect to pay $1 to $1.25 a square foot, or 1 percent of the list price, for a professional, who will furnish and arrange the interiors. Stagers also work with homeowners' existing furniture. CORT furniture rental allows homeowners to do some of their own staging. The company offers prepackaged rooms of furniture from $500 to $3,000 a month, depending on the size of the house.

New Condo Development Center City Charlotte NC

Timothy Jones — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 14:25:00 GMT

Parking in high style

Luxury condo project's car elevators save enough space so historic Carolina Theatre can stay intact

DOUG SMITH

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Liquid Designs

Elevators in Charlotte's next condo high-rise will deliver owners and their cars right to the door.

It's an innovative way to ensure privacy -- you stay in the car as you rise to your unit -- but it also saves space that would be chewed up by parking ramps.

The developers of 20-story Encore, billed as "showplace living at the Carolina Theatre," plan to install car elevators along with passenger elevators to help preserve the 80-year-old theater at North Tryon and East Sixth streets.

Charlottean Jim Donnelly's Pursuit Group LLC has taken over as lead developer and revised the $65 million project since the city approved partner Camden Management Partners' contract in April 2006 to buy the property.

Pursuit Group plans 20 "boutique" units selling for $1.7 million to $5 million instead of Camden's earlier proposed 35-story, 125-unit tower, where the most expensive condos would have been priced in the low $300,000s.

As lenders tighten credit in a slowing housing market, Donnelly believes small, unique projects have a better chance of getting financing and selling out.

The Trust, his eight-unit conversion of the former Home Federal Savings and Loan Building at 139 S. Tryon St. sold out at prices ranging from $1.5 to $3 million. Residents are to move in starting in February.

In that upper-end niche, Donnelly said, buyers are more financially secure and less focused on short-term capital markets and interest rates.

On Encore, he said his team is evaluating financing terms offered by three large banks.

He's not concerned that lenders typically require at least 50 percent of the units be sold in advance of construction.

Donnelly said he doesn't believe he will have difficulty selling 10 condos based on his experience at The Trust, where buyers had to be turned away.

Encore is more than just dwelling units.

The project would include three floors of offices (5,000 square feet each), a restaurant level, a theater lounge floor, an amenities floor for residents and a 1,400-seat auditorium for movies, live entertainment, charitable benefits and corporate events.

For Charlotte history lovers, who have been trying to secure a future for the Carolina since it went dark in 1978, there's no question this is a Next Big Thing.

Carolina Theatre Preservation Society President Charlie Clayton is pleased with the redesign.

"They've had me involved from the very beginning," he said. "I like the architecture. I like the way they incorporate the original facade and emphasize the marquee out front."

The developers expect to spend $5 million on the theater, and the society plans to raise millions more to return it to its original grandeur, Clayton said.

The city has agreed to help the developers and theater operator Ark Management with arts programming through annual grants based on the project's property taxes.

Mitigating the impact of parking was perhaps the most significant change Donnelly's team made to keep the theater in tact and improve the project's feasibility, Clayton said.

Past proposals included spiral ramps that would have required shaving off some of the theater to build condos atop several parking levels, he said.

"This would have been done a long time ago if it hadn't been for the parking problem," Clayton said.

Clay Landers of Atlanta-based Camden said, "Parking was the biggest constraint to the site" when he initiated the project three years ago. "This is a very creative solution," he said.

Car elevators are more common in cities where land is expensive and scarce. Donnelly, who co-founded an Internet travel site named IgoUgo.com, said he became acquainted with the technology during his travels.

Encore owners would enter the garage and condos on the Sixth Street side. Theater patrons would have a separate entrance on the Tryon Street side to the Carolina lobby and no access to the residential portion.

Donnelly said the project was designed so condo owners can be as private as they like, never mingling unless they choose to do so.

A restaurant would be cantilevered over Tryon Street at the seventh level.

A rooftop terrace with a lap pool for swimming and a smaller pool for cooling off would be open only to residents.

Residential condos with balconies overlooking Tryon would be on floors eight through 20 with one or two units, 3,000 to 7,000 square feet, per floor.

Pre-construction buyers would have some flexibility to design their spaces and window configurations. High-end finishes, fixtures and appliances would be standard. Owners could combine units horizontally or vertically.

Each condo would have either two or four parking spaces within a few feet of the owner's door. Residents who don't need as many spaces could convert them to other uses.

Separate passenger elevators open directly into residences.

Donnelly said the developers expected to sell the office space but would consider leasing. No commercial prices have been set.

He would like to break ground in March and complete the project by late fall 2009.

The next step is an extension of the developers' theater purchase agreement with the city.

City economic development director Tom Flynn, who's familiar with the plan, said his staff will recommend an extension to the City Council next month.

Developers Change With the Market

Encore shows how condo developers adjust to conditions in a changing housing market.Clay Landers of Camden Management Partners said that in the three years since he initiated a plan for a 35-story tower with 125 units on the Carolina Theatre site, construction prices and interest rates rose, meaning he would have to raise prices higher than his maximum $300,000s to make that project work.

"That got out of the scope of what my company does," he said. "We don't understand that higher price point."

He went shopping for a partner and found Jim Donnelly of Pursuit Group, who has experience with high-end condos.

Donnelly, believing that the market now favors a smaller, more upscale product revised the project to include just 20 units priced from $1.7 million to $5 million.

In light of the housing downturn, real estate analysts are paying close attention to uptown, where 20 high-rise projects are open, under construction or being considered.

Boulevard Centro became the first developer to pull the plug on a tower, when it dropped plans in April for a 25-story condo-hotel next to Bobcats Arena. Eighty buyers had signed up for 117 units, but the developer said constraints of the small site and rising construction costs made it impossible to build.

Encore Overview

• Location: North Tryon and East Sixth streets, incorporating the historic Carolina Theatre.

• Size: 20 stories with restored theater, restaurant, offices and 20 residential condos.

• Prices: $1.7 to $5 million for 3,000- to 7,000-square-foot units.

• Theater: To be operated by Ark Management with plans for live entertainment, movies, charitable benefits, corporate meetings.

• Condo amenities: Car elevators, rooftop terrace with pools, balconies, residents' amenities floor.

• Developers: Pursuit Group LLC with Camden Management Partners. Pursuit's main team consists of Jim Donnelly, Scott Bianchi and Jim Kunevicius.

• Architect: Liquid Design.

• Contractor: Bovis Lend Lease.

• History: Project started three years ago when lawyer Ruffin Pearce Jr. of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, then a Carolina Theatre Preservation Society member, began working with Camden's Clay Landers on a development-restoration idea.

• Sales Center: 221 S. Tryon St.

• Information: www.encorecharlotte.com

Doug Smith

2308 Chateau Ct in Brandywine is Sold!

Timothy Jones — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 13:55:00 GMT

Brandywine, Matthews - The 2 story at 2308 Chateau Ct has been sold.

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Open House in Brandywine on Saturday

Timothy Jones — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 18:47:00 GMT

Brandywine, Matthews - We invite everyone to visit our open house at 2308 Chateau Ct on June 16 from 2:00 AM to 5:00 AM.

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Price Reduced on 2308 Chateau Ct in Brandywine

Timothy Jones — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 18:44:00 GMT

Brandywine, Matthews - Announcing a price reduction on 2308 Chateau Ct, a 2,122 sq. ft., 2 bath, 4 bdrm 2 story. Now MLS® #683438 $227,000 - Immaculate home.

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2 Story For Sale in Brandywine

Timothy Jones — Wed, 30 May 2007 15:08:00 GMT

New to the market

• 2,122 sq. ft., 2 bath, 4 bdrm 2 story - MLS® #683438 $229,500 - Immaculate home

Brandywine, Matthews - This is a wonderful home in the Matthews area with great curb appeal and pride of ownership. Sellers have just finished painting the interior and exterior with a designer paint scheme. 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths make this an ideal home. 42 inch cabinets in the kitchen. Gas logs in the family room. Fantastic lanscaping front and back with a large deck. Prepare to be impressed.

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New Residential Tower Announcement in 3rd Ward Center City

Timothy Jones — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 14:19:00 GMT

DEVELOPMENT

Third Ward park is towers' draw

Green space helps buildings come to fruition

DOUG SMITH

dougsmith@charlotteobserver.com

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Rendering courtesy of LS3P Associates Ltd.

300 South Tryon, a mixed-use project, will overlook the potential site of a proposed uptown park and baseball stadium. The complex’s 32-story tower will have two fronts, one on the Tryon side and one on the park side. A promenade along Third Street will connect the park to Tryon Street.

Charlotte's Next Big Thing in center city projects will be a mixed-use development reaching into the sky.

Condos, offices, shops and restaurants will come together in two new towers, 32 stories and 14 stories, at Tryon and Third streets.

Residents will have a 16-floor "sky terrace" with a pool, hot tub and fitness center; a second-floor health club and spa; concierge service, and, of course, skyline views from balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows.

The modernistic buildings will be the 19th and 20th announced or started during uptown's four-year high-rise residential surge.

Spectrum Properties and Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers are jointly developing the project -- named 300 South Tryon -- on a parking lot between Tryon and Church streets next to the historic Latta Arcade.

Michael Smith, president of Charlotte Center City Partners, believes it will be pivotal, creating a promenade along Third Street to a planned Third Ward park, putting more housing on Tryon and helping alleviate an uptown office space crunch.

"If you do pedestrian counts on South Tryon, there's just great activity there," he said. "Add to that the urban park and the amount of housing planned around it in Third Ward, and you have support for the retail."

The developers plan to start work on the 32-story mixed-use tower on the Tryon side in June and follow later with the 14-story condo tower on the Church Street side overlooking the planned park.

Spectrum Properties expects to complete the project by late 2009.

The tallest tower will have two floors of shops and restaurants -- about 40,000 square feet -- at the base, 168 residential condos selling from just under $250,000 to more than $900,000 on the highest floors and 316,000 square feet of office space in between.

Spectrum said the shorter building will total 151 units. Exact sizes, pricing and a construction timetable are to be determined.

Real estate watchers flinch at so much condo activity at a time when other large metropolitan areas are experiencing overbuilding and slumping sales.

But the addition of this project doesn't concern multi-family analyst Emma Littlejohn of The Littlejohn Group, who follows the urban market perhaps closer than anyone else in the city.

Openings of all those announced projects will be spread through the end of this decade and into the next, she said, boosting center city population from about 11,000 today to more than 21,000.

And, Littlejohn adds, demand for condos in the center city remains strong while the supply of luxury units like those planned at 300 South Tryon is limited.

"This announcement doesn't scare me at all," Littlejohn said. "I think their combination of location and amenities is going to be a home run."

The office space also seems to be timed appropriately.

Oversupply was a major issue uptown a few years ago, but the situation has changed dramatically over the past couple of years with the healthy growth of uptown's banks and financial services business.

Now, experts say, more offices are needed, even though uptown expects to add about 1 million square feet of speculative space by 2010 in three earlier announced towers.

Cornerstone and Spectrum felt confident enough about the market's strength to unveil the project and start construction without having the space leased up in advance.

Smith said the uptown vacancy rate has dropped to the 4 percent range, creating such a tight market that "you literally don't have enough space to recruit new businesses."

The developers made way for a 28-story office tower at Tryon and Third about eight years by demolishing several buildings, including Jake's restaurant and a mid-1920s office complex called Film Row.

Development was delayed, however, in the wake of a slumping real estate market.

Once discussions began a few years ago on the Third Ward park and a potential minor-league baseball stadium, the developers decided to re-evaluate.

"This project is all about the park," said Spectrum Chairman Jim Dulin. "It has that extra density because of the park."

The city, county and school system could complete details of a land swap in April or May, clearing the way for a baseball stadium next to the park.

Cornerstone, the real estate investment arm of Mass Mutual, is involved in the swap because it owns some of the property that would be used for the park.

"This is a fine example of how developments are accelerated and their density increased when projects like the land swap carry the day," Smith said.

Spectrum is pushing for approval of the swap, but officials said it's not mandatory for them to proceed with the estimated $200 million construction of 300 South Tryon.

They plan to start marketing commercial space and first phase condos in May and second phase condos in spring 2008.

300 SOUTH TRYON DETAILS

• 32-story tower with two levels of retail at the base, 13 floors of offices, 17 floors of condos.

• Architectural features include an eye-catching two-story "jewel box" retail structure at the Tryon and Third corner and a subtle flowing building design that draws attention down Third to the park.

• Each office floor has 25,000 square feet of space, 9-foot ceilings on lower floors, 12-foot ceilings on top two floors plus executive balcony on top office floor.

• Anchor tenant can put signage on building.

• Retail tenants to include a high-end restaurant, a sports bar/tavern, coffee shop, gourmet market.

• Condos in tower will have floor-to-ceiling glass and balconies or private terraces. Sizes range from studios (550 square feet) to two-bedroom units (1,100 square feet) and prices from under $250,000 to about $500,000. Seven penthouses on top three floors, 2,000 to 6,000 square feet each. Starting price: $900,000.

• Amenities to include 16th-floor sky terrace with pool and hot tub, fitness center, community room, wine room, theater room, pet park, private party terrace.

• Project features to include Club 300, a high-end health club and spa on second floor, concierge, large conference center, roof terrace in breakout area.

• Parking will be on four levels below building. Condo owners will have one space per bedroom (maximum: two). Office tenants will have additional parking in neighboring deck at Spectrum's 230 South Tryon condos.

• 14-story condo tower in phase two with a private party terrace connected to larger tower's amenities level by sky bridge. Penthouses, 1,900 to 3,000 square feet on top floor.

Development team

Developers: Spectrum Properties and Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers.

Architect: LS3P Associates Ltd.

Contractor: R.J. Griffin & Co.

Condo sales: Helen Adams Realty.

Office leasing: Spectrum Properties, Ted Lee.

Info: 300southtryon.com.

Doug Smith: 704-358-5174; dougsmith@charlotteobserver.com

New Condos For Wesley Heights

Timothy Jones — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 21:24:00 GMT

Luxury trend finds Wesley Heights

Neighborhood near uptown has affordable housing, and is adding condos

Luxury trend finds Wesley Heights Neighborhood near uptown has affordable housing, and is adding condos

Luxury condominiums pop up like spring flowers in the neighborhoods of south Charlotte.

Now, a similar trend is emerging in the burgeoning Wesley Heights revitalization area just west of uptown.

Origin Development LLC plans what it says will be the city's "greenest" and among the neighborhood's largest condos, off West Fourth Street Extension slightly west of the Interstate 77-Interstate 277 loop.

Prices at 24-unit Celadon will range from the mid-$200,000s to the mid-$400,000s for 900- to 2,076-square-foot townhome-style condos with such touches as Italian design gourmet kitchens and spa-like master suites.

Most of the condo and townhome development there so far has been tilted toward smaller units with fewer high-end features to keep prices in check.

"This is the first to take a more boutique approach," said real estate analyst Emma Littlejohn of The Littlejohn Group. "It indicates Wesley Heights is being propelled into a much more market rate neighborhood."

The project's Next Big Thing potential, real estate experts say, lies in the diversity it could bring to Wesley Heights. So-called workforce and affordable housing could be joined by more luxury townhomes and condos.

"The neighborhood is beginning to appeal to more upper end households," said developer Bobby Drakeford of The Drakeford Co. "This could be the start of a trend -- like in SouthPark."

He's developing Walnut Hill, about 40 condos (995 to 1,500 square feet, $170,000s to $250,000s) off Wesley Heights Way near West Trade Street.

Only 10 units remain for sale in the project, to be finished in July.

Most buyers, Drakeford said, are young people who see the potential of Wesley Heights and are willing to stretch financially to invest in the neighborhood.

Urban planners are encouraging residential developers to "jump" the I-277 barrier with housing projects that help fill the gap between uptown and westside neighborhoods.

Wesley Heights got a major boost in 2003 when developer Frank Martin's Landcraft Properties bought 25 acres between Stewart Creek and Woodruff Place for Lela Court, a 147-home infill development.

Any developer who wasn't watching then certainly is now.

Origin Development principal James Funderburk Jr. and partner Jim Hock discovered their wooded 1.4-acre site on West Fourth Street Extension through a real estate broker.

"It was perfectly oriented," Funderburk said. "It's on the greenway, on a mass transit route and only a quarter mile from the inner ring of Interstate 277."

The site is so close to the center city that a condo owner could bike or walk and leave the car in the garage.

From the start, Funderburk said, the developers saw an opportunity to do something special by saving a third of the trees and combining modern-minimalist design with environmental sensitivity and energy efficiency.

"Retaining the heavily wooded feel was important to me," Funderburk said. "I think a modern structure in the midst of the woods is a beautiful contrast."

Saving trees is aesthetically important to the neighborhood, he said, but it also reduces stormwater runoff, enhances the project's passive solar design and provides "a slice of nature" to townhome owners.

Some units will be larger than 2,000 square feet, comparable to what buyers might find in SouthPark or Dilworth, but they won't be as pricey, he said.

Funderburk estimates the average price per square foot at $220, roughly $100 less he says than a similar condo in Dilworth where land prices are higher.

Origin Development plans to start construction of the $8.7 million project in May and complete work in early 2008.

Developers make green housing less costly

Origin Development principals James Funderburk Jr. and Jim Hock spent nearly two years researching and planning Celadon.Their quest for ideas and techniques took them to green building conferences in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, Calif.

They wondered why modern green design was so scarce in multi-family development.

"What we found was that development often follows the path of least resistance, which can tend to stifle innovation," Hock said.

Nationally, home builders say buyers are resistant to paying more for green features.

Convinced that eco-friendly features can be cost effective, they hired Liquid Design's Michael Williams and Gaurav Gupte, who are Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified.

Among the green features they've included:

• A light-reflective roof that incorporates "cool roof" technology.

• Dual-flush toilets to reduce water consumption.

• Energy efficient Fisher & Paykel appliances to reduce energy consumption.

• Recycled materials used for sound and thermal insulation.

• Bamboo flooring, which is grown sustainably without fertilizers or pesticides.

• Slow growing, native and drought resistant plants used in landscaping.

• Kitchen cabinets built to stringent European standards to greatly reduce urea-formaldehyde emissions.

• Recycling during construction with a goal of diverting 70 percent of construction waste from landfills.

• Materials generated by Celadon land clearing and excavating to be reused on the site.

Celadon Overview

SIZE: 24 "eco-chic" three-story, townhome-style condos on 1.4 acres site on West Fourth Street Extension about a mile from the intersection of Trade and Tryon streets.

UNITS: One-, two- and three-bedroom townhomes from 900 to 2,076 square feet, priced from the mid-$200,000s to the mid-$400,000s.

FEATURES: private garages, balconies, dual lavatories and vanities in master suites, 10- to 20-foot ceilings, large windows, custom gourmet island kitchens.

DEVELOPERS: James Funderburk Jr., real estate investor whose career includes founding such clothing chains as Lotus, Civilian and Urban Evolution. Jim Hock, an experienced project manager and former vice president of marketing with Wachovia Securities.

ARCHITECTS/PROJECT MANAGERS: Liquid Design's Michael Williams and Gaurav Gupte.

CONTRACTOR: Sagehorn & Co., Inc.

SALES: Shane McDevitt and John Geuss of Helen Adams Realty. Sales and design gallery to open April 14 at 1430 S. Mint Street.

INFORMATION: www.celadongreenway.com.

Doug Smith: 704-358-5174; dougsmith@charlotteobserver.com

Charlotte is Booming

Timothy Jones — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 21:20:00 GMT

Charlotte region's boom gains steam

Newcomers fuel growth of 300,000 people over past six years

KYTJA WEIR

kweir@charlotteobserver.com

Newcomers propelled the Charlotte region to its fastest growth spurt in years, according to 2006 U.S. census data released today.

The boom was more than even state experts anticipated, signaling continued pressure on schools, roads and public safety agencies as communities struggle to adapt.

The tension comes as North Carolina netted more than 800,000 people from 2000 until last July, with about 300,000 added to the Charlotte region.

The growth exceeded state projections, but North Carolina's demographer Bill Tillman was not surprised where it hit.

"The places that had been growing just grew a little faster," Tillman said.

The hottest regions in the Carolinas continue to be bedroom communities around Charlotte, the Triangle and Myrtle Beach, the data show. Virginia's growing Norfolk-Virginia Beach community is also spilling over into North Carolina's coastal Camden and Currituck counties.

Around Charlotte, several counties within commuting distance of the city grew even faster than Mecklenburg County itself.

Union's rate outpaced the region and also climbed four rungs to become the nation's 15th fastest growing big county since 2000. York County, S.C., followed as the region's second-fastest growing county. Next: Cabarrus, Iredell, then Mecklenburg.

Halima Ullah, 24, is among those driving the numbers. She heard positive things about Charlotte's reputation when she lived in Maryland during her four-year enlistment in the Air Force.

Her moving van arrived Wednesday at the three-bedroom home she's renting with two roommates in Ballantyne. A roommate recommended the area, she said, so she found the place by Googling rentals in the 28277 ZIP code.

"Charlotte's supposed to be up and coming," she said. "I've heard people talk about how beautiful it is."

Booming burbs

Births account for some growth, outpacing deaths in the region, but most of the increase comes from newcomers such as Ullah.Some who move here credit affordable housing, mild winters and job opportunities as what attracted them to the Charlotte area.

But not every county in the area could offer enough enticements. South Carolina's Chester County shrank almost 4 percent from 2000 to 2006, losing a net of almost 1,200 people. The population in still-rural Anson County remains mostly untouched by Charlotte's boom and stayed relatively steady.

However, the growth rates are based on percentages. Counties with smaller populations can show more dramatic growth rates by adding or losing a relatively small number of people. Large counties, by contrast, can absorb thousands of people without showing a big spike.

For example, Union's growth rate was more than twice Mecklenburg's, with 42 percent versus 19 percent over six years. But Union added almost 52,000 people during that time compared with Mecklenburg's more than 130,000 people.

In terms of raw numbers, Mecklenburg's increase is the equivalent of twice the population of Asheville picking up and moving to Charlotte.

Yet experts say it makes sense that growth is spilling into Charlotte's neighboring counties faster.

In addition to affordable land ripe for subdivisions, many say the lower tax rates and strong schools also drive some of the population to outlying counties.

"I absolutely saw it coming," said Catherine Marie, an Allen Tate agent for 12 years who helped a couple with their home contract Wednesday outside of Union's Wesley Chapel community. "It's the volume of land available versus Mecklenburg, and the lower taxation ... and still the proximity to urban amenities."

Growing pains

But all that growth requires more houses, more schools and more roads. That's causing some headaches for communities struggling to keep up:

• Mecklenburg County posted a record number of building permits last year, with 18,089 housing units authorized, compared with 13,412 in 2005. In Cornelius, officials passed a moratorium stopping many new residential developments so they can plan for the future.

• Union County officials warn that a 17-cent property tax increase will be necessary over the next four years to pay for school construction. And the state stopped new permits at the county's biggest sewer plant this winter -- effectively halting future building -- until Union can expand the plant.

• York County is considering requiring developers to contribute to public services such as schools if they want to build more homes.

Experts anticipate more of the same.

The state was already slated to add more than 3 million people by 2030 to reach more than 12 million. The census estimates exceeded Tillman's projections by about 30,000 statewide. Now he said he needs to adjust the long-range forecast.

But economic events could change everything. Tillman noted the housing market tanked in the rest of the country last year, but North Carolina's market continued to boom.

"Are we behind or did we miss it?" he asked.

Going Up

• Overall, N.C. grew 10.1 percent in six years, while S.C. grew 7.7 percent.

• 827,445: As the state's most populous county, Mecklenburg County broke the 800,000 mark for the first time in 2006.

• Wake County is growing faster than Mecklenburg; it's population is expected to exceed Mecklenburg's by 2016.

• In 13 rural counties, including a cluster in the inland northeast part of the state, the population actually shrank from 2000 to 2006.

SOURCES: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000-2006 population estimates; N.C. State Demographer Bill Tillman.

Database Editor Ted Mellnik and Staff Writers Leigh Dyer, Julia Oliver and deborah Hirsch contributed.

9116 Kings Canyon Dr in Park Walk under contract in 3 days

Timothy Jones — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 15:00:00 GMT

Park Walk, Charlotte - Under contract in 3 days. 9116 Kings Canyon Dr, a 1,339 sq. ft., 2 bath, 2 bdrm 2 story. MLS® #657631 SALE PENDING $129,900 - Call Timothy Jones today to if you are looking for results in selling your home, or visit www.charlottefinehomes.net for more information.

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907 Sonata Pl in Stonehaven is Sold!

Timothy Jones — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 14:58:00 GMT

Stonehaven, Charlotte - The 2 story at 907 Sonata Pl has been sold.

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New announcement for NODA Condos

Timothy Jones — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 00:48:00 GMT

DEVELOPMENT
Arts district getting more condos, shops
Complex in Davidson should be done in 2008
DOUG SMITH

The Condos in South Main Square are planned for Davidson's arts district.
More residences and shops soon will join the South Main Square Arts District in Davidson.
Charlotte's Cameron Capital LLC is planning 26 condos at South Main Square, a 7-acre mixed-use development in the 400 block of South Main Street.
The complex, about two blocks from the downtown commercial district, will include arts facilities, shops, offices, restaurants and loft residences.
Urban Organic I LLC, the master developer, launched an estimated $15 million to $20 million project last year to upgrade seven buildings there and convert one to offices and residential lofts.
The Condos in South Main Square -- to be constructed on a vacant parcel -- will be the second phase, said Urban Organic's Kathleen Rose.
The first-phase lofts sold out, she said, to a mix of buyers involved in service businesses, the arts and education.
The condos will be three three-story buildings with 11,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground level.
The project is consistent with Davidson planners' initiative to create more housing in and around the arts district.
Construction is expected to start in early May and be completed by summer 2008.
Rose said the developers see potential for a third phase: redevelopment of some of the older buildings.
The location was attractive to Cameron Capital, said Kevan Smith of Landsmith LLC, project development manager.
"It's right on Main Street," he said. "When we're up there, we eat lunch at the soda shop and have coffee at the coffee shop -- all within walking distance."
The Condos in South Main Square will include townhome-style units and flats priced from the $220,000s to the $240,000s.
Smith said the project consists of 11 flats, each 1,132 square feet; 12 townhomes of 1,090 and 1,072 square feet; and three 550-square flats that are required by the town for work force housing.
The ground-level commercial space will be divided into 10 commercial condos of 1,068 square feet each and one totaling 1,600 square feet.
Rose, also president of Rose & Associates Southeast Inc., is handling commercial leasing.
No rates have been determined, but she anticipates annual rent in the $20 to $22 a square foot range, which would be in line with market there.
Development
Development Team
Master developer: Urban Organic LLC, formed by Kathleen Rose, Diane Carter and Adrienne LaFar.
Condo developer: Cameron Capital LLC, whose principals are Frank Martin and Latham Grimes.
Development manager: Landsmith LLC.
Architect: The Lawrence Group.
Interior designer: Sensible Space.
Contractor: Superior Construction Corp.
Click thumbnails to Enlarge.

South main square condos

1011 Dunbarton Rd in Annandale is Sold!

Timothy Jones — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 21:01:00 GMT

Annandale, Indian Trail - The 1 1/2 story at 1011 Dunbarton Rd has been sold.

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9113 Bartlett Rd in none is Sold!

Timothy Jones — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 20:59:00 GMT

none, Mint Hill - The 1 1/2 story at 9113 Bartlett Rd has been sold.

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