Mansion' is not what it looks like

Matheson Place, an imposing three-story house planned for Plaza-Midwood, has the potential to be one of those landmark buildings that make people wonder who lives inside.

With its upper- and lower-level porches across the front, the structure is being designed to blend with the estate homes around Charlotte Country Club on Mecklenburg Avenue.

But a peek into this yet-to-built house might surprise you.

Matheson Place is a condominium project with two one-story units on the first floor and four two-story townhouses on top.

Plaza-Midwood, like other close-in Charlotte neighborhoods, has become popular for infill housing - new construction on vacant or underdeveloped parcels.

But this - by design - is not your typical condo development.

"In this project, you won't see a line of side-by-side units along the street," said Babak Emadi of Urbana, a Charlotte design and architecture firm.

He and partner Jonathan Bahr designed Matheson Place on a third of an acre at Matheson Avenue and Ford Street for developers Gary Workman of Workman Properties and his son, Bobby Workman.

They believe it could be a model for high-density housing on sites zoned for multiple units.

Gary Workman wants to start construction of the nearly $1 million project in about two months and complete it by mid-fall. It won't go forward, he said, until at least half the units are sold.

Dana Parker Burleson of Neighborhood Realty, who is handing sales, has compiled a list of six prospective buyers since a sign announcing the project went up recently on the site.

Prices start at $165,000 for units averaging 1,200 square feet. Both the flats and the townhouses have two bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.

It's not unusual for an older home to be divided into condos or apartments, but Emadi said it is rare to attempt what Workman is doing: packaging condos inside a new house designed to look like it has been there for decades.

The architects drew from the Arts & Crafts (also referred to as Craftsman or bungalow) style, which is prevalent in Plaza-Midwood, Elizabeth, Dilworth and other close-in neighborhoods.

Such homes generally emphasize integration of the house with its environment and feature siding or shingle exteriors with brick accents and porches, terraces and porte-cocheres for vehicles to drive under.

Matheson Place will incorporate exterior fiber-cement siding and shakes with tumbled-brick steps and columns. The porch will be 8 feet wide and extend for about 50 feet across the front.

Workman said he originally was considering building a large, single-family mansion on the site, but Emadi, who had lived in an Elizabeth home converted to condos, convinced him to try something different.

Residents will have balconies on the backside of the building and 10 or 11 parking spaces among the trees, which Workman intends to preserve. A small house on the lot will be demolished.

All units will have gas fireplaces, glass-and-wood French doors, hardwood floors in living and dining rooms and ceramic tile flooring in kitchens and baths. Lower-level units will have 10-foot ceilings and upper units will have 9-foot and vaulted ceilings.

Houses in historic Plaza-Midwood range from working-class bungalows to large estates near Charlotte Country Club.

The Arts & Crafts design, which most people identify with the neighborhood, reflects Plaza-Midwood as it developed from the mid-1920s through World War II.

The neighborhood, which lies primarily north of Central Avenue, has seen its popularity increase in recent years as people move in from the suburbs to escape long commutes to their jobs.

The business district around The Plaza and Central Avenue also is becoming a magnet, with its mix of eclectic shopping, dining and nightlife.

Last fall, Neighboring Concepts announced plans for 46 townhouse-style condos on Firth Court at Hamorton Place, about four blocks east of The Plaza.

And across Matheson Avenue from Matheson Place, Southern Building Group Inc. is completing the first of 10 new homes along Fort Street. The initial house is listed for sale at $331,000.

Valerie Mitchener of Dickens-Mitchener and Associates, which is handling sales, said the remainder of the bungalow-style houses there probably will be priced slightly below $300,000.

Her residential real estate firm is selling lots as well as houses for the developer, and she anticipates other homebuilders will be interested in the project.

Workman doesn't need a rezoning to proceed with Matheson Place, but he said he did show his plans to a neighborhood association leader and the project's closest neighbor so he could address any concerns they might have.