A Charlotte developer plans condominiums in a westside neighborhood where demand for houses is so strong that for-sale signs seldom go up.

Bobby Drakeford of The Drakeford Co. has rezoned about seven-tenths of an acre in the 700 block of Grandin Road just off West Morehead Street in Wesley Heights for The Grandin.

He plans a dozen 900-square-foot flats in a three-story building and six 1,050-square-foot townhome units in three buildings.

Prices start in the low $120,000s for flats and the low $150,000s for townhomes -- a range likely to appeal to young couples and single professionals.

Drakeford will break ground when at least half the units are sold. He would like to start work by April and complete construction within 10 months.

Wesley Heights -- a mile west of The Square -- was developed in the early 1920s as a streetcar suburb by E.C. Griffith, also pivotal in the development of Eastover, Myers Park and Elizabeth.

Urban pioneers rediscovered Wesley Heights in the 1980s and 1990s, making its bungalows, cottages and small four-unit apartments hot properties.

Griffith is credited with having the foresight to extend West Morehead across Irwin Creek through the edge of the neighborhood to Wilkinson Boulevard, giving residents excellent access to uptown.

That's an attraction today as suburbanites seek to move closer to the center city's cultural amenities, restaurants and employers.

Not far behind Drakeford's project in Wesley Heights is LandCraft Properties Inc. with a much larger residential development.

LandCraft principal Frank Martin said the company plans about 75 townhomes and 65 single-family houses on Woodruff Place near Freedom Drive.

Martin said LandCraft will begin preparing lots for builders in the spring on about 13 acres and donate about 12 more acres to the county's greenway system. Three builders expect to start construction of the first homes in August.

Drakeford's project, valued at about $2.5 million, is within Wesley Heights' historic district, which includes about 225 houses and 65 multi-family units.

Adhering to the historic district's guidelines, The Grandin's flats and townhomes will feature natural wood and brick -- no synthetic materials, he said.

The two-story townhome buildings will mimic the neighborhood's bungalow-style architecture with porches and columns in front.

Garages and decks will be built in back.