Wed, Jun. 18, 2003 
`Pinwheel' condos have 3 fronts
Shea Homes is giving triplex designs a try in S. Charlotte's Riviera
DOUG SMITH

Shea Homes, best known as a builder of single-family houses, is plunging into the Charlotte condo market with a new design that looks like a suburban home.

Ed Shea, head of acquisitions, said the company's first condos here will be built in Riviera, a new community next to its Providence Pointe neighborhood in south Charlotte. Instead of the standard practice of stringing several units in a row, he said, Shea will construct three condos in a single building.

Three sides will resemble the fronts of houses. The fourth will accommodate garages for each unit.

The design gives each buyer the equivalent of an end unit -- generally considered the most desirable in a multifamily project.

The concept isn't entirely new to the Charlotte market.

Two companies, WKB Charlotte and Lifestyle Development Co., have built similar "pinwheel" design condos with four units placed so you see only one front door from any angle.

Such units appeal especially to empty nesters, professional couples and single-again adults.

Shea believes some "move-down" buyers like the idea of living in what looks and feels like single-family house without the responsibility of lawn care and maintenance. And that's a market company officials hope to tap with their new condos.

At a similar project called Sundance at Indigo Hills in Denver, about three-fourths of the buyers were single, according to Shea's Colorado division.

Company officials also said the triplex design blended better than traditional townhome plans with nearby single-family houses.

Shea has begun clearing a site on Lancaster Highway just off Ballantyne Commons Parkway for the first of more than 200 units and plans to begin sales by late summer.

Condos will range from 1,139 to 1,767 square feet and be priced from the $130,000s to the low $200,000s.

Shea plans to offer one-story and two-story floor plans, including units with master bedrooms downstairs.

If the company starts construction by early fall as anticipated, the first condos could be ready by spring.

Officials didn't disclose any other locations, but they do plan to develop more condos.

Shea Homes, the nation's largest privately held home builder, is constructing houses in 14 neighborhoods in the Charlotte area.