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Aug. 27, 2004
Another newcomer heads for high-profile
intersection
Eastover View to be Grubb's 3rd
project at Wendover,
Randolph
DOUG SMITH
Grubb Properties Inc. didn't go
far to find another site when its
Wendover
Heights
condos began to fill at Randolph and Wendover roads in southeast
Charlotte
.
Eastover View -- an 18-unit
project -- will be constructed on 2.7 acres of a 25-acre tract Grubb
acquired at the high-profile corner more than five years ago.
The new condos will be bordered on
one side by
Wendover
Heights
and on the other by Grubb's Sterling Magnolia Apartments.
The Randolph-Wendover corner --
which features sculptor Thomas Sayre's two giant concrete ovals -- not
only is a landmark, but also a reminder of a familiar real estate axiom:
location, location, location.
Grubb's condos and apartments are
only four miles from the center city and near the shops and restaurants of
Cotswold.
Brannon Gilliam, Grubb's director
of residential sales and leasing, said the new project targets two niches:
young professionals working at nearby medical centers or the uptown office
towers, and downsizing empty nesters.
Unlike
Wendover
Heights
, which has two of 41 townhomes remaining for sale at $400,000-plus each,
Eastover View condos will be smaller and less costly.
Units in the three-story building
will be one- and two-bedroom flats, with elevator access to upper floors
-- a selling point for empty nesters weary of climbing stairs.
Condos will be priced from the
$190,000s to the $280,000s and range in size from 925 square feet to 1,375
square feet.
"Our research showed that
there was no product like it -- stacked flats -- in our market area in
that price range," Gilliam said. "If you look around us in
Eastover, the price is a good bit higher."
He believes that having a 174-unit
apartment project as a neighbor will be a big plus in selling out Eastover
View.
He said Grubb will offer
incentives to nearby Sterling Magnolia residents interested in buying a
condo at Eastover View. While still living in an apartment, for example,
they can allocate a portion of their rent toward purchase of a condo, he
said.
Newcomers often rent apartments
for a year and survey the market before buying homes. If they're happy at
Sterling Magnolia, Gilliam said, they wouldn't have to move far.
Eastover View condo owners will
have access to the swimming pool, barbecue areas and fitness center at the
apartments.
Standard features include
nine-foot ceilings, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, gas
fireplaces, garden tubs with separate showers, outdoor terraces and
washers and dryers.
The building will have
controlled-access entry and a secured parking garage on the ground level.
Narmour Wright Associates designed
the estimated $7.5 million project. No general contractor has been
selected.
Gilliam said Grubb expects to
start construction in January and finish work in about a year.
Grubb Properties started a
pre-sales campaign this week. It operates a sales office at
Wendover
Heights
.
Seven-unit Connelly on Churchill
townhomes is under construction on a 1.5-acre parcel Grubb sold developer
Russ Jones from its large tract at the Randolph-Wendover corner.
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