Furman, Blanton see barely tapped market for the urban lifestyle

Uptown's high-rise condo craze is spreading to West Trade Street, where developers plan a 28-story tower with residences, offices and shops.

Condo developer David Furman of Boulevard Centro and commercial developer Jay Blanton of Insite Properties are teaming to build TradeMark on Trade between Mint and Poplar streets.

The modernistic building with 162 floor-to-ceiling glass condos will improve the center city's pedestrian link to Gateway Village and the new Johnson & Wales University campus about six blocks west of The Square.

And Furman believes the project -- his second uptown high-rise -- also will generate more housing development in the urban core as Charlotte tracks one of the nation's hottest trends over the past decade and a half.

In cities such as Atlanta, Miami and Memphis, young professionals and empty nesters are embracing skyline views and ditching long commutes to participate in downtown nightlife, dining and sports amenities.

Charlotte, whose uptown population has grown from about 5,500 in the mid-1990s to nearly 10,000 today, is on the cusp of a residential boom that likely will reshape the skyline over the next few years.

Since April, developers have disclosed plans for three condo towers. They include:

• Atlanta-based Novare Group's estimated 35-story building planned at North Church and West Fifth Streets.

• Charlotte developer Pete Verna's The Park, a 21-story tower planned at Third and Caldwell streets.

• Boulevard Centro's Courtside, under construction at Sixth and Caldwell streets near the new arena site.

In addition, Spectrum Properties has disclosed plans to convert the 13-story 230 South Tryon building from offices to 120 condos.

Furman said demand for Courtside -- the first among the wave of announcements -- convinced him to add another floor, increasing its height to 17 stories and pushing its total number of units to 107.

The project sold out in about two weeks, he said.

Furman, who has developed 250 condos in smaller projects in Gateway Village, First Ward and Fourth Ward over the past five years, said "Courtside just touched another nerve" with buyers.

"That's what fueled our interest in doing another project like it as quickly as possible," he said.

Furman said industry experts familiar with the resurgent popularity of urban living believe the lifestyle appeals to 1 percent to 2 percent of the population.

That means in Charlotte -- which has a metro area population of about 1.5 million -- the pool of buyers could range from 15,000 to 20,000, he said.

"All of the recent announcements combined are not more than 1,000 units," Furman said.

TradeMark, roughly 300 feet tall, will be constructed in the 300 block of West Trade on a corner now occupied by the 42-year-old Center City Inn. Fuel Pizza recently closed on the ground level of the building.

Boulevard Centro and Insite Properties have the 1-acre site under contract for purchase from Charlotte Uptown Hotel LLC.

Insite's Blanton had been working with Funderburk Hotel Group to renovate the old building as a boutique hotel. That project never got started, he said, because of difficulty in securing financing.

After the boutique hotel deal collapsed, Blanton went to Boulevard Centro with an offer of a joint venture on the site. Furman, eager to do another high-rise, didn't hesitate.

They will demolish the Center City Inn before construction starts there in March.

Furman said his architecture firm designed TradeMark -- across Mint from the federal courthouse -- to capitalize on nighttime views of that building, the uptown bank towers and Bank of America Stadium.

The Mint side of the building will be set back 25 feet from the street for a wide sidewalk that would connect to a park proposed in Third Ward.

The Poplar-and-Trade corner will include a fountain and outdoor gathering space.

The residential tower will include a pool terrace with a fountain, dog-walking green and exercise room atop a seven-level, 340-space parking garage.

Loft style condos -- 673 square feet to 1,830 square feet with floor-to-ceiling glass -- will have private balconies and zones for living, sleeping and dining. Prices range from $198,000 to $625,000.

Condo features include 10-foot ceilings, ceramic tile bathroom floors and shower surrounds, granite countertops in kitchens and baths, carpet in sleeping areas, wood flooring in main living areas and secured access to the garage.

Boulevard Centro's Catherine Mitchell is in charge of residential sales.

The building also includes six floors of office condo space -- about 8,000 square feet per floor -- for which Insite's Jay Blanton will handle sales.

He expects to list the office space for sale in the $220- to-$260-a-square-foot range and include an allowance for buyers to finish out units.

Blanton also will be in charge of leasing about 9,000 square feet of shop and restaurant space on the ground level. The lease rate is yet to be determined, he said.

If the project -- valued at roughly $65 million -- starts as planned in March, it likely would be completed by late 2006, Furman said.