Charlotte's center-city housing market continues to show renewed vigor this year with yet another condominium building moving closer to construction.

The Charlotte Housing Authority is teaming with a private venture that expects to start work by fall on The Renwick, a four-story, 85-unit project in First Ward, about three blocks from the new arena site.

Developers have experienced incredibly strong demand for two uptown condo towers announced within the past five weeks near the arena.

All of Courtside's 104 units planned for Sixth and Caldwell streets are sold, and The Park, planned for Third and Caldwell, has only 24 of 107 remaining.

Urban planners say worsening suburban traffic and a wider range of uptown amenities are helping fuel the rush to the core.

The Renwick's development team -- Merry Land Properties LLC, Bucci Development and the Housing Authority -- began planning the project in early 2002 before the city completed plans for the arena on East Trade Street.

"We really didn't know about the arena when we started," said Merry Land's Fred Bolt. "We were focused on the success of housing in First Ward and the diversity of product there."

In the mid-1990s, the Housing Authority demolished the 409-unit Earle Village public housing project in First Ward and replaced it with a mix of condos, single-family homes and apartments, including public housing.

Bolt believes The Renwick will add something new to the mix: secure parking in a multilevel deck wrapped by condos, similar to Post Properties' uptown apartments at Gateway Village on West Trade Street.

The condo complex, valued at roughly $21.5 million, also will include a swimming pool.

"A pool amenity is very different for a downtown condo," said residential real estate analyst Emma Littlejohn of The Littlejohn Group.

"Generally, they are more likely to be found in a downtown high-rise project," said Littlejohn.

Bolt said the developers are focused on delivering an affordable product in uptown's relatively pricey market.

Prices at The Renwick range from $115,000 to $350,000. The average price will be about $250,000, Bolt said.

The unit mix will range from 550-square-foot studios to 1,725-square-foot, three-bedroom flats and will include one-bedroom flats, two-bedroom flats and townhomes.

The project -- which will include 191 apartments in a later phase -- will be on 2.9 acres between Sixth and Seventh streets beside the Carole A. Hoefener Community Services Center.

First Ward residents, who have closely monitored the development, were alarmed by an earlier Housing Authority proposal for 300 apartments and 60 condos.

"Those were just approximate numbers," said Diane Douglas Carter, a consultant working with the Housing Authority.

"The Housing Authority was very cognizant of the neighborhood and the stakeholders in First Ward."

Residents preferred more ownership and fewer rental units.

Bolt said the developers "worked hard with the neighbors, and The Renwick is a collaborative effort with them. They were passionate about the neighborhood where they lived, and that was perfect for us."

First Ward resident Ray Warren, a lawyer and former judge, hadn't seen the final design. But, he said, "It seems consistent with what they represented to us. It's a vast improvement ... and it does meet a lot of the neighborhood concerns."

Carter said the apartments won't be started until late 2005, about the time condo construction is wrapping up.

She said the apartment building will include 40 units earmarked for a program that helps public housing residents develop the employment skills to eventually pay market-rate rent.

The apartment development plan also calls for about 10,000 square feet of retail space.

The Renwick should open a few months after the uptown arena opens in fall 2005, Bolt said.

Merry Land is selling condos in advance of construction. Buyers have reserved 22 units.

First Charlotte Properties' agents Scott Lindsey and Deborah Cox, First Ward residents, are handling project sales.

Perkins Eastman designed The Renwick, which is named for one of Charlotte's old gold mines.

Balconies are a standard feature in the project. Fourth-floor units will include lofts, and townhomes will have private patios.

Among other features: elevators, 10-foot ceilings, ceramic-tile floors in baths and kitchens and hardwood floors in living areas.