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Jun. 15, 2005
Luxury living ... up
on the roof
Condo developers put amenities
where the view is
DOUG SMITH
When
this old world starts getting me down, And people are just too much for me
to face. I climb way up to the top of the stairs, And all my cares just
drift right into space. On the roof, it's peaceful as can be, And there
the world below can't bother me.
That's how The Drifters, James
Taylor and other musical artists embraced the romanticism of the rooftop
in the lyrics of "Up On The Roof."
And if you don't believe they were
on to something, take a look at what's happening in
Charlotte
condo development today.
Rooftop terraces offer the latest
wave of buyers the opportunity to swim, party, cook out and work out above
the treetops.
Two uptown high-rise condo
developments plan to make the roof available to all their residents, as
will a project under construction near SouthPark mall.
"It's a fairly democratic
element that means the best things are available to everybody -- not just
the penthouse owners," said David Walters, a UNC Charlotte professor
of architecture.
And, too, he said, "There's a
very direct thing that height equals status."
Those are nice ideals, but to
condo developers, rooftop terraces also are a way to give one project an
edge over another and reach a targeted group of buyers.
As
Charlotte
competition heats up -- seven high-rise residential projects have been
announced uptown over the past year -- a rooftop terrace could well become
the next big thing in attracting buyers.
At Piedmont Row, a 179-unit
project going up on Fairview Road near SouthPark mall, developer Crescent
Resources LLC is including a multi-use terrace atop one of its two
seven-story residential-retail buildings.
On the roof, residents will have
access to a swimming pool and sundeck, an enclosed entertainment room with
a kitchen, indoor and outdoor fireplaces and barbecue grills.
Mike Burnett, senior vice
president at Crescent, said the project's skyline view over the south
Charlotte
treetops was a key consideration.
Also, he added, "We think a
rooftop entertainment area really fits the lifestyle of the folks who will
buy at Piedmont Row."
The project's $209,000 to $490,000
price range puts it in competition with uptown's high rises for a prime
segment of the market -- young professionals.
In cities where land is expensive
and development sites typically are small, the roof is the only place left
for amenities such as gardens and pools.
That was a factor in the design of
Piedmont Row, part of
Piedmont
Town
Center
, which includes about 90,000 square feet of shops and two eight-story
office buildings.
Not much space was left at ground
level for the pool and other amenities, and "with two seven-story
buildings, the shading effect also gets pretty intense," said Jim
Williams, vice president and principal at LS3P Associates Ltd., which
designed Piedmont Row.
Uptown, the rooftop terrace at
17-story Courtside, under construction at Sixth and Caldwell streets, will
make "a spectacular view of the skyline" available to buyers who
don't have it from their living rooms, said developer David Furman of
Boulevard Centro.
"You take a certain
orientation of the building and bring it to everybody," he said.
"It's magical -- and by allowing everyone to get on the roof, you
make it a great communal amenity, whether they actually use it or
not."
Perhaps
Charlotte
's most elaborately designed rooftop terrace is planned at The Park,
developer Pete Verna's 21-story condo tower that will incorporate an
existing parking garage at Third and
Caldwell
streets.
Verna, who said he expects to
secure financing for the project within about two weeks, was inspired by
San Francisco
's posh Fairmont Hotel.
His roof will include a skylight
pavilion, fully equipped kitchen/dining room, fountains, gardens, walking
paths, putting green and swimming pool.
Verna said The Park plans to rent
out the kitchen and dining room for special events, with the proceeds
going to the homeowners association.
Charlotte
might see more rooftop terraces as developers compete for buyers and land
costs reduce the size of condo sites, real estate watchers say.
Then, too, there's that magical
attraction -- that special rooftop feeling the musical groups sing about
in "Up On The Roof:
Right
smack dab in the middle of town, I've found a paradise that's trouble
proof (up on the roof). And if this world starts getting you down, There's
room enough for two, Up on the roof (up on the roof) ...
Pools
Add to Price
The
Arlington
, completed about two years ago on
South Boulevard
in South End, has a pool and fitness center on top.
But that's not something high-rise
condo developers automatically include, due to the expense and other
factors.
"Anytime you do something as
heavy as a pool, there are costs involved," said Jim Gross of
Metropolitan Group, which developed the 24-story pink building. "But
it's such a neat amenity, I thought it was worth it."
At The Arlington, he said,
"You always have unobstructed sunlight and great view of the
skyline."
About 50 units -- average price
$285,000 -- remain for sale in the building, which also has leased retail
and office space.
The extra bracing and
waterproofing required for rooftop pools generally limits them to large
projects where costs can be spread over more units.
"The development team has to
be pretty serious about the amenity before they go forward," said Jim
Williams, vice president and principal at LS3P Associates Ltd., which
designed Piedmont Row in SouthPark.
Pete Verna at The Park, a $43
million project planned for uptown, estimates the pool, kitchen, garden,
putting green and other amenities atop his 21 floors will add about
$460,000 to the roof's cost.
"I just made up my mind to do
it," he said. "As an engineer, I've inspected a lot of condo
roofs ... a lot of them have heat pumps in that valuable space."
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