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Mar. 10, 2005
Uptown's latest vertical leap
7th residential tower announced in
10 months
DOUG SMITH
The race for the skyline view in
uptown
Charlotte
has attracted another towering entry: a 50-story condo building in Fourth
Ward.
The Vue, with a 24-hour doorman
and 411 units priced from $190,000 to $4 million-plus, is planned at Fifth
and Pine streets, across from a Harris Teeter supermarket and Fifth And
Poplar Apartment Homes.
It's the seventh high-rise
residential project announced uptown over the past 10 months as
Charlotte
participates in one of the nation's hottest trends: a resurgence of
downtown living.
Miami
,
Las Vegas
,
Denver
,
Seattle
and
Orlando
,
Fla.
, for example, are experiencing similar demand as empty nesters and young
professionals seek to live near urban entertainment and amenities.
Churchill Development Group LLC of
Orlando plans to develop The Vue with Westminster Partners of Chicago.
Churchill Principal Michael Murray
said the development team, which has a similar project under way in
Orlando
, had no qualms about entering what appears to be a crowded market.
"The more of these that
happen, the more that will happen," he said. "Low-rise
development eats up a lot of land. The next phase in the birth of an urban
area is going vertical."
The recent string of
announcements, including The Vue, brings the number of planned high-rise
units uptown to slightly less than 1,700.
"This is one of those cycles
-- it has already happened in other cities," said
Charlotte
residential real estate analyst Emma Littlejohn of The Littlejohn Group.
"I have dug into the
demographics, and I think there is conservatively enough room in the
(uptown) market for 300 units a year over the next three to five
years."
The projects announced so far
shouldn't create a glut, she said, because construction will be staggered.
Completion dates range from late 2005 through mid-2008.
Boulevard Centro's David Furman
has started building sold-out 107-unit, 17-story Courtside and has sold
100 units in his 162-unit, 28-story TradeMark, both uptown.
"I still hold to my premise
that literally thousands of people want to live in downtown
Charlotte
," he said. "There is a percentage -- maybe 2 percent to 3
percent of the metro area or 20,000 to 30,000 people -- who would live
downtown if there's the right product for them."
The phenomenon is nationwide,
Furman said, because "folks can visualize themselves living in the
center city. They love the connectivity and the excitement of the
street."
Murray
said his development team plans high-rise residential projects across the
Southeast, with Orlando and Charlotte at the top of the list.
"I truly believe downtown
Charlotte
is the best downtown in the Southeast," he said. "It has
fantastic streetscape and architecture and wonderful cultural
activities."
Last week, developers disclosed
plans for a 53-story residential tower within the EpiCentre
retail/entertainment project on the old convention center site at Trade
and College streets.
In number of floors it would be
the city's second tallest building, ahead of the 46-story
Hearst
Tower
. But residential floors are shorter than office floors, so it might not
top the
Hearst
Tower
in feet.
`It's
all about the view'
Murray
said he spent 18 months working with
Charlotte
real estate broker Henry Atkins of Atkins Properties to find The Vue's
1.16-acre site, which is under contract. Most of the site is now used as a
parking lot."In a project like this, it's all about the view,"
Murray
said. "We wanted to make sure we had an unobstructed view of the
skyline.
"We'll have beautiful
panoramic views, and we'll be across the street from a grocery store and
close to Fourth Ward Park."
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fire and
Education
Center
and Museum will be the project's next-door neighbor.
The Vue, valued at about $200
million, will have units ranging from studios (600 square feet) to
penthouses (4,000 square feet) plus an array of amenities.
The list includes an Olympic-size
pool, a 5,000-square-foot health club with a yoga room and cyber cafe, a
theater/media room, a tennis/multi-sport court, a seven-story secure
parking garage, a concierge and 6,000 square feet of ground level retail
space.
Murray
said the building was designed to accommodate a variety of income levels.
It will have six penthouses -- the most expensive units -- with terraces.
About 160 units will be two-story,
one-bedroom lofts with expansive floor-to-ceiling glass that gives owners
the feel of living in a much larger condo, he said.
The developers plan to begin
taking contracts this summer from a street-level sales office next to
Starbucks at
101 N. Tryon St.
in
One
Independence
Center
.
Murray
said construction likely would start six to 12 months after sales begin
and take roughly two years. That would put the completion date in early to
mid-2008.
The building -- which will have
lighted spires on top -- was designed by Forum Studio Inc. of
St. Louis
. Turner Construction Co. is the general contractor.
Blending
in is important
Murray
said the developers plan to work with Fourth Ward residents to blend the
base of The Vue into the neighborhood.
Lynn Weis, president of Friends of
Fourth Ward, said neighborhood leaders have met with the developers and
support the project.
"We are pleasantly
pleased," he said. "We will have input, and they will remain in
close contact with us. We think this is good for the center city."
Churchill Development Group, which
moved its headquarters from
Chicago
to be near its 35-story
Orlando
project, and Westminster Partners have 25 years of experience in high-rise
commercial, residential and multi-family development.
Murray
said they broke ground last week on The Vue at
Lake
Eola
in downtown
Orlando
, where 310 of 384 units have been sold.
"We're confident the product
will work in
Charlotte
," he said.
Residential
Towers Planned
The
50-story condo tower announced Wednesday joins six others planned for the
center city:
EPICENTRE
Size:
53 stories,
400 units.
Completion:
Late 2006. Locating the High-Rise
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