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May 10, 2005
Midwood Central the latest in city core
in-fill
Developer targeting those wanting
homes, yards near urban core
DOUG SMITH
Developer Bobby Drakeford has
started clearing about 4 acres in Plaza-Midwood for a new
"urban" subdivision across
Central Avenue
from
Veterans
Park
.
Midwood Central will have 24
single-family houses with front porches and Craftsman-style architectural
features resembling the neighborhood's older homes.
The Drakeford Co. acquired the
first lots in the neighborhood more than 10 years ago but began buying
property in earnest about two years ago along
Firth Court
, off Central near Little Italy Restaurant.
Drakeford said his decision to
develop a subdivision rather than a small in-fill housing project stemmed
from a conversation with former Bank of
America
Chairman Hugh McColl Jr.
"When I showed him the site,
his advice was to buy the whole street," Drakeford said.
Midwood Central, valued at $9
million, will be built in two phases along both sides of Firth, which
Drakeford is renaming
Tippah Park Court
.
Houses, ranging from 1,877 square
feet to 2,448 square feet with an optional third floor, are priced from
the mid-$300,000s.
The project is
Charlotte
's latest example of "big in-fill" development spreading to
neighborhoods near the urban core.
Developers are targeting buyers
eager to live near uptown but unwilling to give up single-family homes and
yards.
In
Wesley
Heights
on the west side, for example, the first of 147 homes are under
construction in 13-acre
Lela Court
. Similar projects are under way or under discussion in such neighborhoods
as NoDa,
Optimist
Park
, Cherry, Second Ward and
Belmont
.
Urban planners generally endorse
such close-in projects. By using existing infrastructure, developers
soften the impact of traffic congestion, air pollution and massive
clearing of farmland.
Drakeford plans to start
construction in June and complete the first of 10 first-phase homes in
early 2006.
The site plan, prepared by
Charlotte
's LandDesign Inc., includes a common green area for homeowners,
landscaping and alleyways connecting to detached garages. First-phase
homes will have a three-foot high retaining wall of architectural stone
along one boundary.
Miller Nicholson of Charlotte's
McClure Nicholson Montgomery Architects said his firm designed the houses
with ornate details, columns and porches to blend with Plaza-Midwood's
bungalows. Inside, the design leans toward modern preferences for open
floor plans with greatrooms. Homes will have nine-foot smooth ceilings,
solid-wood front doors and granite countertops in kitchens and baths.
Other interior features include
steel rear doors for added security, hardwood flooring on the first level,
garden tubs with separate showers in master baths, ceramic tile tub
surrounds and 42-inch high kitchen cabinets.
The architects created four
three-bedroom floor plans, named for streets in Plaza-Midwood: The
Ashland, The Chatham, The Belvedere and The Thomas. Each plan includes an
optional third floor.
General contractor Kelly McArdle
Construction will build the houses, Drakeford said.
Kevin Thompson of Helen Adams
Realty is handling sales. The development team plans an on-site preview
luncheon for real estate salespeople today. Drakeford's company also has
been involved in the Summit Greenway condos and The Grandin townhomes in
Wesley
Heights
.
He's teaming with
Charlotte
's Boulevard Centro on the M Street condos along
McDowell Street
at Seventh and Eighth streets in First Ward.
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