Townhomes added to Cedar Walk
Mixed-use plan includes office space, dumps grocery store
DOUG SMITH
Townhomes will be a major part of a 25-acre south Mecklenburg mixed-use
development initially proposed as a grocery-anchored shopping center.
Pedestrian-friendly Cedar Walk will have 28,000 square feet of
specialty retail without a grocery, 17,000 square feet of office condos
and 152 townhomes.
When Charlotte's Real Estate Development (RED) Partners applied for a
rezoning about two years ago at Ardrey Kell and Marvin roads, it
anticipated a Food Lion in an 82,000-square- foot center.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg planning staff suggested housing be included,
and RED Partners teamed with Meeting Street Homes & Communities.
But so much shopping sprang up so quickly on U.S. 521 and off Rea Road
in the vicinity that neighbors balked at the amount of retail, fearing a
glut of stores and a potential traffic nightmare.
That sent RED Partners in search of a compromise. It spent much of 2006
completing a design and review process with the planning staff.
Now, grading finally is under way for townhomes on 20 acres, retail on
3.5 acres and for-sale office condos on 1.5 acres.
RED Partners' Judd McAdams said the development plan concentrates the
most intensive use -- four retail buildings -- at the Ardrey Kell-Marvin
roads corner, offices along Marvin and townhomes nearest neighboring
houses.
The U.S. 521 corridor between Ballantyne and Lancaster is booming with
commercial and residential development, including a Harris Teeter in the
works near Cedar Walk at U.S. 521 and Ardrey Kell.
Also nearby, the 270-acre Blakeney mixed-use development is drawing
shoppers to a Harris Teeter, Target, shops and restaurants at Ardrey Kell
and Rea roads.
More residential development is proposed on neighboring parcels between
Cedar Walk and U.S. 521, and McAdams said a street eventually will connect
the projects.
RED Partners plans to deliver 32 first-phase lots by mid-April to
Meeting Street, which expects to start construction in June.
Meeting Street's Joe Roy said the area's proximity to services and
amenities makes it attractive to residential developers.
His company specializes in "walkable villages" with shared
green space courtyards and classical architectural details.
Townhomes and live-work units in Cedar Walk will range from 1,200 to
2,800 square feet and sell from the high $100,000s to the high $300,000s.
RED Partners, working with site developer Myers & Chapman Inc.,
expects to start work by summer on the offices and retail buildings, which
will include a plaza for outdoor dining.
McAdams anticipates the $11 million shopping and office portion will be
finished by year end.
DEVELOPMENT
Cedar Walk
Residential:
• Urban townhomes, 1,200 to 1,800
square feet, from the high $100,000s.
• Live-work townhomes, 1,800 to
2,800 square feet, from the high $200,000s to the high $300,000s.
• Luxury townhomes, average 2,100
square feet, starting in the $300,000s.
• Information at www.meetingstreet.net.
Retail:
• 28,000 square feet leasing for
about $26 per square foot annually.
• Architect: Burgess Design.
• Leasing: Holly Stump, RED
Partners.
Office:
• 17,000 square feet of for-sale
condos priced at $220 a square foot plus allowances.
• Architect: Robert Johnson
Architects.
• Sales: Office Properties, John
Stipp. Doug Smith
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