NoDa lofts get funky wrinkle
Project features glass doors that roll up for broad outdoor space
DOUG SMITH
A Charlotte developer is adding one more cool wrinkle to the mix of
restored mill houses, new condos and converted industrial buildings in the
artsy neighborhood of NoDa.
Harris, Murr & Vermillion's funky loft project features large glass
doors that roll up at the push of a button to make the living room an
extension of the front patio.
The developers carved the outdoor space into a 30,000- square-foot
former bow-truss-roofed warehouse by recessing loft entrances four feet
from the exterior wall.
"The idea was to give each home an individual identity in what was
a massive manufacturing building," said principal Steve Vermillion.
The developers plan 24 residential lofts of about 1,100 square feet
each in Royal Truss at Steel Gardens. They're priced from $225,000 to
$229,000.
The building at 3445 Spencer St. is across from North Charlotte Park
and within Steel Gardens, a 242-home community being created by Bonterra
Builders on a former industrial tract at Herrin Avenue and Spencer.
Bonterra is developing single-family houses, townhomes, condos and
townhome-style condos.
So far, it has sold 20 of 33 townhome units in six buildings. The first
structure is under construction and will have a model unit ready in April.
Spokesperson Jennifer Gray said Bonterra expects to begin construction
soon of the first two of eight single-family houses.
Harris, Murr & Vermillion plans to start work on its $5 million
project this month and have the first units finished in August.
The real estate services company, which has been in operation for more
than 22 years, was instrumental in the revitalization of South End.
Principal Brad Murr said the developers liked the old warehouse as much
as the residential market potential in NoDa.
It's the type of industrial structure the company has experience in
renovating, he said.
"We like the NoDa area's connectivity to uptown, and we believe
there is more to come," Murr said.
Steel Gardens, a half mile from the heart of NoDa at North Davidson and
East 36th streets, illustrates how development is spreading out and
shifting toward larger projects.
The neighborhood began its comeback in the 1970s and 1980s as dancers,
actors and artists reclaimed blighted houses.
Today, NoDa is seeing large projects in part because it's one of the
few areas with substantial acreage that can be developed along a future
rail transit line.
The Charlotte Area Transit System has proposed a line from uptown to
36th Street by 2013, but the timetable isn't certain.
Real estate experts believe the North Charlotte area around NoDa has
the potential to generate the same type of high-density residential and
commercial development occurring along the light-rail line in South End.
Development
Royal Truss at Steel Gardens
• Twenty-four units at 3445 Spencer
St., 1,100 square feet each, priced from $225,000 to $229,000.
• Lofts will have 24-foot ceilings
with two bedrooms (one up, one down), two baths (one up, one down) and a
mezzanine with a walk-in closet and fully tiled walk-in shower.
• Features: Granite counter tops,
stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors upstairs, seven-foot by
10-foot overhead doors.
• Development team: Harris, Murr
& Vermillion, Doerre Construction, Urbana Urban Design &
Architecture.
• Lender: Bank of the Ozarks.
• Listing broker: Neighborhood
Realty.
• Information: www.royaltruss.com.
Doug Smith
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