Charlotte Uptown Real Estate Market

On Friday, March 21, 2008, the Charlotte Observer ran an article, by Doug Smith, which discussed the slow down in the Charlotte uptown condo market. Several new projects have been canceled and others are proceeding slowly. I have noticed properties are sitting on the market longer as buyers can pick the perfect home as opposed to settling for any old property. In 1996 I bought in Fourth Ward and this was not the case. I bought what was available and worked my way to my perfect property. Now is a good time to buy in the center city. It was not all bad news for the new projects as the article did report on several condo projects which are being buit.

4 projects moving forward

Construction is proceeding on four high-rise residential projects

• The Garrison at Graham was delayed last fall when financing fell through. But the developer, Thomas Barnes, found local replacement investors and resumed construction this month on the 11-story, 41-unit condo building on North Graham Street.

• Catalyst, a 27-story tower being developed by Novare Group, is up to 18 floors at South Church Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard, said Tony Skillbeck, president of the company's Carolinas Division.

"We actually had financed before the credit crunch," he said. "But our lenders are looking at us on a monthly basis. It's a little bit more stringent than it used to be."

Condo sales in the 462-unit project are to begin in six to seven weeks, Skillbeck said.

• The Vue is under construction in Fourth Ward, and the first of the 50-story project's 409 units should be ready for occupancy in summer 2010, said developer Dan McLean, president and chief executive officer of Chicago's MCL Cos.

• The Tower, a 15-story, 26-unit condo project, is under construction between the Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden hotels on East Second Street. Developer Lee Curry said a model condo should be ready in about a month.

In an uncertain market, he said, he's being cautious.

"We want people to know what it is going to look like before we start selling," Curry said. "We want them to know it is going to be built."