3rd Ward Midrise Projects

[JonesQC]

Realtors who sold x amount of units in Novare's Avenue have been given priority appointments on Friday, the day before the sales office opens to the general public. I have one of these apointments confirmed but have to be out of town now.

MOD EDIT: Welcome to UP, but please review the rules. The second half of this post was over the line for pushing real estate services.

[dubone]

I think Catalyst might be the biggest beneficiary of 210 Trade's lawsuit. I was randomly forwarded a note at work where people are excited about Catalyst's sales office opening and it references that 210 Trade's and The Park's lawsuita as virtual proof that they project are dead for a while and the general knowledge that 300 S Tryon is stalled for a long time. That really shrinks the market of where people will look to buy, and then you add on that there is virtually no risk that it won't finish, and the fact that Avenue has been well regarded as far as quality (short of a couple of key points).

[grodney]

Looks like a beautiful day for a GROUNDBREAKING FOR THE OFFICE BUILDING!!

When I walked out of the office at 3:30pm, the tent was up, the fans were on, the gate was open, and the silver-clad shovels were at the ready.

Very exciting. Assuming they actually start building it.

[atlrvr]

According to a blurb in the Observer, they announced the first office tenant during the groundbreaking. HDR (an engineering and architectural firm) will be occupying about 45k sq. ft. (2 floors I assume). They are currently in First Citizens Plaza, where I believe they occupy about 23k sq. ft., so they are doubling in size!

Also, in the article, it said they are persuing LEED Silver.

[krazeeboi]

It seems to me that new office buildings, wherever they are built, rely heavily on firms that already have a presence in the city to absorb space and not so much companies new to the city.

[grodney]

Jun 20 2008 from 400 South Tryon 30th floor.

And from College St:

[dxartist]

great pics grod. It will be interesting how the sales go starting tomorrow.

[rushcharlotte]

I ended up buying a unit yesterday. Sales seem to be going well. Prices actually start in the 170s despite all of the advertising stating that prices start in the 180s. After the problems with the ceilings at the avenue, novare changed the forms they use. All in all I am excited to move in.

[HopHead]

I ended up buying a unit yesterday. Sales seem to be going well. Prices actually start in the 170s despite all of the advertising stating that prices start in the 180s. After the problems with the ceilings at the avenue, novare changed the forms they use. All in all I am excited to move in.

Congrats on your purchase rushcharlotte... This looks to be a great project, especially given the proximity to BofA stadium, Wachovia Arts complex, new Knights stadium, etc. Feel free to give us some pics of your new home when it comes close to completion

[Andyc545]

I ended up buying a unit yesterday. Sales seem to be going well. Prices actually start in the 170s despite all of the advertising stating that prices start in the 180s. After the problems with the ceilings at the avenue, novare changed the forms they use. All in all I am excited to move in.

Do we know what they are doing with the ceilings instead, or did they change the concrete pouring process or something? Thanks for the info, welcome to UP, and congrats on your purchase. If only they didn't move so quickly and things were pushed out a year or two, then I'd be joining you as neighbor! Definitely keep us updated with pics on your walk-through.

[atlrvr]

Andy....that's why they are building TWELVE...you can still be neighborhors

It's been mentioned twice lately that TWELVE is projected to break ground Fall 2009 at the earliest, so it should finish up early 2011.

[rushcharlotte]

From what I was told different forms were used for the ceilings than at the avenue. I will keep everyone updated with pictures as I start to do walk throughs. The first closings begin in jan. and they are starting from the bottom up. I am closing at the end of Feb.

[mshook]

I just came from the sales office. They are using an actual smooth form instead of plywood. Also, they are offering an upgrade of drywall on the ceilings if you choose...

[Windsurfer]

I just came from the sales office. They are using an actual smooth form instead of plywood. Also, they are offering an upgrade of drywall on the ceilings if you choose...

Is there some sort of tunnel between the parking deck and the building for rainy days?

[prowl]

From what I was told different forms were used for the ceilings than at the avenue. I will keep everyone updated with pictures as I start to do walk throughs. The first closings begin in jan. and they are starting from the bottom up. I am closing at the end of Feb.

I am glad Novare is listening to it's customer base., but the Catalyst is not Novare's first construction project. I would have thought with 16 or so construction projects under their belt that they would have been using smoother concrete forms sooner as opposed to later.

[sleightofhand]

Does anyone know how the Catalyst is selling in it's openning week?

[atlrvr]

I talked to someone looking at a unit here, and he had the impression that the unit won't include a parking space, and their isn't even the option to by one. You have to rent your parking space if you want one. Can anyone confirm?

[Charlotte_native]

I talked to someone looking at a unit here, and he had the impression that the unit won't include a parking space, and their isn't even the option to by one. You have to rent your parking space if you want one. Can anyone confirm?

Yes, you have the permanent option (they can't tell you they don't have any) to rent at least one space per bedroom, but you can't buy...

[atlrvr]

Interesting....we'll see how the market responds to that. I think legally it would be challenging to have a deeded space located on a separate parcel. Perhaps people will decide they can further save money by not having a car, and this could be a net positive.

On a different note, they have updated their website with a new aerial rendering that includes TWELVE. Pretty much the same design we've seen, just from a different angle. It is a really large building.

[tiblerbrit]

wow, the day uptown actually looks like it does in that rendering

www.catalystcharlotte.com

[rushcharlotte]

Does anyone know how the Catalyst is selling in it's openning week?

I was at the sales center about 2 and was told 39 sold.

[JonesQC]

I got in the sales office on Friday of last week and put my 3% down on a park side 1 BR unit.

I was very impressed with the model and the amenities value. The model unit they had was the L2 I believe. They announced a HALO residential suite package which is included in the HOA - check their website out for more info but basically as you drive in and out of the parking garage you can control the thermostat and save $ on your heating / cooling. Check video of who is paging to come up to your unit, pay HOA, order dry cleaning / food services, valet, etc all from the HALO system on your TV, PC, or Blackberry. Parking spaces were $70 per month or you could get a reserved spot for $150/month. THey also had the option for a storage unit in the parking garage starting at $5k.

Also, for those of you that are on the fence. For the first 100 contracts they threw in $6,000 of upgrades plus stackable washer and dryer, and all of the stainless steel appliances including the Whirlpool Gold fridge. I knew about the fridge going in but the 6k was nice and unexpected. You could use this as upgrade cash or to lower the price of your unit. I was able to upgrade to the 5 inch Brazilian hardwoods throughout the kitchen and living area, put in wall speakers with IR controls in the bedroom and bathroom, and have the unit prepainted using the $6k. The ceilings absolutely are above the Avenue. They are smooth and the office indicated they were not cast with plywood. I was not a big fan of the Avenue ceilings but realyl appreciated the look of these. As mentioned before, they did offer the option to drywall the ceiling but not remembering how much the upgrade was, I didnt think it was worth it. If the ceilings will actually look like they do in the model, I will be very pleased.

THey had the cabinets, hardwood, granite, and carpet standard and options set for even and off floors. I preferred the granite on the odd floors better so went with an odd floor unit.

The units started at $170 on the amenities side and at the $218's on the park side. On the park side it was about $2k per floor as you went up. Keeping in mind these are phase 1 prices, though, I would imagine they will go up as sales close.

lets see - other than that Floor 1-5 will close by Jan 31st, 6-10 Feb 25th, etc...about a month apart. There is not a closed canopy between the parking garage but there is a covered fixture that their model showed. Their preferred lender is BoA and they will provide up to $4k in closing cost but Catalyst has about a dozen lenders that are "preferred", just the BoA rep was present on Friday. They will have 3 entrances to the lobby which includes an entry from the 5.5 acre park. This was really exciting as they will bring a walkway from the park that leads to the Catalyst entrance across MLK.

If I missed anything that you want to know just ask - If I know Ill let you know.

All in all, very excited for this to be my first home.

Edited June 24, 2008 by JonesQC

[atlrvr]

Congrats on your purchase. The several people I know who live in Avenue have been very pleased so far, so I'm sure you'll be happy. Just curious, what do you mean by a fixture as opposed to a canopy?

Hopefully, sales will be brisk enough at Catalyst to convince Novare to start on TWELVE sooner rather than later.

[Charlotteman]

....... parking spaces were $70 per month or you could get a reserved spot for $150/month........

.....the units started at $170 on the amenities side and at the $218's on the park side. On the park side it was about $2k per floor as you went up. Keeping in mind these are phase 1 prices, though, I would imagine they will go up as sales close......

All in all, very excited for this to be my first home.

Congrats on your first home! and to call the Catalyst home is really awesome!

I think $70 per month for a downtown parking space is remarkably reasonable, and I had no idea the units started as low as $170K. Of course I would rather pay a little more to be on the Bearden Park side.

[tozmervo]

I was able to upgrade to the 5 inch Brazilian hardwoods throughout the kitchen and living area,

I know this is probably a little too detailed, but I'm curious - did they give any information about what "Brazilian hardwood" entails? Like, where the wood comes from, specifically, if its certified by any governing body like the FSC, etc?