Arcadian Residences & Resort

[rancenc]

Apparently the Arcadian is proposed ACROSS Bruton Boulevard from the Embassy Suites. The areas under construction in front of the Embassy Suites are slated to be two hotels....I believe a Hilton Garden Inn and a Marriott Courtyard. The New Great Wolfs Hotel and Resort/Water Park is suppose to be built behind the Garden Ridge and BJ's Club stores

Ok, so now I am thoroughly confused as well. I was driving up by Concord Mills the other day and there is construction all over the place on Speedway (errr... Bruton) Blvd beyond the dealerships in the area that I suspected this building would go. I didn't think that they would have already started on this project yet. There was a great deal of construction up by the convention center and also a lot across Bruton Blvd on the huge hill behind the Harley dealership strip. What exactly is all this construction for? Is it just the hilton and embassy expansion, or is this building already under construction as well? Unfortunately I was in a hurry and didn't have the chance to drive down to see the sign so I have no idea.

Also, I came across the prelim. plans for "The Strip at Concord" on the Independent Tribune website:

It appears they are planning on including noise reduction structures after all and building the larger grandstands on the side of the residences.

[Neo]

Apparently the Arcadian is proposed ACROSS Bruton Boulevard from the Embassy Suites. The areas under construction in front of the Embassy Suites are slated to be two hotels....I believe a Hilton Garden Inn and a Marriott Courtyard. The New Great Wolfs Hotel and Resort/Water Park is suppose to be built behind the Garden Ridge and BJ's Club stores

The area with all of the machinery in front of the Convention Center is construction for a Residence Inn I believe.

Also to note, there is a small building that will contain some shops being constructed beside the gas station by the entrance to BJ's (Weddington Road). I also believe some more shops are being constructed across the road from BJ's as well along with the Great Wolf Resort. I had also assumed that the Arcadian Resort was to be built on the same side as Embassy Suites but I now believe it is being built across Bruton Smith Blvd. The permits have not all gone through for the site work for that project so don't expect construction to start just yet.

[Appetite for Construction]

Doug Smith has an article about Arcadian on charlotte.com this morning. Link to article

He mentions that the financing plan for this building is contingent on pre-selling 100% of the units before going to construction. This project seems like a long shot to me, but who knows, maybe there are lots of folks out there that want to live in a mid-rise building in the middle of suburbia.

[Raintree21]

I think 151 units at $395,000 to $3 million each, after all of the condos in Charlotte have already hit the market is asking for a bit much. I don't see this being built for a while, if at all, especially if it's true that they must sell 100% of the condos before they can get financing for construction.

[Neo]

Agreed, I think obtaining a 100% pre-sale for this is next to impossible. Perhaps they would do better by making it a combined upscale hotel/condo for select individuals that want to be near the speedway for events. This is not a place I would want to live considering the price for the condos, lack of pedestrian connections and the enormous traffic issues that exist at various times throughout the year (and arguably year-round).

I did note that the article stated that the developer hopes to have this completed by 2012. In addition they will seek LEED certification for this project which I commend (doesn't say what level).

[Justadude]

Based on the renderings, I have a hard time understanding why this is being built as a mid-rise. Its "connectivity" is the same you'd expect from a suburban office building... not exactly a feels-like-home message to send to potential residents (who wants to feel like they're arriving at the office at 5pm?). It backs up to a golf course, but people who live on a golf course typically want to have their own house -- especially if they're spending upwards of half a million dollars.

I like the idea of reserving a floor for corporate suites, since that addresses the growing executive business market in Concord. But in general this project doesn't seem to address the development patterns in the area and isn't truly progressive enough to draw from that angle either.

[Neo]

Some updates to this project:

The site of the tower is moving from Bruton Smith Blvd. to an area behind the new Great Wolf resort and will be accessed via Weddington Road (like it isn't already choked with traffic). The re-alignment of Bruton Smith Blvd. would essentially leave this project with a smaller footprint so this is the reason for the move.

Only 16 of the 151 total units have been sold (they range from $400k to $3M) but the developer says they are still on schedule to open in late 2012.

The developer is apparently saying that he is not worried about finding buyers for all of the units before construction starts and that he has other projects in Concord planned.

Some details on the project:

262k sq. ft. at 13 stories and a cost of $60M. VP Companies USA is the developer.

[Andyc545]

That's a lot of buyers in that price range for being Concord. I guess it is a seperate niche in for speedway lovers and the resort feeling opposed to stuff in uptown.

Why do I feel like this one may not make it off the ground?

[Neo]

Why do I feel like this one may not make it off the ground?

Well, I have the same feeling as well. For the price of these condos you could afford a very nice condo in downtown Charlotte...now which would you prefer? Hmmm... I just can't see anyone paying $3M for a condo that will be located off of a clogged road next to a clogged interstate in the middle of some of the best sprawl in the Charlotte area.

[AuLukey]

See, I could understand them moving this to the northern side of Weddington from Bruton Blvd. But putting it up on the great wolf end is just a bad idea no matter how you look at it. That, imo, is one of the most clogged sections of roadway in the entire metro. I wonder if there are height restrictions on the older side of Weddington due to the airport keeping projects like this from that side. I'm waiting for the day that they replace all those stop signs with lights, then it might not be so bad... might. I wish they would loop Weddington back around to either Tryon or Mallard Creek Rd.

Either way, this project has very little chance given its surroundings. Unless this developer has plans to build a lot adjacent to this project (ie that project Neo mentioned,) these units will depreciate very quickly if they even get off the ground.

Oh, and I noticed a lot of construction next to the hotels on Weddington, what's going on there Neo?

[Andyc545]

It seemed that before the project was trying to incorporate itself as part of the golf course, which would make more sense as a resort condo, but placing it over near Great Wolf... ugh what do you want a view of- I-85 and a mall, and it's not even like owners that buy into these condos would have the amenity of Great Wolf's water park since it is going to be private to customers paying for a hotel room.

[AuLukey]

It seemed that before the project was trying to incorporate itself as part of the golf course, which would make more sense as a resort condo, but placing it over near Great Wolf... ugh what do you want a view of- I-85 and a mall, and it's not even like owners that buy into these condos would have the amenity of Great Wolf's water park since it is going to be private to customers paying for a hotel room.

[Neo]

Oh, and I noticed a lot of construction next to the hotels on Weddington, what's going on there Neo?

I believe this is a development known as Weddington Road Commons though I could be wrong about that. I'm not sure what it will include (I believe there is a sign detailing some on Weddington Road where they are grading). If I'm not mistaken a Hilton hotel is going here as well (I could be wrong about the brand, but I know a hotel of some type is going in that spot). I believe there is also a mini-storage place going up off of Weddington around there too though it may be further up closer to Pitts School Rd.

I noticed that one of the hotels in front of Embassy Suites has started to go vertical. This area is going to be amazingly choked with traffic once all of these projects are completed (let's not forget about the Wal-Mart, Lowes, more apartments, etc. across from the mall).

[Neo]

I believe this is a development known as Weddington Road Commons though I could be wrong about that. I'm not sure what it will include (I believe there is a sign detailing some on Weddington Road where they are grading). If I'm not mistaken a Hilton hotel is going here as well (I could be wrong about the brand, but I know a hotel of some type is going in that spot). I believe there is also a mini-storage place going up off of Weddington around there too though it may be further up closer to Pitts School Rd.

There is a permit out for a 20k sq. ft. Strayer University building and another 20k sq. ft. office building at this location.

[AuLukey]

A topic long since dead and forgotten, the final nail in the coffin to this development turns out to be that it was never truly in the works to begin with, but was one large-scale scam that turned south.

According to the O, Steven Lee convinced investors to put money into the project and then spent the money to apparently buy cars and other luxuries for himself and never actually spent much of anything on the project itself.

Observer Article

[Neo]

I had forgotten about this project. Hopefully investors will get recourse.