Charlotte Observer, May 17, 2005
DEVELOPMENT / DOUG SMITH
Sales show townhomes still popular
Coventry Court in Ballantyne area starts phase 2 site work soon
The uptown high-rise residential boom hasn’t diminished Charlotteans’ appetite for townhomes in suburban areas near shops, services and employers.
Developers who announced a 53-unit townhome project in the Ballantyne area a year ago, for example, have just begun selling 53 units in a second phase.
Two- and three-bedroom townhomes, 1,400 square feet and 1,548 square feet, are listed from $149,900 to $169,900 in Coventry Court.
Buyers are noticing the price and location — near an upscale area of golf-course homes and a resort hotel and spa.
Twenty-six homeowners have moved into Coventry Court, and only six units remain available in the project’s first phase.
The townhomes are on Providence Road West, about a quarter mile west of U.S. 521 and south of Ballantyne Country Club. The 7-acre-plus site is south of Interstate 485, where residential, retail and office development are flourishing.
The Lowes Foods-anchored Hunters Crossing shopping center is at U.S. 521 and Lancaster Highway (old U.S. 521) near the townhomes, and the first businesses are opening in the new Ballantyne Village shopping center at the southwest quadrant of U.S. 521 and Ballantyne Commons Parkway.
Llewellyn Development LLC is teaming with First LandMark USA Inc. in LandMark/Llewellyn Holdings in developing Coventry Court.
Terrence Llewellyn of Llewellyn Development said buyer feedback gathered in the first phase prompted the developers to tweak the second phase.
They made garages standard on all units, incorporated kitchen islands into three-bedroom units and added sunrooms to two-bedroom townhomes.
All units have 2 1/2 baths, nine-foot ceilings upstairs, double-bowl raised vanities and brick or Hardiplank exteriors.
Llewellyn said the developers incorporated the site’s natural woods and ponds and located many of the townhomes around the perimeter so owners could take advantage of the views.
The community also features a half-acre green. A large oak in the center of the green is estimated to be more than 100 years old.
Llewellyn expects to start second-phase site work in about 30 days and deliver the first townhomes in about six months.
Watts Leaf Architects designed the project. Site Solutions was the land planner and civil engineer. Saieed Construction Systems is the general contractor.
LandMark/Llewellyn Holdings is handing sales from an on-site sales center.