Multi Housing News August 2012 : Page 33
Development Projects within 1/2 Mile of LYNX Blue Line Stations 5 ! ! 7 Carson 4 ! 3 ! 1 ! 6 2 ! ! 12 ! 11 16 ! ! 8 ! 19 ! 14 ! ! ! 9 17 Bland 21 ! 15 ! 13 ! 10 ! 20 ! 18 ! Located in Charlotte’s South End, the Carson, Bland and East/West stations are the fi fth, sixth and seventh stops on Charlotte’s Lynx Blue 43 39 ! ! East/Wes Line light rail system. Development sites are 41 ! still available along the transit line, observes Monte Ritchey, president of Conformity Corp. Developments in this light rail transit corri-dor include Southborough (#26) and Circle @ Southend (#10). (For a list of residential, retail 33 ! 32 ! 31 ! 23 ! 26 ! 0 500 36 ! 34 ! 40 ! 40 28 ! 35 ! ! 38 ! 24 ! 30 25 ! ! 37 ! t ! 29 22 ! ! 42 and offi ce projects in the Lynx Blue Line transit corridor that are completed, under construction or proposed, click here.) Project Status Complete Under Construction Proposed Produced by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department -1/5/12 27 ! ¯ 1,000 Feet properties located in the South End along the Blue Line transit corridor carry a 12 to 13 percent premium over rents of com-parable apartments located around downtown Charlotte that are not close to transit, says Noell. Noell says that anecdotally, apartment managers in the transit corridor report about 30 to 40 percent of prospects cite the transit location as a key factor in their decision to rent. In the case of Southborough, the condo prices ultimately ranged from about $180,000 to $370,000, says Ritchey. The development’s location half a mile from the station may have lessened its premium somewhat, Ritchey acknowl-edges. So, for the forsale multifamily homes, the transit stop location acted more as a “differentiator” for the property rather than a premium. All the same, Ritchey says the creation of the Blue Line refl ects the city of Charlotte’s “meaningful commitment to densifi cation and resistance to sprawl that has put so much demands on its budget and the sustainability of the city.” “Residents today desire a mix of housing amenities,” including access to mass transit, adds MacCleery. “They will choose the place and look for the place to live based on whether it has those amenities. That is more and more the case, especially with Gen Y.” And it so happens that audience, which demands transit in an urban location, is also precisely the audience that multifamily housing–at least at the highest end–is increasingly targeting. MHN To comment on this story, e-mail kfoong@multi-housingnews.com www.multi-housingnews.com | August 2012 33
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