NEW:Introduction to The Book of Condos
STATS
HTLA: From 1986 to 3762
Bedrooms: 1,2,3
Report 7/31/15 for 6 months: From 420K
to 1.5M
Exterior: Hard coat stucco, stone
Description: Elegant, period piece with turrets and balconies
Amenities: Elevators, fitness center, business center,
concierge services, on
site property manager,
massage room, storage room, garage, 2 deeded parking spaces,
pool, tennis
courts, 24 hr security
Say what you will about Rosewood...I was there on opening night as this project was presented to the Charlotte real estate community and it was a dazzling presentation. I was struck that anyone would pay the millions paid for those nearly nine acres...but I live here.
To me the house and the people had history and I had grown up with roses on that corner and the rolling land behind where horses once grazed. I felt it was special and so must these investor/developers from Georgia. I thought it was bold and gorgeous and risky.
But I live here.
More importantly, I have a love affair with Charlotte and thought this would mark the beginning of our rise as a great city of the south...with more than just red brick homes, traditional architecture and safe designs.
In CondoCanDo's library of Charlotte Condominiums, I open the book written about Rosewood for that auspicious evening and to introduce the vision to us and to prospective home owners, and read:
"The Roses. For Charlotteans, this name calls to mind splashes of vivid color embellishing the well traveled crossroads at Providence and Sharon Amity. Here passerby have been fascinated, delighted, and intrigued by the roses. Planted in remembrance of a mother who lovingly coaxed plants from unyielding soil there, these roses adorned the gardens of a family estate where Oliver and Marie Rowe raised their children and entertained their friends. The legacy of this park like setting is coming alive in a community of fine condominium homes. Rosewood takes its name from a beloved past,elegantly presented and appointed for gracious living once again."
Tropicana
Crosby Drive
Built 1964 HTLA: From 1053 to 1690
Bedrooms: 1,2,3 Report 7/31/15 for 6 months: From 65K to 132,900
Exterior: Brick veneer Description:Two story. Each level has flats, exterior hallways, separate
entrances. Very much like a motel. Efficient units. 1 carport,1 parking space.
Amenities: Pool, recreational area.
I discovered Tropicana as I built the first condo database in Charlotte in the mid- eighties. It popped up in the tax books as a square, a courtyard perhaps like those at colleges or the beach and here on Crosby Drive, almost across the street from Rosewood, a most unusual condominium not unlike a motor lodge from the fifties...complete with pool.
Cotswold Homes
But I live here.
More importantly, I have a love affair with Charlotte and thought this would mark the beginning of our rise as a great city of the south...with more than just red brick homes, traditional architecture and safe designs.
In CondoCanDo's library of Charlotte Condominiums, I open the book written about Rosewood for that auspicious evening and to introduce the vision to us and to prospective home owners, and read:
"The Roses. For Charlotteans, this name calls to mind splashes of vivid color embellishing the well traveled crossroads at Providence and Sharon Amity. Here passerby have been fascinated, delighted, and intrigued by the roses. Planted in remembrance of a mother who lovingly coaxed plants from unyielding soil there, these roses adorned the gardens of a family estate where Oliver and Marie Rowe raised their children and entertained their friends. The legacy of this park like setting is coming alive in a community of fine condominium homes. Rosewood takes its name from a beloved past,elegantly presented and appointed for gracious living once again."
Tropicana
Crosby Drive
I discovered Tropicana as I built the first condo database in Charlotte in the mid- eighties. It popped up in the tax books as a square, a courtyard perhaps like those at colleges or the beach and here on Crosby Drive, almost across the street from Rosewood, a most unusual condominium not unlike a motor lodge from the fifties...complete with pool.
Cotswold Homes
on Woodlark Lane, Andover Road and Chelmsford Road
Once apartments converted to condos, investors brought about a slow descent and the arrival of section 8 housing. In the 80's, a couple with a retired mother or mother-in-law, I forget, bought one for her. It was close to their home. She could walk to shopping, have a place to walk her small dog and the garden condominium was just the right size. Not too big and not too small, only one story. Her daughter took note of the condition of this community and set about to make it shine. Years and years, stories, and new rules and regulations, repairs and care for the aging trees, lighting and proper landscaping followed until it is now a prize and will only get better now that it has survived the Great Recession as well.
Gaynor Arms
Gaynor Arms
on Gaynor Drive
The woman who built this in 1971, the first newly built condominium as as condominium was an amazing woman in anything she did and I knew her. I knew her work.
As she reached a retirement age she discovered there were few or no suitable homes for her or her friends, so she designed and built Gaynor Arms, the very first new condominium built in Charlotte with the Unit File Number 1. Her name is Kathryn Smetana and there is story and picture early on of this incredible woman. I met her working at the paper and helped her with her advertising.
The Cotswolds
at Sloane SquareBuilt in 1999 by The Boulevard Company, the complex is a micro village with a private pool in the center and secure walkways around each section. Garages, some two, some one. Some are brick, some stucco, some mixed. They are on slabs and one might find Masters on Main as well. Walking distance to Cotswold Shopping Center.
Heated living space 1785 to 2187 and recently the range is $304,0000 to $386,100 with a premium for master on main
