This article by Jenna Martin originally appeared in the Charlotte Business Journal.
Work is underway to bring a six-story, luxury condominium building to Charlotte’s Eastover neighborhood. Called The Regent at Eastover, the project marks the first in Charlotte for Florida-based developer The Lutgert Cos.
The demolition of existing structures on the property, which sits near the corner of Cherokee Road and South Laurel Avenue, off Providence Road, began in the first week of January and should conclude by the end of February. Construction should start in June and wrap up after 18 months, said Michael Hoyt, Lutgert’s senior vice president of development, at a groundbreaking event on Friday.
The Regent at Eastover will house 34 high-end condos that range from 2,447 to 2,994 square feet. Floor plans will include either three bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms or three bedrooms plus a den and that same bathroom count. In addition, there will be four penthouses on the top floor encompassing 3,395 to 3,729 square feet. The 38 units are priced between $1.68 million and $2.72 million.
The condos include features such as gourmet kitchens with wood cabinets and granite or quartz countertops, master bathrooms with a frameless-glass shower enclosure and free-standing tub, as well as large, insulated windows and French doors. Each unit has its own elevator entrance, private terrace and laundry room. Building amenities include a club room, a fitness center and a large roof terrace with an outdoor kitchen, lounging and dining areas, a fire pit and a dog-walking area. It will also have a parking garage on the bottom level.
Plans for The Regent at Eastover were unveiled about a year ago, after an entity affiliated with Lutgert acquired 14 townhouses on the property from individual owners, as previously reported by the Charlotte Business Journal. The site totals about 1.7 acres, Mecklenburg County property records show. The sales center is expected to open across the street on Cherokee Road in March. So far, there have been eight reservations made for units, including commitments for all four penthouse units, said Budge Huskey, CEO of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, a division of Lutgert that is handling sales of the condos. Interest in the project has come primarily from empty-nesters and all local residents, said Huskey, noting the majority of buyers are expected to be from within the area. Both Lutgert and Premier Sotheby’s are headquartered in Naples, Florida. Premier Sotheby’s has two local offices in Charlotte and Cornelius.
Charlotte-based SGA | NarmourWright Design is the project architect, while Land Design, also locally based, is handling design and planning services. Birmingham, Alabama-based Hoar Construction is the general contractor. Lutgert did not disclose an estimated cost for the project. Lutgert’s portfolio in North Carolina includes Linville Ridge, a gated, golf-course community in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Hoyt said the company is actively looking at other projects across the Charlotte market.
“We’ve got several that we’re working on now but nothing that we’re the owners of yet,” he said. Added Huskey: “This a phenomenal market. It’s really important for the future of our company we believe. It’s one of the reasons why we’re all here (at the groundbreaking) both from the development side and a general real estate side. The expectation is we’re going to grow in the market.”
