SOUTHPARK MAGAZINE - LUXURY LIVING PROPERTIES
June 2007

Villas with a View
European Condos Will Help Preserve Part of a Family’s Wooded Sanctuary

By Judy Morganthall

When Sally James gets a state-of-the-art kitchen in several months, she might just welcome her new neighbors by inviting them over for dinner. And she’ll have plenty of stories to tell about Charlotte, her neighborhood and the land she’ll soon share with several dozen homeowners.

James and her sister, Adele Hagood, have lived at what’s now the corner of Colony and Carmel roads since they were little girls. Their late father, W. W. Bill (Hagood) Jr., owned 35 acres along Carmel Road, and James, the former Sally Hagood, remembers moving into their house the same week Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. It was also the same week Sally started first grade at Eastover School, then a six-room schoolhouse that had opened in 1935.

Today, her childhood home and a house later built for her sister are gone. But in a few months she and her husband Henry will move back to their 43- year-old home, now being remodeled with a new kitchen, living area, study and stucco exterior during a transformation of the property.

But the more striking change to the 9.2-acre site will be the addition of two European-style condominium buildings, one three stories high and the other four stories. The nearly 70-year legacy of the Hagood family will continue with Hagood Reserve, 36 luxury condominiums being built by Tuscan Development of Charlotte, and gardens designed to preserve and enhance the natural environment.

After months of planning and waiting for zoning approval, Ray (Rip) Farris of Tuscan Development said he’s been looking forward to starting the first phase of construction on the project.

Originally zoned for three single-family homes per acre, the property has been considered for several projects. Farris said one developer approached the owners with plans for single-family homes, but all of the trees would have been removed from the corner site.

Tuscan’s plan will allow much of the wooded land and the 2.5-acre pond to be preserved. The condos, ranging from 3,000 to 3,700 square feet, will be clustered in the two buildings or villas with views of the pond and the gardens. Two additional townhouse-condo units will be attached to the renovated James home. Tuscan’s plan will allow much of the wooded land and the 2.5-acre pond to be preserved. The condos, ranging from 3,000 to 3,700 square feet, will be clustered in the two buildings or villas with views of the pond and the gardens. Two additional townhouse-condo units will be attached to the renovated James home.

A Retreat Close To Conveniences

For Tuscan Development the upscale condominiums, starting at $1.1 million, are a change in direction from most of the Charlotte projects the company has built since 1995. Instead of the Craftsman-style bungalows and urban lofts in center city, NoDa, Cotswold and Plaza-Midwood, the new south Charlotte homes have been inspired by grand Italian villas.

Farris, who has a degree in fine art and art history from U.N.C.-Chapel Hill, a master’s in architecture from the University of Colorado and a master’s in design from Harvard University, says he’s using all of his degrees to develop Hagood Reserve. “It’s a really fun project,” he says. He also traveled to Rome to look at treatment of open spaces. “A number of people working on the project have lived in Italy and have referred to images from their visits,” Farris adds.

Promotional materials state that the noblemen of the Italian Renaissance built magnificent villas in the country to retreat from the agitation of the city. In the same fashion, Hagood Reserve is offering sanctuaries that will be “a quiet retreat for the senses, a daily vacation for the soul and a serenely beautiful place to recharge.”

Part of that serenity, in an area close to south Charlotte shopping, dining and other conveniences, will come from the gardens, where homeowners can escape for leisurely nature walks.

More Italian influence

Landscape architect Peter Lindsay Schaudt from Chicago is also focusing on classical European designs, similar to landscape designs used on major museum projects. The firm’s portfolio includes the landscape design for Bank of America Stadium, known as Ericsson Stadium when it opened in Charlotte in 1996. Schaudt studied in Rome after winning the prestigious Rome Prize, awarded annually to 15 emerging artists through a national competition. Water features, formal and informal gardens and walking paths will be incorporated throughout the property. Catchand- release bream and bass will be in the pond, which also is home to mallards, wood ducks and blue herons.

What’s Inside?

The two- and three-bedroom homes feature open kitchens, living and dining areas, libraries and private terraces. Coffered ceiling heights range from 10 feet to 20 feet, depending on the units. Each condo will have a gas log fireplace in the great room, a laundry room, built-in shelving in the library, and his and her closets in the master bedroom.

Kitchens will include allowances for Viking appliances, granite countertops, a selection of woods, styles and finishes for cabinetry, a gas or electric cooktop, and a pantry. Custom options include a master bedroom coffee bar, storage systems, faux finishes, a wine cooler and private elevators in the two town-home condominiums.

Covered parking is located between the two buildings, and a covered terrace with entertaining facilities is on the ground floor of each villa.

Concierge services will be optional for condo owners. Services will range from inspections for periods when the home is vacant; recommendations for restaurants and personal chefs; vehicle rentals and limousine reservations; dry cleaning arrangements; and other local service and shopping advice.

Nothing ‘Naked’ Here

Farris said this project will be different from Tuscan’s previous residential and office projects, some of which have a more modern, industrialized look. “We respond to what the site calls for,” he says, adding he expects this to be the first of more high-end condo developments.

Hagood Reserve is at the opposite end of the spectrum from Tuscan’s Optimist Park project, with “naked flats,” or unfinished 650-square-foot condos selling for under $100,000. That project is geared to artists who will install their own flooring, wall coverings, cabinets and other finishing touches.

Farris isn’t releasing sales information about Hagood Reserve but said the development is attracting empty nesters who are ready to leave their larger homes and like the idea of less maintenance in a condo. “It’s going to be a gem for the community when it’s finished,” he says.

Preserving the Trees

Sally James says her father, who died in 1986, wanted to preserve the family land. In fact, James says, the condo development was her way to preserve about two-thirds of the property. Developing a traditional single-family neighborhood might have meant filling in the pond, along with cutting down the trees.

James and her husband moved into their house on the property in 1964, and Adele, who’s now building a home in Chapel Hill, has lived in her house since 1979.

A self-taught cook, James was a guest food columnist for Charlotte newspapers in the 1980s and looks forward to her renovated kitchen. At age 74, she and her husband enjoy traveling and taking their nine grandchildren with them.

She is a fountain of information about the folks who have been her Carmel Road neighbors over the years, including nature enthusiast Herbert Hechenbleikner, who founded the U.N.C.-Charlotte Botanical Gardens. The late biology and geology professor was the first chairman of the Charlotte Tree Commission and would likely have approved of his neighbor’s efforts to preserve her property’s trees.