by Dianne
Whitacre, Charlotte Observer
Jodie Bartock is
a pioneer, and a patient one at that.
He has bought a
condominium that hasn't yet been built next to an old freight track that
will carry light-rail trains, but not until 2006.
The 30-year-old
accountant doesn't work uptown, so he can't ride the train to work.
Instead, he bought the condo near the planned New Bern/Marsh Road
station as an investment.
"Light rail is a
great way to go," said Bartock, who'll live in the condo and ride the
train to football and basketball games. "I think property values will
increase -- a lot."
With the start
of light-rail construction only five months away, interest is heating up
in the project that's expected to bring major redevelopment -- and
thousands of new residents -- to South Boulevard over the next few
decades.
Land prices have
increased about 10 percent in the last nine months on the properties
that Charlotte Area Transit System plans to buy for the stations and
parking lots along the track, said project manager David Leard. CATS
expects to spend about $26 million to buy properties, including 41
businesses that will be relocated, 23 vacant buildings and parcels, as
well as smaller portions of 14 properties.
He expects to
begin buying land by the end of May -- before prices go up even more.
CATS plans to
break ground this fall on two tracks that will carry electric-powered
trains from uptown to near Pineville along South Boulevard. The $371
million line will have 14 stations, from Seventh Street to Interstate
485.
Property owners
and developers hope to repeat the success of the uptown-to-South End
trolley line, which has drawn $400 million in private investment to
build condos, apartments, shops and offices. Light-rail trains will run
on those same trolley tracks and then continue on their own tracks into
south Charlotte.
Up and down
South Boulevard, developers and landowners are studying the light-rail
plans. Most say it's too early to buy because train service is still
three years away. But a few early birds with land near stations are
talking with developers or preparing their own building plans.
The Pepsi-Cola
Bottling Plant is just across the street from the future New Bern/Marsh
station. Executive Vice President Darrell Holland gets lots of calls
from developers and real estate agents who want to know if Pepsi is
selling its building and the 9 acres it owns nearby.
The answer is
yes. Holland says the plant needs more room and expects to move in about
five years. "I think someone will buy it and build some fine condos," he
said.
Andy Heath is
the first developer to start construction near a station, at New
Bern/Marsh Road, a six-minute train ride to uptown. He is building 3030
South, a 4.2-acre complex of 96 condos, offices and shops. The first
residents, including Bartock, will move in early next year.
Today, South
Boulevard is a string of car lots, small businesses and strip shopping
centers. But light rail will change that, Heath says. A combination of
public dollars for new streets, sidewalks and landscaping, plus private
money to develop shops and homes, will rejuvenate the area around the
stations, he said.
"Look what
happened in First Ward," he said, referring to that once-rundown uptown
area that was recently redeveloped. "That can happen here, too."
New Bern is
considered the model for other stations. It's near the hot South End
real estate market, as well as an older industrial area that's ripe for
redevelopment. Changes may ripple out from the station at least a
quarter-mile -- about the distance a passenger might walk to catch a
train.
CATS proposes a
small park on South Boulevard where the Wachovia bank now sits. Once the
bank is demolished, the station will be visible from the street. Work is
already complete on a broad sidewalk/bike path next to the track, from
uptown to Tremont Avenue and maybe farther.
The biggest
change will come several years from now when Marsh Properties redevelops
its 42 acres off Poindexter Drive, a 10-minute walk to the train
station. One day its scattered brick apartments on their oak-shaded
lawns will be replaced with trendy units where hundreds of commuters
could live. "It could be significant -- a nice impact on the New Bern
station," said its president, Jamie McLawhorn.
That's still a
few years away because McLawhorn wants the train up and running before
he makes any changes.
Developers are
also busy farther south. A small shopping center is proposed at the end
of the line, near Interstate 485, with construction probably starting
late this year. That 1.6-acre parcel, on the market for just over $1
million, is the last vacant land near what will be the line's largest
station, opposite Carolina Pavilion.
That
12,000-square-foot shopping center will offer goods and services that
train commuters need, with possible tenants such as a sandwich shop,
hair salon, dry cleaners and ice cream store, says Matthew Funderburk,
an agent with The Chambers Group.
Other property
owners, like former state Sen. Jerry Blackmon, are holding back but
watching.
Blackmon sits on
a transit advisory board, and his family owns 48 acres on England
Street, a short walk from the future Arrowood Road station. For years
they've envisioned a business park there, but since light rail was
announced they are now leaning toward residential. He's waiting for the
economy to improve and for plans for the new station to take shape.
"This won't
happen overnight," said Blackmon. "It is more than three years before
the trains start running and maybe three more years after that before
development really gets moving."
Blackmon is
looking down the road, both in miles and years. "I don't want it to stop
at 485. I think it should go into Rock Hill, and we will truly have a
regional system. When you plan rail, it is basically forever."
