We’ve all heard that timing is everything; likewise, time equals money. So when Frank Stoner, vice president of business development for local real estate developer Stonehaus, said the time was right for a 16-acre sale within the company’s 207-acre Belvedere neighborhood, it also meant the price was right.
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Cathcart Properties plans to construct a collection of one-, two- and three-bedroom luxury apartments, along with a few other amenities, on 16 acres of land in the Belvedere neighborhood (pictured). |
Cathcart Properties agreed, and purchased the land from Stonehaus for $4.6 million to construct The Reserve at Belvedere, a multi-family luxury apartment building with 294 units. Those 16 acres are located near the planned site for the Belvedere neighborhood’s towncenter, and won’t go unused. A press release from Stonehaus lists amenities like a clubhouse with a movie theater and billiards parlor, and a “central park” with both a putting green and a bocce court.
Asked about reasons for the sale, Stoner tells C-VILLE that, while Stonehaus had developed multi-family housing in the past, “we have typically partnered with somebody else to do that, because that’s sort of not our core competency.”
“I guess we could’ve waited three or four or five years ’til we might’ve been able to do it ourselves, but that didn’t seem like the right thing to do,” adds Stoner. “So that’s why we decided to sell.”
Belvedere was part of the LEED Neighborhood Development Pilot Program, a collection of roughly 240 developments across the country that would help the U.S. Green Building Council gather information about its rating system. Stonehaus CEO Bob Hauser said in a press release that The Reserve “will reflect many of the values that are integral to the Belvedere vision: pedestrian friendly urban blocks, authentic architecture, quality public and recreational space and energy efficiency.” Rip Cathcart, chairman of Cathcart Properties, said the company’s architect is still investigating sustainable and LEED-certified materials.
“I will say that we always emphasize insulation,” says Cathcart, who added that residents of the company’s Lakeside and Carriage Hill apartments are “pretty pleased with their electric bill.”
As far as rentals are concerned, Cathcart says The Reserve is “pretty high-end.” Single-bedroom units will range from 800 to 981 square feet, with monthly rents from $1,025 to $1,175. Three-bedroom units will range from 1,303 to 1,445 square feet, with monthly rents from $1,400 to $1,550.
Cathcart says he was not particularly concerned about the market affecting construction or rentals. “The rental sector of the housing community—at least the high-end rentals—is actually pretty strong,” he says. “And we’d be in a position to know that better than anyone, since we own 650-some units in town here. And we’re filled up.” He mentions the high volume of employees at spots like the UVA Research Park and the National Ground Intelligence Center. “And yet currently there are no high-end apartments convenient to any of those areas.”
“Obviously, the market is challenging,” Stoner says. “I think that anything we can do to help expand the market in Belvedere is a good thing.”
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