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The Freedom Drive corridor's first upscale apartment community opens Monday, pushing high-end amenities just beyond the borders of up-and-coming Wesley Heights.
The first of nine buildings to open at Wesley Village, on 10 acres at the intersection of Freedom and West Morehead Street, will include one-, two- and three-bedroom units priced from $780 for a one-bedroom efficiency to $1,400 for a three-bedroom unit.
Apartments in the development will range from 566 square feet to 1,435, with high-end finishes such as granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances. Some have lofts and sunrooms.
The property will have a clubhouse, fitness center, a pool and two cabanas, an outdoor fireplace, a dog park and other green spaces, and access to the center city along Stewart Creek Greenway.
The goal is to convince young professionals and others that there are benefits to living beside Wesley Heights, a community of 568 residences that is a model in west Charlotte for shedding its rougher edges. Housing values have climbed dramatically in less than a decade as the area gentrified.
Wesley Village's developer says the location and other features make it a contender with center city and South End properties.
“We've got more room to spread out and more amenities,” said Carter Siegel, a partner with Wood Partners, the company that developed Wesley Village.
Siegel said he believes Wesley Village will benefit from the revitalization taking place in adjacent Wesley Heights, where the average home value jumped from nearly $81,000 in 2002 to nearly $291,000 in 2008, according to a city neighborhood study.
Three types of apartment buildings are under construction at the development, with 301 units planned by early next year.
The building opening Monday and three others still under construction will have three stories and interior stairways for the one- to three-bedrooms units.
Four buildings will have four stories, elevator service and loft units on the top floor. One building will have townhouses with garages.
Quick access to the center city and interstates 77, 85 and 277 from Wesley Village is a selling point for the development, Siegel said. The project, and plans for a new restaurant called Pinky's on the other side of Freedom at Morehead, are signs that the revitalization at Wesley Heights is spreading beyond those borders, Siegel said.
“We're an example of the growth that's hitting the area,” Siegel said.
