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Picture this: Luxurious amenities in Charlotte’s new apartments

Picture this: Yoga rooms and cycling stations in full fitness studios, with virtual workout leaders you can select from an iPad mounted on the wall. Saltwater pools, outdoor grills and fire pits. Billiard tables, poker tables, lounges with free coffee.

Those amenities were standard at five new apartment properties featured this year in the Greater Charlotte Apartment Association’s annual tour of new projects. The goal: To stay competitive.

Despite the plethora of once-rare amenities that have become standard, some still stood out: – Nature preserve and two-acre dog park: At Crescent SouthPark, which is set to open in January 2016. – Dog wash: SkyHouse uptown, by Grubb Properties and Novare, will feature a dog wash in the amenity park atop its parking deck.

– USB charging outlets in every room: Camden Southline recognizes that sometimes you lose the little cube that goes with your iPhone charger.

//><!--–  Complimentary bikes to cruise the Rail Trail: The 1100 South apartment building has this amenity in case you want to take a spin. – A covered patio with TV: The large, covered outdoor patio at Allure in SouthPark has a big TV and – as one of the tour attendees pointed out – would be a great place to hang out during a rainstorm.//--><!

The numbers in Charlotte:

– 12,334 apartments are under construction.

– Another 13,500 are planned.

– Average rent is $1,000, up 6.6 percent from $938 in March.

– Vacancy rate is 5.7 percent, down from 6.7 percent in March.

The theme of the apartment association’s tour, appropriately enough, was “Boom!”

Follow Ely Portillo on Twitter at @ESPortillo.

OTHER DEVELOPMENT NEWS 

Zebra Restaurant hosted a VIP Grand Opening Night on Sept. 18 to reveal the result of recent renovations. The Charlotte Observer’s Helen Schwab reported during the summer that Kim Salahie purchased Zebra from owner Jim Alexander in May, and embarked on a sweep of renovations to add contemporary flair to the French-American atmosphere.

Take a gander at the new space:



Publix delivery is on its way. Observer reporter Katie Peralta shared that the grocery delivery service Shipt will start in Charlotte Sept. 29. Delivery will be available via mobile app from area Publix stores to customers in major parts of Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties, along with Matthews, Concord, Huntersville and Cornelius.

Customers can select products and make notes about certain items. One-hour delivery windows can be scheduled as soon as one hour after the customer makes the order.

The delivery cost is $7 for orders under $35, and deliveries are unlimited for orders over $35. Memberships are also available.

Members get unlimited deliveries for orders over $35 (for smaller orders, the delivery cost is $7.) Customers can buy memberships of $99 a year for unlimited deliveries, or a monthly fee of $14. Shipt is also offering a pre-launch price of $49 for a year-long membership.

The New Publix South End is set to open this Saturday in Charlotte, NC on Thursday April 16, 2015.
The New Publix South End is set to open this Saturday in Charlotte, NC on Thursday April 16, 2015. Observer file photo

Photos by Charlotte Observer, SEEDSPARK, Joshua Komer/The Charlotte Observer.

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 12:37 AM with the headline "Picture this: Luxurious amenities in Charlotte’s new apartments."

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