Local developers are in the design stage of a $17 million apartment complex at Brookstown Avenue and Burke Street in Winston-Salem.
Kerry Avant and Thad Lewallen of Winston-Salem and Mike Cooke of Greensboro, who will develop the project under ALC Brookstown LLC, say they expect to start construction at the first of the year and complete the complex by early spring 2010.
Tentatively called the Village of West End, the four-story, upscale apartment complex is going on 1.83 acres on the sites once occupied by Graybar Electric Co. Inc. and Fritts Motor Co.
The properties are close to the downtown ballpark for the Winston-Salem Warthogs being built at Business 40, Peters Creek Parkway and First and Broad streets.
The apartment complex is the first major development spurred by the ballpark other than some businesses on Peters Creek Parkway.
The project is also near West End Village, a $70 million condominium project by West End Ventures LLC. The first two phases of West End Village have been built, but the third phase has been held up because of a slow residential market in downtown Winston-Salem.
The developers of the Village of West End say they are not worried about finding tenants for their apartments, primarily because of a market study done for them by Warren & Associates, a consulting company.
The study showed that there is a niche in the market for some upscale rental units.
"Every city has a certain market for people who just want to rent and not purchase," Avant said.
Cooke said that the rental market has not been as "affected by the credit crisis and the mortgage crisis that has been so detrimental to home-building and home sales and condo sales as well."
Not everyone agrees.
Tim Lichtenstein, a commercial broker for Miller Hatcher Commercial Real Estate, said he expects potential renters to be price-conscious until the economy gets better, especially for newer and more expensive apartments.
Lichtenstein said he is seeing more vacancies in higher-quality apartments regardless of the submarkets in Winston-Salem.
"Generally, I see Class A properties still offering concessions, meaning they are offering one- or two- months free rent or very little security deposit in an effort to get people in, or shorter term leases, maybe a six-month lease," Lichtenstein said.
Lesser apartments, usually 10 to 15 years old or older, tend to be pretty full in the Winston-Salem market, he said. "They are more affordable with the economy as it is," he said.
The Village of West End will have 136 apartments, ranging in size from one bedroom to three bedrooms and from 700 square feet to 1,200 square feet. Rents are expected to be $875 to $1,350 a month. A separate building will house a business center, clubhouse, exercise room and rooftop pool.
Most of the apartments will have covered porches. Other amenities will include hardwood floors, solid-surface counter tops and ceramic-tile baths.
The developers expect the apartment complex's proximity to the ballpark to attract potential tenants.
"With activity going on at the baseball stadium and people going from the baseball stadium to downtown, we're right there in between," Avant said.
He also said that the portion of the property along Brookstown is really part of the West End.
"You are within walking distance of Hanes Park and Grace Court," Avant said. "You've got restaurants and pubs and stuff up and down Burke Street and good access to the interstate."
■ Fran Daniel can be reached at 727-7366 or at fdaniel@wsjournal.com.
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