Artist’s rendering of bird’s eye view of the entrance to The Preserve at Robbins Park, West Catawba Avenue, Cornelius

Simonini Builders is adjusting its strategy for the Preserve at Robbins Park neighborhood in Cornelius to take into account the effects of the economy and new real estate and mortgage markets in which buyers are looking for a smaller home and purchase price, says project manager Rick Jasinski.

“With the economy tanking and the market what it is, we’re trying to get the price point down,” Jasinski says.

“We thought we would be on a pace of 24 sales a year,” Jasinski says. “It’s not happening at this time.”

Nothing is selling at the $600,000 level so Simonini wants to build smaller homes – about a dozen more than originally planned – on smaller lots, starting at $400,000, Jasinski says.

 Homes in the development are expected to sell at 12 to 14 a year in this economy, COO Phil Hughes says.

HUGHES

“We’re not changing the Simonini brand, we just want some different price points,” Hughes says. Hughes noted Simonini Builders has one home available in The Peninsula, and the same quality, workmanship – and, yes, granite for kitchen countertops – that are in that home will be in the Preserve at Robbins Park. Simonini Builders has won dozens of regional and national awards for design, planning, innovation and ethics.

“The price point that we have is not selling as fast as in 2006 and 2007,” CEO Ray Killian says. Simonini Builders developed the prices in 2003 through 2005, he says, and bought the property in 2004. A land exchange with Mecklenburg County was worked out in December 2007 and construction began in August 2008.

So far, Killian says, there’s been “lots of interest” but no formal reservations at the Preserve at Robbins Park. Simonini Builders had been talking about adding this price point to its portfolio for several years, Killian says, but “this market spurred us on.”

KILLIAN

The market may be turning around with traffic – interest from consumers – up 50 percent since the end of 2008, Killian says. Simonini Builders sold five houses in May and three in June in the $600,000 to $1.4 million range in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties, he says.

Larger lots are planned in the final phase, which extends back towards Sam Furr Road. Construction for that phase will probably start in 2010 start, although it won’t be fully developed until 2012 or 2013 depending on the market, Killian says. “We think the market will be better at the end of the year, going into 2010,” he says.

The developer is seeking town approval to reduce lot widths in the second phase of early construction from 63 feet to 60 feet. Current zoning requires 80-foot lot widths in residential, up from 63 feet when the Simonini plan was approved, so now a reduction to 60-foot lots require a conditional residential mixed use zoning change. The development would remain a single-family home neighborhood; the zoning variance would not allow for townhomes or apartments, for examples.

The original plan, Killian says, had 140 homes of which 42 have 80-foot widths, leaving 98 with 63-foot width lots. Of that 98, Killian says, 41 would have 63-foot width lots in phase 2; if approved, that would change to 54 with 60-foot width lots.

Hughes says focus groups are showing that buyers aren’t looking for 4,000 square foot homes but closer to 2,800 square feet, with a master downstairs and one or two bedrooms upstairs.

Simonini Builders is bringing Bassenian Lagoni Architects of Newport Beach, Calif., onboard to do floorplan designs and construction drawings of the smaller homes. In California, where land is as good as or better than gold, Bassenian Lagoni works in partnership with builder and developer clients “to create communities that appeal not only to future users, but to builders
seeking a competitive edge,” according to the firm’s website.

Stephen Fuller Inc. of Atlanta & Dominick Tringali Architects of Detroit – firms Simonini considers proven talents for them in other developments – also will do design work for the project.

Bassenian Lagoni’s expertise is in designing smaller, more functional, livable homes. This means there can be the same room count in a 3,400 square foot home as one of 4,500 square feet, Hughes says. Of course, rooms are smaller, as are the lots the homes are built on, and the cost is less, he says. Lot depth would also be reduced from 140 feet to 110 feet.

Originally this early phase had 4,600 square foot homes, starting at $600,000. If approved, the smaller homes would be in the 2,500 square foot to 3,000 square foot range, starting at $400,000.

The larger lots and homes in the final phase are expected to sell for $600,000 to $1.2 million, Hughes says.

JASINSKI

If the zoning change is approved by the early fall, as Simonini Builders hopes, the number of lots in the early phases along West Catawba Avenue would increase from 41 to 53, Jasinski says. The configuration of roads in the second phase near the proposed Westmoreland Athletic Complex would change from two cul-de-sacs to a loop, allowing better traffic flow and the increased number of homes.

The change would also have more lots abutting natural areas. “Backyards facing the park makes sense,” Hughes says.

If the smaller lots are approved, the Preserve at Robbins Park would have about 150 homes when complete. Work so far has included road and other infrastructure, landscaping and entrance monuments, Killian says. Construction on the first homes in phase one, which start in the $550,000 range is expected to begin by the end July, depending on the weather, Killian says. Home construction in that phase, with 17 lots, should be complete in the second quarter of 2010, he says.