Slump doesn't derail Cameron Village plan

Raleigh project set for hearing today

RALEIGH -- Efforts to build more shops and residences at Cameron Village are pressing forward, despite a credit crunch that is making it harder for developers to finance new construction.

Crescent Resources wants to rezone 2.67 acres at Clark Avenue and Oberlin Road to allow for a building that would stand five to eight stories tall and include up to 28,000 square feet of shops and 290 apartments or condominiums.

If approved, the project would span several properties, taking the place of the Village Citgo and a portion of a nearby parking deck and buildings at 400 and 410 Oberlin Road. The latter was once the site of Balentines Cafeteria and later temporary home to the Cameron Village library.

The rezoning is to be discussed today at a public hearing in City Hall. Crescent, a Charlotte partnership between Duke Energy and Morgan Stanley Real Estate, has a contract to buy the property from Regency Centers, said Brian Natwick, a Crescent development manager.

Regency is the Jacksonville, Fla., real estate investment trust that in 2004 bought Cameron Village.

The rezoning could be approved as early as this fall. If so, Crescent hopes to file preliminary site plans and begin marketing the project by early 2009.

By then, Crescent might have more clarity on what exactly it will build. The project -- dozens of shops and restaurants, near downtown and N.C. State University -- is sure to draw residential demand.

The question: to sell or to rent. The rezoning request calls for "residential" uses, which could mean apartments or condominiums.

Sluggish home sales have made lenders and developers wary of condominium projects. Lenders are requiring more presales, raising borrowing costs and asking developers to pay more equity into such projects.

Apartment projects, however, have been easier to finance, as rental demand grows.

The vacancy rate for inside-the-Beltline apartments dropped to a five-year low of 5.7 percent in January, according to Real Data of Charlotte.

Through May 31, 72 condominiums were sold inside Interstate 440. That's down 45 percent from the same period last year, according to the Triangle Multiple Listing Service.

"We're going to take the time to study the market, what the community wants and what the market wants," Natwick said.