Building Ballantyne Village

Developer builds in flexibility to $125 million Charlotte mixed-use development

By Bea Quirk

Typically, a developer builds and completes the first phase of a project before starting the second one.

But Sheild Property Co., the owner of Ballantyne Village in Charlotte, isn't doing things in the usual way.

George Sheild, president of the Charlotte-based firm, described Ballantyne Village as "an urban village in a suburban setting," one that "completes the vision of Ballantyne as a place to live, work, play and stay."

It is a high-density, mixed-use project located on 10 acres at the main intersection of the upscale Ballantyne area, one of Charlotte's newest, largest and fastest-growing suburban centers.

When completed, Ballantyne Village will feature more than 500,000 sq. ft. of retail shops and restaurants, a movie theater, office space, residential condos, parking and, perhaps, a hotel. Sheild estimates the final construction cost will be about $125 million.

advertisement

About $65 million of that is now under construction. Conover, N.C.-based Matthews Construction Co. built the $14 million first phase, which opened in April after a summer 2004 start. It is a 50,000-sq.-ft., two-story building with first-floor retail and office space above. Six different colors of brick and two of mortar were used on the building.

Work began on the second phase just a few months later by RodgersDooley, a joint venture between two local firms, Rodgers Builders and R.T. Dooley Construction Co.

Scheduled to open in September, this phase encompasses a mirror version of the first building as well as a five-story, 118,000-sq.-ft. signature building that will feature retail and office space, a two-story movie theater, rooftop terraces and a glass rotunda with an architectural crown structure, as well as a four-level parking deck with 460 spaces.

"The first building was right up Matthews' alley, fit right into their niche," Sheild said. "The second phase is larger and fits RodgerDooley's niche. They will probably go on to build the towers we are adding next."

The two simultaneous construction projects were as little as 50 ft. apart. But the proximity didn't pose any major problems. Sheild hired Chris Nash of Ncon Corp. of Charlotte as the overall construction manager, and he helped coordinate the schedules and logistics for the two builders.

For example, the two companies shared parking and staging areas and met regularly with Nash. "We secured a positive relationship from the start," said Will Calder, vice president of construction operations for RodgersDooley.

And Nash added, "This is a daring project in many ways and it takes trust to pull it off."

Flexibility has been the hallmark of the design-build process for Ballantyne Village. Steve Sigmon, vice president of operations for Matthews, said there was approximately $1 million in change orders on the first building, but that it didn't impact the opening. "We worked every Saturday and many Sundays - with lots of overtime," he said.

Despite the change orders, the building came in slightly under budget, even with increasing costs for steel and concrete, Nash said. "We always had contingency plans in place, and we kept constant tabs on costs, constantly updating information, making sure it was accurate and forwarding it on to the client so they could make the right decision," he added.

That has enabled Sheild to keep its options open for the future. For example, during initial sitework, lots of rock was found that required blasting for about six months. While this was going on, Sheild decided to expand the excavation work so that up to six additional levels of habitable space - probably condo lofts - could be added on later to the deck.

Sheild also decided to add underground parking, which he felt would be a selling point for the condos. In addition, the foundation work enables Sheild to build two towers up to 30 stories, although he is currently contemplating just 14.

"It was costly, but it's an investment that will pay off," Nash said. "We're spending money now to accommodate the future, and the long-term benefits are substantial. By maintaining our flexibility, we can build more. The owner (Sheild) has been looking to enhance the value of the project from early on and is thinking long-term."

In the coming months, RodgersDooley will complete its work while accommodating the needs and concerns of the new tenants in the first building.