A team of developers known for rehabbing old houses and building new ones in Charlotte's trendy NoDa district broke ground last week on what it calls a pioneer project in downtown Rock Hill.
Fourteen townhouses are planned at the site of the old Red Coach Inn, a two-story motel on East Main Street that had become a haven for crime until the city tore it down two years ago.

The new development's name, Renaissance Square, fits well with Rock Hill's hopes for energizing downtown through residential projects instead of just offices and retailers. Until now, that goal has proven elusive.

ColdSprings Carolina intends to start construction next month, in time for the first buyers to move in by spring or summer. The units will go up in phases over the next 18 months, with prices set in the high $230,000s.

"There's nothing else like this in close proximity to downtown," Justin Hansen, the company's director of development, said Friday. "It's a risk, but I think it's a calculated risk."

Targeting a younger crowd

In its work in NoDa, a neighborhood on North Davidson Street near uptown Charlotte, ColdSprings targeted young professionals and so-called DINKs (double income, no kids) looking for an urban lifestyle that affords easy access to restaurants, shops and entertainment.

The vision is similar at Renaissance Square, where the downtown district is two blocks away and the campus of Winthrop University is a short drive farther.

"If you go to places like NoDa and Plaza Midwood, (residents) have very active lifestyles outside their homes," said Rock Hill native Adam Heath, 35, a broker involved in the project. "People want to be able to walk to work, walk to dinner. And they're generally more social."

The project represents validation for city officials who put up $240,000 to buy and raze the Red Coach Inn property. Their goal was to make the site ready for a private developer. ColdSprings will get help from the city in the form of streetscape improvements and rebates on impact fees.

Founded in May, ColdSprings Carolina brought together a small group of developers focused on projects that require outside-the-box thinking, Hansen said. The firm is based in south Charlotte.

Welcomed by East Town

Neighbors in surrounding East Town waited eagerly, hoping for something to complement the stately homes along their tree-lined streets. Many date back to the 1880s and have been renovated in recent years.

"We've got a lot of businesses, and we need more people living downtown," said William Aiton, who lives on nearby Reid Street. "This is going to kick it off a little bit better."

The sluggish economy, particularly the slowdown in housing sales, creates a unique set of challenges, said Michael LaCount, the ColdSprings developer who planned the project.

LaCount hopes the market will have rebounded by the time construction wraps up in 18 months. He believes the downtown district shows enough promise to make the risk worthwhile.

"We came down here a few times just to see the activity going on," he said. "We were surprised at how busy Old Town Bistro was at lunchtime. I don't think we're too far off from where this project will be able to kick off a series of others."