Martha Stewart homes headed to Charlotte

ALLEN NORWOOD
anorwood@charlotteobserver.com

CHARLOTTE - Homes designed by Martha Stewart and built by KB Home soon will be available in the Charlotte market.

Last year, Stewart's company and the national home builder teamed to create a new subdivision in Cary, which will open next month. That project proved so successful, the two companies announced Wednesday they'll open another in Atlanta this spring; it will be followed by developments in Charlotte, Houston and Las Vegas, and in Florida and California.

Plans call for 1,500 home sites in those cities within the year.

KB spokesman Tim Pittman said the company isn't sure where or when the first homes will be built in Charlotte, but they would be a bit larger and more expensive than those in Cary. The price in that Raleigh suburb ranges from about $180,000 to more than $400,000. "Here, the plan is to start ... in the $400,000 range."

Home buyers will be able to choose from products and design elements in a new "Martha's Choices" line. Categories will include floor coverings, kitchen cabinets, lighting and fixtures, and window treatments.

The Charlotte homes, like those in the Twin Lakes subdivision in Cary, will feature looks inspired by Stewart's personal homes: Lily Pond, Skylands and Katonah.

"We're not talking about a neighborhood of just three models," Pittman said. "It will be a very diverse neighborhood, with features from each of those three houses."

"(The partnership) certainly plays well in the Southeast and in Charlotte," said Fred Vandercook, KB's Charlotte division president. "It's unique; it's upscale."