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I thought these homes looked completely out of place in the neighborhood. Personally, I don't the homes look attractive at all. Though I haven't seen how they look on the inside.
Because the developer was trying to squeeze as many houses on that plot of land that he/she could.
I know hooligan - it was more of a rhetorical question more than anything else.
In other words, for such a unique property that's looking for relatively upscale buyers, it seems like a mistake to cram in so many units. Privacy is just not there especially between the units it seems.
What do you think of creating our own modern place, in a lot/subdivision near Charlotte and making smarter decisions such as leaving some privacy and taking better attention to detail?
The thinking being, that even if the house itself was very different in style compared to the surrounding neighborhood, what does it matter if you've landscaped a nice "fense" with trees and such around it?
Just found a property around Chapel Hill (564 Mt Laurel None, Chapel Hill NC - Trulia) - it doesn't have to be in this price range, but somewhere in Charlotte that offers privacy and better median pricing & income. Would welcome your thoughts!
You problem is that it will be very difficult to find a lot, in Charlotte, that you can develop unless you can do a tear down. This is because Charlotte, long ago, decided that most new development will be in subdivisions by builders and for the most part, these tract developments are only profitable if they mass produce homes with few floorplans. Most will not agree to sell a lot. (though in these days of bankrupting developers this might be changing)
You will be limited to real high end development where it is common to hire an architect, an acreage lot where it won't matter, or a teardown where there are no neighborhood restrictions.
Chapel, Hill is in the Triange about 180 miles from here. You might be better off asking about that property in that forum. CH is a desirable place to live in the state.
I live in the neighborhood where these Element houses are, and no one in the area is very thrilled about them. Yes, it's great that they're "green" and eco-conscious, but they look unlike ANYTHING in the area. I really don't feel that they fit in at all.
Also, just so you know, they back up right to an active railroad track. The whole neighborhood can hear the train whistles when they go through, but I imagine it would be particularly deafening in these Element homes because the train is literally right behind them.
Yes, they are also crowded in very closely with their fellow homes. These properties are basically "zero lot line" which means no yard. The small area around the house is in fitting with the green idea behind the homes -- no grass, just gravel and some bushes.
There are only about 6 or so of these homes. From a block or so away, it almost looks as if they are one large, modern condo building. They are all very narrow and long. It looks like each one is only the width of about a room with a hallway to the side, but they extend quite far back, so it's possible they have large square footage.
Two or three look as if they are inhabited, but the rest appear vacant. I hope they sell -- not only would it be better for the area not to have vacant homes, but sales might encourage other developers to build green homes. I just wish that developers would realize that just because a home is green doesn't mean it has to look so modern and out of place in this particular neighborhood. They are also dramatically more expensive than any other home in this area.
These homes are not really in Sherwood Forest -- that's just the closest large residential area, but it's further down Sharon Amity. Technically, these Element homes border two neighborhoods: Castleton Gardens and Charlestown Manor. Castleton Gardens is an older, 60s and 70s built neighborhood of a lot of brick ranches and split-levels, pretty modestly priced. Charlestown Manor was built in the late 80s and 90s, and is a more modern (and more expensive) neighborhood, although smaller.
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I know hooligan - it was more of a rhetorical question more than anything else. 
