Seven Oaks

Seven Oaks

Family Sells Off Remaining SouthPark Land For Luxury Townhome Development

With Charlotte’s rapid growth and changing neighborhoods, one family’s piece of history in SouthPark will live on through the development of a luxury townhome community.

The Phillips family owned 100 acres in SouthPark dating back to 1914, beginning with the original owner, an auctioneer named James Lee Phillips. After he died, the land went to his son, D.L. Phillips, and eventually to his granddaughter, Peggy Crowder.

That land has been sold off in pieces throughout the years, including what is now the Phillips Place shopping center at 6800 Phillips Place Court. But Crowder was set on retaining the last few acres for her home.

She called the property Seven Oaks, after the large oak trees in the yard. An old, red dairy barn filled with crates and stamps labeled Phillips Dairy also sat on the land.

Crowder's children decided to sell the property after her death in 2017. Before the land sold this spring, the family held one last barbecue in March to reminisce on their time at Seven Oaks. They hoped to ensure whoever bought the land was going to honor its history. 

“It was obviously a bittersweet time for them as a family,” said Daniel Burns of Tower Property Group, who represented the family in the sale. “They really felt like it’s now time to go ahead and sell this last remaining piece of land from the family."

The family was adamant they did not want a big tower or apartments to be built on the property. After discussions with Burns, they decided that luxury townhomes would be the best fit.

The property received about eight offers within its first couple of weeks on the market. The family narrowed down their choices to three offers before ultimately selling to developer Blue Azalea. 

Blue Azalea paid $6.26 million for the five parcels on Sharon View Road that totaled 4.6 acres, according to Mecklenburg County real estate records. The deal closed on May 14.

The land was rezoned from single-family residential (R-3) to urban residential (UR-2) in December, allowing for 34 townhomes. Blue Azalea, however, decided to scale back the number of townhomes to between 23 and 26 units to allow for wider homes. The townhomes will be about 3,000 to 3,650 square feet with high-end finishes.

To keep the Phillips family's history alive, Blue Azalea will name the community Seven Oaks at SouthPark. The neighborhood's main road will be named Peggy Lane.  

The land has not yet been cleared for construction. Burns said Blue Azalea will start developing the property — adding roads, curbs, gutters and utilities — by Q4. Building, led by Sixteen Penny Construction, is set to start in 2022. 

Blue Azalea is planning an official marketing launch for Seven Oaks at SouthPark in October.

“It was meaningful for us to be able to have the opportunity to assist them,” Burns said. “It was a fun and meaningful opportunity for me to work with such a time-honored family.”