THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 8, 1995 TAG: 9504080431
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY KATHLEEN BUTLER, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY
LENGTH: Long : 141 lines
Twenty years ago Salt Ponds on the Bay in Hampton was just a spit of land adjacent to Buckroe Beach. Today, it is one of Hampton Roads' only planned marina communities - a bustling development of condominiums, townhouses and upscale homes overlooking the Chesapeake Bay.
``The key, of course, is that view,'' says Richard Marr, looking out the picture window of his Salt Ponds home.
On a clear day, Marr can see the warships arriving and departing Norfolk Naval Base and the sailboats drifting and bobbing across the Bay. At night, the horizon glows with the lights of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
To Marr, Salt Ponds is more than just a home. It is a way of life. He lives here, socializes here and, as a managing partner of Charter Management Corp., which runs the marina, he works here.
``We have never regretted living on the property,'' he says.
For centuries the jut of land on which Salt Ponds rests remained undeveloped, the land too narrow and near the water and the inlet too shallow for boats. But about 20 years ago, Marr says, the city of Hampton dredged a channel around the spit and built up the land with the dredged material, figuring the additional waterfront property would increase the tax base.
Today the city reaps the benefits in the form of taxes not only on the real estate - dwellings valued as high as $1 million - but on the marina and the boats housed there, Marr says.
``The city was the pioneer on this,'' Marr says. ``It turns out 20 years later to have been brilliant.''
Until the early 1980s, most of the rebuilt land along North First Street remained bare, Marr says. But slowly, homes began popping up on bay side of the street. Then, in 1988, developer Armada/Hoffler bought 100 acres of land to develop a planned marina community called Salt Ponds.
``You couldn't put together 100 acres on deep water anywhere else in the Tidewater area,'' says Marr, who in 1991 was hired by Armada/Hoffler to manage the development project.
Last year, a group of eight residents - including Marr - formed Charter Management Corp. to buy Armada Hoffler's share of the marina, restaurant, clubhouse and 17 condos. Armada/Hoffler still owns 40 single-family lots that have not yet sold, according to Marr.
Salt Ponds began taking shape in 1988 when Armada/Hoffler built a 254-slip marina. A year later the developer broke ground on a section of condominiums. To date, 74 units have been built and sold in three- and four-story buildings designed with picture windows and wide, open porches reminiscent of the grand old beach resorts of the early 20th century.
``It's the architectural details that really characterize them and make them popular,'' Marr says of the condos. ``They're not just your standard oversized apartment. And, of course, the view's not bad.''
An additional 22 townhouses are scheduled to be built in the two months, Marr says. They are expected to range in price from $115,000 to $140,000.
David Littrell, sales vice president with GSH Real Estate in Hampton, has represented a couple of Salt Ponds condos over the years, including a two-bedroom unit currently listed for $125,000.
``It's a nice little area,'' Littrell says. ``You've got the sunrise at your front window and the sunset off your deck.''
The units, he says, are well-built and include such amenities as gas fireplaces, gas heat, security systems and jacuzzi baths.
Although Littrell says the condo units have not greatly appreciated over the years, they have maintained their value. And he expects that value to increase in the future with the addition of the single-family houses and an expansion of the restaurant.
``Other communities in the area have lost value,'' he says. ``At least these have maintained their value.''
With the condos successfully under its belt, Armada/Hoffler began selling lots for single-family homes, and two years ago the first house was completed. Today 29 homes are either under construction or finished, Marr says.
Of the 117 single-family lots, 91 are waterfront property and all offer water views, Marr says. Only 40 lots - ranging in price from about $150,000 to $250,000 - remain to be sold. Because the land is man-made, it was built to an elevation of about 22 feet above mean high water, so flood insurance is not required, Marr says.
The homes themselves are custom built, and, though the houses must conform to deed and architectural restrictions, there is already a wide variety of architectural styles - from the brick colonial to the wood contemporary. Because of their location, design and amenities, many of the homes are valued at upwards of $1 million, Marr says.
``Everybody's got a toy,'' says Marr, explaining that one home has a built-in pool table, another an indoor pool. ``What happens around the water is people build their dream homes.''
Until recently, many of the homes were built by different builders, but houses built on the remaining lots will be custom-built by Southeastern Homes, says Kyle Hause, an agent with Long & Foster in Newport News and a representative for Southeastern Homes.
Southeastern Homes is nearing completion on two houses that are listed by Hause; the remaining homes will be custom-designed and built as lots are sold.
``Each one is, in my opinion, built to maximize the view,'' Hause says. ``We design the house to fit the lot and to fit the buyer's lifestyle.''
Sport fisherman Doug Frazer says he was drawn to Salt Ponds because of the Chesapeake Bay. In the five years since he moved into his three-bedroom condo in the first Salt Ponds building, Frazer says he has watched the development grow up around him.
``It's just been a wonderful place to live,'' says Frazer, who moors his boat in the marina. ``The marina is world class.''
Last year, Frazer bought a stake in the property as a partner in Charter Management Corp. And he purchased a waterfront lot where he plans to build a home.
Although Salt Ponds has all the appearances and amenities of an upscale private community, Marr attributes part of its success to its wide variety of housing products and prices - from the $115,000 condo to the $1 million house.
The development, he says, can market to people from many walks of life who share a common interest: the water. While some residents buy a condo or house, others may purchase a low-end condo, but moor a $300,000 boat in the marina.
``This particular property is so unique. You've got deep water access right outside your door, and it's protected,'' Hause says. ``It's a magnet for boaters as well as people who just love the water.''
Still, that diverse product alone is not enough to sell a planned marina community, Marr says. Because on average fewer than half the residents of a marina community own boats, other aspects of the development such as social activities are also important, Marr says.
At Salt Ponds, he says, it's the activities and service that attract new land and sea residents. Boaters will find a full-service restaurant, the Buckroe Grill; a convenience store; fuel and pump-out service, and a dock hand in uniform.
``Those type of things are worth a lot when you're a boater,'' Frazer says.
Salt Ponds is a gated community, and residents pay a monthly fee to either the condominium or home owners associations. The boat slips have also been ``condominiumized,'' Marr says, which means boaters own their marina slips." ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
FOR WATER-LOVERS ONLY
JIM WALKER/Staff [color photo]
JIM WALKER/Staff [color photos]
A bayfront house in Hampton's Salt Ponds development. Forty lots,
ranging from $150,000 to $250,000, remain unsold.
The boat slips are a big draw, of course, but many residents don't
own vessels.
by CNB