WHAT YOU NEED NOW - CONTENT UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY
Nov. 19, 2005
REAL ESTATE MATTERS: Martha Stewart-ville Coming Soon to Raleigh Suburb;
Domestic Diva Teams with Builder in Design, Marketing of Houses, Town Homes
By Janis Mara
Inman News
Cary, NC (Special to HNN) – "Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated,"
may soon apply not only to "Star Trek's" Borg, but also to Martha Stewart,
as her domestic empire expands to encompass not only the contents of homes,
but the houses themselves.
Domestic Goddess Stewart has teamed up with developer KB Home to create a
neighborhood of 650 homes in Cary, N.C., an affluent Raleigh suburb. The
development gives rise to the possibility of entire towns coming under the
Stewart aegis, much as Antelope, Ore., was once taken over by cult
followers.
Stewart is perhaps best known for her magazine, Martha Stewart Living, and
her
television shows, as well as the linens and furniture she sells.
Soon, residents of the single-family homes and town homes of the Twin Lakes
development will be able to prepare meals from Martha Stewart recipes under
roofs inspired by the homes of Martha Stewart. And you thought "The Stepford
Wives" was only a movie.
The homes, which have 12 models ranging from 1,300 to 4,000 square feet
ranging
in price from the low $200,000s to the mid $400,000s, are modeled on
Stewart's
New York and Maine residences.
"I find the comforts of home inspiring, and these houses reflect places that
are
very special to me -- my very own homes. I can't wait to share these designs
with communities across the country," Stewart said on the KB Home Web site.
Construction is just beginning on the suburb of 100,000, with model homes
expected to be ready early next year. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and KB
Home announced their partnership earlier this month, saying they would build
"Twin Lakes: Homes Created with Martha Stewart" together.
Dawn Ritchie, co-author of "The Emotional House," a popular tome on home
decorating, was bullish on the partnership.
"Martha Stewart is all about details and quality," Ritchie said. "Her work
is to
bring quality to homes and care of homes and home art. She has elevated all
the
home arts to great prominence."
According to Ritchie, "She (Stewart) doesn't just lend her name to
partnerships.
She keeps her finger on everything she's associated with. These houses will
be
the highest quality. She wouldn't put her name on it if it wasn't."
Ritchie pointed out that the house designs are based on homes Stewart owns
in
Maine and New York state, and options for interior features such as
wainscoting
and light fixtures, were chosen by Stewart's design team. Stewart also
advised on floor plans, including large laundry rooms, closets and space for
indoor and outdoor entertaining.
"She will create a home for the things you need and the way you live, and I
think that's her talent and her gift to consumers," Ritchie said. "She is
saying
these things are important because they are going to affect your day every
day.
The laundry room, for example. We do laundry often, now she is making bigger
laundry rooms, where they're usually an afterthought."
Ernie McAlister, the mayor of Cary, felt that by associating with Martha
Stewart
Living, KB Home "is giving itself an edge in a very competitive market. I
think
it will prove to be something that some of the others will look at and
hopefully
want to emulate."
McAlister said he expects the homes will sell very well, "based on the
quality
of the homes KB Home makes and the additional level of quality brought to it
by
Martha Stewart." He didn't think the five-month prison term Stewart served
[in Alderson, WV] for lying about a stock sale would have a negative effect.
"At this time last year everyone was saying,' What's going to happen to this
woman, to this company?' and look where she is this year. I think it's a
tremendous success story," McAlister said.
McAlister said the housing market in Cary is hot, with about 10 percent to
11
percent annual appreciation of home prices. Earlier this year, the city just
down the road from Chapel Hill, home of the University of North Carolina,
topped Money magazine's rankings of the "most desirable places to live in
the eastern United States," McAlister said. "This town has the highest
concentrations of
Ph.D.s in the nation. We're a highly educated community that is consistently
recognized as a great place to live."
McAlister said the homes will be a bit more upscale than those generally
built
by KB Home. "The appointments, the finishes, I think will be more in line
with
what you would expect from a custom home."
