Miami-based developer Gregg Covin has set his sights on North Carolina, building a 130-unit luxury condo development in Hendersonville, located in the state's western mountains.
The Cedars, located in downtown Hendersonville, will combine a historic 1914 building with two newly constructed buildings, designed to offer luxury, full-service living and amenities. The complex will offer studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments and penthouses priced from $400,000 to $3.8m.
Covin's company, Covin Real Estate, has built dozens of luxury condo and hotel projects in South Florida over the past 30 years. The Cedars is its first project outside Florida and Covin's wife Shelley grew up in Hendersonville, and her family, the Shipmans, have owned The Cedars property for more than four decades, operating it as a wedding venue.
Covin is known for his iconic residential projects, such as the One Thousand Museum in Downtown Miami, and he aims to create a similar five-star living experience in North Carolina. The Cedars development is located in a 30-minute radius of popular attractions such as Downtown Asheville, the Biltmore Mansion, Asheville Regional Airport, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and both the Pisgah National Forest and DuPont State Recreational Forest.
The growing popularity of the area is evidenced by increased visitor traffic to the Asheville Airport. For example, it is expected to break its current annual record of 1.6 million visitors set in 2019, with more than 600,000 travelers year-to-date through May 2022, according to Spectrum Local News.
Real estate broker Mark Zilbert notes that there is a high demand for ultra-luxury, full-service communities and condos in the area. Hendersonville is becoming a popular vacation and second home destination, particularly for the jet set based in South Florida and the Northeast. Zilbert has seen several of his high-end clients from Miami relocate to the region and build massive, estate-type homes in the area, and in fact, he has built his own estate home south of Asheville.
"The Asheville/Hendersonville region has been evolving into an 'Aspen East' that caters to both middle-income and wealthy visitors and buyers," says Covin. However, the area was lacking 5-star living for visitors and homebuyers, which is what he aims to provide with The Cedars.
The historic building will serve as the front door of the whole complex. The project's concept is somewhat modeled after similar projects that have designed new structures around historic buildings, such as the Four Seasons Surf Club in Miami and the Viceroy in Chicago, as well as the Anglers Hotel (now Kimpton) that Covin developed in Miami.
For Covin, the project has high stakes and tough critics – his own family. Increasingly, family visits to the area had Covin bumping into some familiar faces, including Miami developers such as Lyle Chariff and John Turchin, both of whom are actively investing in the area. That growing momentum convinced Covin that the timing – and demand – was right for a luxury condo development.
Covin recently signed a branding and management agreement with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, which is part of the Accor Global Hospitality Group. Fairmont Hotels operates a number of other landmark properties, such as The Plaza in New York City and The Savoy in London. The highly amenitized project also will feature a Fairmont spa, fitness center, restaurant and lounges, and a conference center with meeting spaces that include a ballroom. Owners can enjoy all the benefits of owning a home with access to luxurious amenities and world-class services, and they also can choose to participate in Fairmont's rental program.
The Cedars is one of the largest projects ever approved in Hendersonville, and there is little land available in the city for development, making this a unique opportunity for those seeking homes for sale in North Carolina.
