RENOVATION REPORT: HM Properties moves into renovated building

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HM Properties owner Valerie Mitchener bought and transformed what was once a red-brick building into something that has a completely different look.

Mitchener said she decided to buy and renovate the building both for its value as an investment and also because she wanted the space designed to her tastes, something that wasn’t possible while she was leasing.

Mitchener’s company moved into the new office in late September, five months after renovation work on the 6,850-square-foot, two-story building

at 6857 Fairview Road in SouthPark started.   HM Properties’ previous office was about 5,000 square feet in the Piedmont Town Center. Mitchener said she wanted to stay in the same area because she lives nearby and so do most of her 63 brokers and 10 employees.

The building is surrounded by red-brick office buildings, making the renovated property stand out. The renovation work cost $787,600.

HM Properties celebrated their move to the renovated building with a grand opening Oct. 22, with more than 200 people showing up, Mitchener said.

“People who hadn’t seen it were just shocked,” she said.

Some of the guests at the grand opening thought that the old building was torn down and a new one built, she said.

“It’s just a more updated contemporary look,” Mitchener said.

HM Properties’ new office has a lobby with a marble floor; windows upstairs that look down into the lobby;  hand-crafted hard wood flooring on the stairs; a conference room downstairs; small meeting rooms for brokers to meet with clients or make private business calls; and break areas on both floors with kitchens.

A patio was also added outside.

Mitchener’s office has a marble countertop, a sink and a mini refrigerator.

Mitchener had all of the interior walls removed and added new walls to give the building a different layout with wider hallways and higher ceilings. She even relocated the upstairs and downstairs restrooms: The new restrooms are more in the center of the building.

“I ended up tearing out more things than I thought I would,” Mitchener said.

HM Properties also added some technology to the building, including fiber optic Internet and 55-inch televisions with Internet capability for brokers to view listings. There is also an Internet-based phone system that sends brokers an email when they have a voicemail message. A security system with several cameras was added as well that lets Mitchener see what is going on with her iPad.

Mitchener said she likes that her brokers don’t have to park in a parking garage anymore and they can now park in a lot. That makes it easier for them to get in and out for business, she said.

Project description: HM Properties’ new office in a renovated building

Address: 6857 Fairview Road, Charlotte

Architect: Robert Johnson Architects

Contractor: D4 Construction

Space: 6,850 square feet

Cost: $787,600

Construction start: April

Completion date: September