We still have a few seats left for tomorrow's tour. At 10:00 am, Saturday, October 18th, we're boarding a bus to visit Plaza Lofts at Kierland Commons, The Landmark at Kierland and Astragal. These are fantastic communities in a top notch area and are well worth checking out. Believe it or not this North Scottsdale area is among the most "urban" pedestrian friendly areas in the entire Valley. The architecture is sexy and the views gorgeous.
As the scorching summer comes to end, the Centerpoint High Rise Condos are still unoccupied. That might change in the coming weeks if this new deal is approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Randolph Haines.
While Mortgages Limited Securities (MLS) is hanging on by a thread, they have come to an agreement, or so it seems. This is the newest of many claimed to be "done deals", but only the next day in court will tell. The first deal included an outside investor, Stratera Portfolio Advisors that would funnel an immediate $4.8 million through MLS to Avenue Communities, developer of Centerpoint Condominiums. Apparently this deal wasn't good enough for MLS, who then sought another hard-money investor, Mountain Funding, LLC. They came in and somewhat complicated things when they demanded superiority deeds of trust, leaving the original several thousand investors with empty-pockets. The Judge was supposed to decide on that before the end of last week.
Yesterday, the Judge said he would approve an even newer deal, which only allows Centerpoint to receive an immediate $2.8 million from the first investor, Stratera. The other $2 million that was originally promised will be resolved in court on October 16 and the additional $75 million that is needed to finish the complex will also come at a later, yet unknown date.
Hang on future Centerpoint dwellers, your units will be ready soon...
Last night a visitor to WeKnowUrban left a scathing comment about the brand new midtown Phoenix high rise condo project, Century Plaza.
We don't know if the allegations are true. However, I personally have had what I consider strange experiences with the developer with respect to Certificates of Occupancy as I too am under contract for the purchase of a condo at Century Plaza.
On August 14th I received a letter from the developer asking me to schedule my closing date. That same day I sent a fax to the broker of the project asking for proof that they had received a permanent Certificate of Occupancy for both the condo for which I am under contract AND the common area in general. I did not hear back from them until August 21st when I received a certified letter stating that if I did not close within 48 hours of the date of the letter then they would consider me in default and basically take my earnest money (NOTE: I did not receive the letter until four days after the deadline date). I immediately responded and again requested proof of the Certificates of Occupancy and have not yet heard from the company.
To be fair I have not yet obtained a loan for the property (loans are EXTREMELY difficult to obtain in todays lending environement) so perhaps the developer is not taking my requests for C of O's seriously. Nonetheless, my experiences coupled with PhxBabe's comments leads me to wonder what the rest of the story might be. Certainly, it seems that a cursory look on the part of the City of Phoenix might be in order.
If you have any similar OR contradictory experiences with Century Plaza please share them with the rest of us.
Developers of the very soon to open W Hotel in Scottsdale, Triyar are offering 18 luxury condos on the top floor of the seven story hotel. Prices for the condos are starting at $1.2 million for 1,100 square feet, equaling out to a whopping $1,090 per square foot. The largest penthouses are 2,600 square feet and being offered around $3 million, equaling $1,144 per square foot.
The best way to rate condominiums in terms of the most expensive are not by the sale price, but rather the price per square foot, which is emphasized here. This being because these condos, if sold, will be the most expensive condominiums in the valley, on a per square foot basis. Across the street at Scottsdale Waterfront, the condominiums are larger on average, but slightly less on a per square foot basis at around $1000/SF. Similar prices can be found at Kierland's new Plaza Lofts, where they range from $1050 to $1100 per square foot.
Whether these ultra-luxurious condominiums will sell quickly is an uncomfortable question. While every other high-end condo project out there is slightly less expensive than the W Residences, these 18 units come with the world class amenities of the W Hotel. Is it worth the extra money to say you live in the W?
For some it would be a definite yes, where they pleasure themselves on the endless list of room service offerings. Others might want a more relaxed environment than the hustle and bustle of a hotel. These 18 units are for a very specific buyer, whom hopefully Triyar and Starwood have found.
A model of a typical kitchen in the condos can be found at the W Hotel & Residences sales offices at 7373 E. Camelback Rd., a couple hundred feet east of the actual hotel. A full model is planned to open inside the hotel later this fall.
The much acclaimed and sometimes controversial project, CityNorth, has big plans for their grand opening of Phase I in November. The developer of the 144 acre mixed-use project, Thomas J. Klutznick Co. and Related Urban hired a Hollywood, CA based company, Sequoia Productions to manage the opening. Sequoia Productions has an very impressive resume, running the famed Academy Awards Governors Ball for the past 16 years and the Primetime Emmy Awards Creative Arts & Governors Ball for the past eight.
Phase I, which is set to open on November 13, will consist of 99 residential condominiums, 46 boutique shops and restaurants, and an unknown number of office tenants totaling nearly 1 million square feet. This combination of uses will create a dynamic urban living environment for residents within and nearby. Some of the unique retailers you can expect to see open in November are: Alessi, D&G Designs, Green Bone Bakery, Haus, King and Duck, and Little Artika. Three new-to-market restaurants are also coming: 25 Degrees, a Hollywood based burger joint, Blue Martini, a live entertainment venue in addition to a tapas and wine bar, and Ocean Prime, an offspring from celebrity chef Cameron Mitchell.
Unfortunately, construction on Phase II of CityNorth, which is proposed to include major retailers such as Macys, Nordstrom's and the first Bloomingdales for Arizona has been pushed back a year with a 2010 opening.
 |
|
|
WeKnowUrban specializes in the high rise & loft condo market in Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale & more. It's agents have been the number one resale agents of high rise & loft condos in Phoenix since 2003.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2008 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
