Condo Projects Proceed
August 21, 2009
Back in 2006, it seemed as if there was an announcement that a real estate company or local building owner was contemplating converting a building to condos (or starting a new building with condominiums) almost every week. In 2008, as the nation moved into the second (or perhaps third) year of the real estate slowdown, the capital crunch put many condo projects on hold. For a while, the news predominately talked about developers unable to find financing, get approval from neighborhood organizations, or looking for buyers for their existing projects. Now, it seems that developers may be stepping back into the real estate market - at least in Pittsburgh.
The latest condo project talk in Pittsburgh is located at One Grandview Avenue atop Mount Washington by Chicago developer Steven Beemsterboer. Discussions are proceeding along the lines of a 100+ hotel room and 50 condo complex at the site of the former Edge Restaurant - you can read more about the proposal at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article here. The development will cost about $80 million to build. Unlike a prior attempt to transform the site in the 1990s, this proposal seems to have community support, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
One Grandview isn’t the only condo project that I have seen proposed recently. Kacin Companies are working on a 34 acre project in Oakmont at the former site of Edgewater Steel. 240 single family home, townhouses, and condominiums are planned. You can read more about it in this Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article or on their website.
Although bank financing for developers may be difficult for some to secure, that doesn’t mean that all sources of funding for downtown condos have dried up. The Post-Gazette had an article back in April about how the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership is offering loans to building owners and condo developers to convert empty upper floors of buildings (eight floors or less) to living space (either apartments or condos). The PDP is hoping that the loans will be used to bring moderately priced apartments and condominiums to downtown Pittsburgh. Although the majority of the condos in the downtown Pittsburgh market currently are priced between $300,000 and $1,000,000, the PDP hopes that both owners and the city can win by converting vacant upper floors of low rise buildings into housing units.
Stalled Projects
August 21, 2009
The DOC-Economou project near Shadyside that stalled this past winter because of opposition from community groups hasn’t gotten back on track. Apparently, three developers showed interest in the former Don Allen site in Bloomfield back in April, but I have seen nothing about further progress in developing the site. DOC-Economou’s other project, a proposed $48 million hotel and condo project at the South Side Works, appears lost to the credit crisis as this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article indicates the company has been unable to secure financing.
In other news, SouthStar Development withdrew its request (according to the Post-Gazette) in May to rezone land in Ridgemont for a 400 townhome and condo community in Pittsburgh and Green Tree called City Vista at Parkway Center due to opposition by the community. You can read more about the proposed project in this 2008 Post-Gazette article.