Ivy Hotel and Residence
In these days of real estate peril here's a tale on pretty smart investment. The Ivy Tower in Minneapolis was once to be destroyed, now it is part of luxury hotel and condo project. John Laux and his business partner Gary Benson bought the Ivy Tower for $400,000 in 2000 with an eye toward creating boutique-style offices. Later they changed plans, getting financing for the $100 million project in 2005. The original tower is now incorporated into two larger structures the Ivy Hotel +Residence, a 26-story tower for condo units and a 19-story building that along with the original 10-story tower, make up the hotel. The condo units were originally priced from around $250,000 to $2 million. The Ivy is now ready for completion and just five of the original 92 condominiums remain unsold. Some purchasers even bought two units to turn them into one larger space. The first condos will be ready next year and the hotel is to open late next month. The Ivy is part of Starwood Hotel and Resort's Luxury Collection and residents will have access to all hotel amenities.[via Minneapolis Star Tribune]
