condo real estate

Phoenix Condo High Rise Faces Trustee's Sale

More bad news from Arizona's troubled condo real estate market. One of Phoenix's tallest towers, 44 Monroe is seeing many of its condos head for foreclosure. The project was completed in 2008 but struggled to sell the units. Of a total of 196 units, 182 are currently unsold. The developer Grace Communities worked to stave off foreclosure but the project owes Corus Construction Venture, LLC $86.8 million and the Arizona Republic states that the bank has filed a notice of trustee's sale with a plan to sell the units to the highest bidder on April 14.

Last year Corus Bank collapsed and was taken over by the FDIC. It owns a 60 percent stake in Corus Construction Venture and the rest is owned by private equity consortium led by Starwood Capital Group an investment firm run by Barry Sternlicht, the founder of Starwood Hotels & Resorts. The few who live in the building have seen the value of their condos plummet in recent months.

The project started with a lot of promise. Construction on the 34-story tower began in November 2005 as real estate prices in the region were on the rise. Unfortunately by the time of the completion three years later, Arizona real estate was in the doldrums. The building features shared amenities like an eighth floor swimming pool within a 20-foot high great room with open access to the spa and sundeck with city and mountain views, a fitness center, meeting room, business center and an entertainment room with a catering kitchen, bar, fireplace, plasma television, card tables, seating areas and an outdoor terrace with gas grill and views of downtown Phoenix and surrounding mountains. The residences have travertine natural stone flooring in foyer and kitchen, granite slab countertops and Kohler bath fixtures. Seven floors of garage parking offer one designated space for all one bedroom units and two spaces designated for all two and three bedroom units and the building is equipped with security cameras and card readers that control access to resident floors and resident common areas. At one point units sold for $480,000 to $3.2 million but are not worth nearly that much now.

Tags: 44 monroe, 44Monroe, arizona, condo real estate, CondoRealEstate, condos, phoenix, trustee sale, TrusteeSale

European Tower In Bellevue Washington

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Today's development brings a touch of luxury to Bellevue, Washington. The 17-story European Tower offers just one home per floor plus a two-story penthouse. The project is aimed at those who would usually prefer to buy a house. The elevator opens into each floor and only visits one floor per trip so owners have their privacy. The only shared space is the roofdeck. The building will also have fingerprint readers for the garage, front door and elevators so you don't even need to bring your keys.

To give owners the amenities often found in other complexes membership in the Harbor Club and one of two nearby fitness centers will be included with the price. Both the interior and exterior are clean and modern with simple lines and ample use of glass metal and stone. The project should be finished in the fall of 2008. Prices start around $2 million. A press release in March indicated that there were still 12 residences left for sale.

[via Downtown Bellevue News Blog]

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Tags: bellevue, condo, condo real estate, condominium, new developments, tower, washington

128 Beacon Street

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

A classic Beacon Street address in Boston is now luxury condos. 128 Beacon Street is three contiguous historic brownstones that offer space ranging from 1,851 square foot two-bedrooms to 4,846 square foot three-bedroom homes. Some have studies and family rooms, and most have outdoor spaces including terraces, decks and gardens. The building includes garage parking (a true luxury in this area) and additional storage. The new spaces retain many of the original architectural details and have fireplaces and hardwood floors. The homes have marble entrances, custom-built hardwood cabinetry, granite counters and each residence is pre-wired for video, data and telecommunications, including high speed broadband internet access. The roof decks over views of the Charles River and the Boston skyline. There will also be a full-time concierge. Current apartments available for sale include a 3,498-square-foot three apartment with a walk-out deck which is listed at $3.7 million.

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Tags: beacon street, BeaconStreet, boston, boston real estate, condo, condo real estate, condominium, estate, luxury real estate