New Developments Change Their Tune
This weekend The Times looked at residential developments that were conceived of during the boom but are having to find ways to attract buyers in a post-boom era. Exhibit A in the article is be@schermerhorn, the 246-unit development that’s been through a set of new owners and a 25-percent price cut on its way to…
This weekend The Times looked at residential developments that were conceived of during the boom but are having to find ways to attract buyers in a post-boom era. Exhibit A in the article is be@schermerhorn, the 246-unit development that’s been through a set of new owners and a 25-percent price cut on its way to its current milestone of 140 accepted offers. When the new owners took over, they “wanted to cast a wider net and appeal to young families and empty-nesters and maybe be a little less trendy. So what did they do? “Bold design colors were traded for more neutral ones; part of the parking garage was converted to 60 storage units; and six private roof cabanas were turned into a common roof deck,” reports The Times. Similarly, at Warehouse 11, where original buyers were also let out of their commitments after the developer went bust, a communal playroom was replaced with a billiard/television room and the private cabanas were converted into a communal roofdeck. Another Williamsburg project, 349 Metropolitan, underwent a sales-to-rental switcheroo, the most visible aspect of which was a complete makeover of the facade.
Goodbye, Glitzy Condo Pitches [NY Times]
Wber – isn’t it different people who own 349 Met? anyway, i think it’s already rented out mostly, so they did the right thing. it’s not a huge building and looks fine now, so i doubt the public at large noticed it before much or will now.
i do think W11 should not have removed the children’s playroom. short sighted. i know a family moving in there, and i know a growing family (second coming) that is very interested in that building, so they should keep on eye on changing that room back.
The area is pretty decent. It’s close to the train and is a short walk to Smith St.
People need to stop harping on the location of the jail when it’s obvious no one cares. If they reopen it it won’t make a difference.
BHO – as opposed to “rebranding” via marketing.
I love how 349 Met is now a “makeover”, as if it was some sort of marketing decision to reposition the building rather than the replacement of a facade that was failing. Like a lot of other projects playing luxury beat-the-bubble, the original facade was poorly selected and poorly installed – it looks much better with the new brick, and might not leak, but the whole facade replacement is still a result of poor design and execution.
“prices still have a small ways to drop to clear the market”
Just another -37.5%. Small potatos.
“general public is beginning to realize that the so-called Recovery is a fraud”
Oh, the reGOVery? Washington’s borrowing and spending beyond 10% of GDP to hide the Greater Depression from the general public? To be rectroactively called like the resession was.
“at least close to the Forte that sold better with the price cuts.”
Did it? Mighty dark there at night. If ACRIS reflects, were units really sold to the ‘general public’ or back to the new developers and/or friends/family as a shell game? How many people know people who live there? Just askin’. Maybe I’m outta line.
“Aggressive price cuts helped this project to get going again”
Duh! You call that strategy? I call it circumstance.
***Bid half off peak comps***
When Jamestown, an original equity investor, bought out the original lender a few months back and went all in as the “new owner” they issued a statement I found remarkably refereshing – “owner expects to sell out within 30 months.” The current contract signing rate may get them sooner than that. Aggressive price cuts helped this project to get going again. Because of that strategy they are ahead of other larger projects that find themselves in the same situation.
One Brooklyn Bridge Park will take another 6+ years to sell out based on its past performance (162 units sold in 1,275 days). Further price cuts may be coming soon.
cabana boys are awesome.
These seem priced fairly well, at least close to the Forte that sold better with the price cuts. Does anyone know if the finishes / construction quality are okay? The area there isn’t bad, Brooklyn Fare is right next door and Smith street is close by.
These seem priced fairly well, at least close to the Forte that sold better with the price cuts. Does anyone know if the finishes / construction quality are okay? The area there isn’t bad, Brooklyn Fare is right next door and Smith street is close by.