Lofts In The 'Lou

Crepes in the City: Deja Vu!

2012-01-27T12:20:00.000-08:00

One of the most depressing stories of of the past several years downtown was the rise and fall of Crepes in the City.

Starting out as a couple operating a side business within the Washington Avenue Post, then growing over a period of time into a classy restaurant at 14th and St. Charles where Lola is now. We saw the whole thing. Starting out in 2006, the idea brought a vibrant clientele into the Post in what would normally be a slow time, and brought some additional income to a family that was willing to put in the hard work. Classic American Dream stuff. When they chose to expand, everything changed, and things went awry.

On a more positive note....

This morning when I visited the neighborhood general store / grocer / printer / cafe and hear that they are resurrecting the weekend creperie business STARTING THIS SATURDAY! (duh, that's tomorrow!). Bob, who unknowingly served as an understudy while the business was going on is pulling out the equipment and leading the charge to become the Downtown West answer to IHOP; but a little trendier and a lot healthier.

Stop by tomorrow, from 9-1 and experience the re-birth of the Creperie at the Washington Ave Post!

100% Participation Required

2012-01-25T10:32:00.000-08:00

Downtown residents and all St Louisan's should be at the Ferrara Theater tonight at 6 for the public presentation of the Arch Grounds plan update.

Considering the Ferrara Theater only seats 14,000, it may be a challenge, but a good opportunity to get acquainted with the community.

The meeting was announced last week. The public interest in something so important to the future of St Louis is disappointing. I know the story though. St Louisan's want to get home to have a quick dinner before American Idol comes on, still working like me, or whatever. What's clear though, is that the public response to changes in the original plan, and knowledge of the finances of the project are key to completion. Its how we may be judged as a community, and it does affect our opportunity for growth in the future.

I was talking to a transplant buyer recently who had made the comment about St Louisans being more negative about St Louis than anyone else. (I did run into a fashion designer several years ago that challenged that assertion). The way we see it though, is that some folks just miss the boat when it comes to being a part of a process, then stand back and complain about the results after the fact.

DON'T MISS THE BOAT!!

6pm Tonight, January 25th
Ferrara Theater - America's Center
701 Convention Plaza
St Louis, MO 63101

Looking for a Downtown Loft For Sale, Visit our new St Louis Lofts page at 4SaleStLouis.com!

St. Louis University Law School Moving Downtown

2012-01-24T15:40:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been hearing about a few new additions to Downtown St Louis, ending with todays announcement of St Louis University Law School's Relocation.

Back in the day when I was considering law school, I remember seeing the school on Lindell and wondering how they fit a law school into such a small building. Of course, being on the main campus, it could have been spread out in several buildings. This way, it seems like they'll be able to house the school and library all in one place.

Also a benefit, is that its across the street from the old Federal Court Building, now the City Courts, and also a few blocks from the Thomas Eagleton Courthouse. The school is scheduled to be in operations for the Fall semester which will bring an increased interest in Downtown Living. This shot was taken today from the Syndicate Condominiums, just a few blocks away.

Also today, I went by the first public electric car charging station that opened at 7th and Lucas. I'll have to say, not really knowing much about electric cars, I was expecting a little more of a 'station' than this. Its a good start, and having a fleet of electric cars downtown would be nice. This Enterprise 'We Car' is a start.

Lastly, a marketing company I've been looking at lately, Response Targeted Marketing announced this week its move Downtown from Richmond Heights. They are excited about the move and the larger quarters. Downtown is excited to have them.

Cassilly Memorial

2012-01-23T12:52:00.000-08:00

I went to Downtown St Louis back in the spring of 1996 to see an art show at this "weird museum" downtown. It was my first experience in seeing the City Museum and my first chance to see a downtown loft. We've been back to the City Museum with kids, to list the lofts, to rent them and with buyer's, but I never had the opportunity of meeting the late founder Bob Cassilly, or know much about him. Working in the same neighborhood and benefiting so much from his contributions to the area, it was nice to see such a long article in this months (January) St Louis magazine about the life of Bob Cassilly. The online article isn't the complete 4 page article that's in the magazine.

Normally, when someone contributes so much to an area, there are ceremonies and notoriety that comes along with it. The absence of that almost makes it seem like Bob was taken for granted. That could be the case, but from the article and everything else, it seemed that type of recognition was avoided while Bob was alive.

1. At this point, my first wish is that City Museum stays what it is and somehow the vision for Cementland is completed. It may take years, but in seeing what contributions have been made downtown and elsewhere in St Louis, its just what the doctor ordered for the north riverfront area.

2. My second wish is that we honor the persistent requests of rock legend, Carlos Santana, and build a statue of Miles Davis. I would say wish #2 should be to build a statue to honor Bob Cassilly, but Carlos Santana has been asking for St Louis to recognize Miles Davis for 2 decades.

3. Build a statue of Bob Cassilly. This request goes to the Partnership for Downtown St Louis and to the Downtown St Louis Residents Association. Someone needs to pick up the ball. Why this seems urgent to me is that if it doesn't happen Downtown, it will somewhere else. From reading the magazine article, Bob seemed to have roots all over town: Kirkwood, Lafayette Square, Webster Groves, Dogtown. His work was all over town, and across the country.

We can do better than this!

New Downtown Lofts Search Engine

2012-01-20T15:52:00.000-08:00

Back when we started working in Downtown St Louis, there was a good St Louis Lofts website called StLouisLofts.com. It was good but not great, mainly because at the time, there was too much speculation about what was going to be happening and not always good information about lofts. A lot of loft buildings were in the pipeline to be redeveloped. Pages were linked to the old St Louis City website. Developers sites were listed, but try to find an objective view of a neighborhood at a developers website. Very few actual lofts for sale were listed on the site. Still, it was a good site. The webmaster pulled down that site sometime in 2007 or so, and has talked about doing it again sometime. I always wanted to have a similar presence online where individual buildings could be researched and lofts for sale could be posted.

Last month, I finally got off my _ _ _ and did something about it.

We made some changes to our company website and added up to date loft / condo searches for every loft building downtown and searches for difference price ranges too. There are also searches set up for the most popular city neighborhoods too, like Lafayette Square, Tower Grove, Compton Heights, Shaw, St Louis Hills and Soulard. Now this afternoon, we've added the Downtown St Louis neighborhood pages to Lofts in the Lou to make these descriptions and lofts for sale accessible from this blog. The bar just above the most recent post has the links to the Downtown and Downtown West pages. If you're in the market to buy a loft or luxury condo downtown or if you already own one and want to check out the latest listings in your building, check out these pages and let the Premier Team help with your urban home buying experience!

Have fun and happy home searching!

Loft Education Revisited

2012-01-20T09:24:00.000-08:00

November was a tough month.

Having to live with a euphoric fog of having another World Series Championship in the bag, enjoying the unseasonably warm temperatures, then the beginning of the holiday season. The whole month just flew by.

One of the events I missed was the Condominium Education Event held by the Partnership for Downtown Saint Louis and Wells Fargo. This type of class being held downtown for free gets me giddy; not because of its entertainment value - more of a life-long mission.

That mission starts with my belief that there is a good amount of ignorance pertaining to condominiums. This theory applies to professionals as well as the general public. Some people say this is a St Louis thing, since we're not as experienced as a whole compared to South Florida or Manhattan. Many of the mortgage lenders, insurance brokers and realtors in St Louis just assume that working with lofts and condos is the same as dealing with a single family home, or a mutifamily apartment. In observing and speaking with other professionals, I've gotten the sense that if they've never lived in a condominium or if they only work with them occasionally, that they have limited understanding of how they can assist their clients.

I've seen more lenders attempt to finance a loft and fail, I've seen hundreds of underinsured condos, and I've worked with other Realtors that make huge errors that would have been avoidable with proper condominium education.

As far as non-professionals go, the biggest mistake I see generally is not considering what a prospective home buyer or their buyer's agent would perceive of decisions made on condo bylaws or management decisions. Crazy stuff can happen. I've heard some condo associations have decided not to maintain their buildings FHA approved status because they think that status will allow Section 8 tenants to live in the building or less than stellar buyers needing government assistance will buy! These are both 100% false, yet once the decisions are made with false information, they're hard to be reversed, and often times aren't even realized by anyone else in the building, due to the same ignorance.

This brings me back to the event hosted by the Partnership and Wells Fargo.

I ran into one of the partnership folks a few weeks back, and they boasted of the success of the Condo Education event in November and said they were looking at another one soon. Its a great event for Realtors, Loft owners, condo association memebers, board members, and property managers.

The event will be held at the Laclede Gas Building in the New Yaeger 1st floor conference center. NEXT TUESDAY (January 31st) at 6:30pm.

While I'm not 100% sure of the topics involved, I know that this is information that will benefit the Downtown St Louis neighborhoods and can ultimately lead to better price appreciation and overall market stability.

BE THERE!

City+Arch+River Y2K+12

2012-01-17T00:25:00.000-08:00

Good public monuments can be international attractions!

Visiting National Parks has always been a favorite experience for many. The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial has its "ups and downs".

One plus is that its not a park that someone has to visit in order to experience it. Having one of the best expressions of modernist architecture as part of the St Louis landscape can be seen for miles around.

My thought is that could be why the park superintendent took the original Saarinen site plan and stripped it down; removing several key elements which would have contributed to public enjoyment.. Maybe he felt that the Arch and the Museum of Westward Expansion was all that was needed.

From some of the latest press conferences, it seems that may be happening again. Fair enough. The economy is still lagging. Budgetary concerns are hitting the government.

My wish is that more people would take an interest in what is happening with the City+Arch+River project and its tremendous implications to Downtown St Louis. When the events were held to unveil the contest winner back in August 2010, I was amazed at how sparse the attendance was. Fewer people than a high school football game. Sad.

My trip 18 months ago to the City of San Antonio wouldn't have been the same if it hadn't been for the visionary regional leadership that helped create the San Antonio Riverwalk. As a result of having a major attraction in its downtown area, the City has become a top convention destination, which has led to more development and economic growth. When City+Arch+River competition was held, that was the vision I had for the Arch grounds. Maybe its a crazy thought in these times, this awesome project for downtown shouldn't have to just be a government hand-out. If enough St Louis residents get behind this project, alternative funding sources could fill in where government falls short. The plan shouldn't have to be altered.

Get behind it! by attending the REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY next Wednesday 1/25 from 6-7:30 at the Ferrara Theater at America's Center.

2011 Loft Market At-A-Glance

2012-01-14T23:10:00.000-08:00

While St Louis loft sales increased last year, they seemed to do so at a price. As expected, average prices dropped.

The culprit this year in particular, is the foreclosure agent. Aside from the FDIC take-over of the Dorsa Lofts sales, one trend we've seen this year is truly below market pricing on foreclosure listings. This has been great for the downtown buyers this year.

We're still working on the release of 2011 Loft Sales by Building, which should be posted within the week. The executive 'market summary' is below. While downtown residents may look at these numbers with some disappointment, these sales numbers reflect some necessary answers to questions we've had on the horizon for a few years.

In looking at the individual numbers, as we've observed all year, it seems less a matter of the dreaded 'prices dropping' as it does that more higher value lofts sold in years past. For example, several sales took place in Downtown West buildings that aren't eligible for conventional financing, Like Motor Lofts, Packard Lofts, and Kingbee Lofts, where virtually no sales took place last year. Also, there seemed to be an inordinately large number of foreclosures in the Lofts at 2020 (Sporting News Lofts) all at the same time.   That 'competition' between foreclosures led to steep price drops by sellers (banks) that have very little patience for inactivity.   Basically the same thing happened in Dorsa Lofts with the FDIC slashing prices even as lofts were selling at a fast rate.

St Louis Lofts Market Analysis

Downtown

Downtown St Louis neighborhood is bound by Chouteau on the South, the Mississippi River on the East, Cass Avenue on the North, and Tucker Boulevard on the West.

Average Price=                     $193,204    - Down from $222,816
Average Size=                       2 bed / 1.9 bath   1605 square feet
Average Market Time=         180 days
Total Volume Sold=               $8.68 million -up from 6.68 million

Downtown West

Downtown West St Louis neighborhood is bound by Chouteau on the South, the Tucker Boulevard on the East, Cass Avenue on the North, and Jefferson Avenue on the West.

Average Price=                     $119,559 - Down from $141,429
Average Size=                       2 bed / 1.6 baths 1310 square feet
Average Market Time=         94 days
Total Volume Sold=              $5.49 million -down from 7.08 million

Looking at the numbers, 2011 was a hard pill to swallow, but just like any other tough pill, it needed to happen for the market to fully recover.

Search the new and improved Downtown St Louis real estate site, http://www4SaleStLouis.com/downtown-homes to search for St Louis lofts by building, size and area.

Downtown Loft Sales Increasing!

2012-01-10T23:56:00.000-08:00

When the year wraps up and we're celebrating another year gone by, many folk are drawn to the numbers of what's been done that year. While it may not be my first inclination, I'm interested to see how things stack up for the downtown lofts and condos sold.

This year was looking up.

When the stock market and housing market slid into the tank back in 2008, one thing was clear: it would take time to climb out of "this mess." Since then, we've seen a process. A backlog of lofts, and pent up demand to sell.

Much of this demand isn't as much because of the market itself, but because the conventional wisdom of buying homes for the 'long run' was abandoned by many home buyer's during the housing boom. It wasn't uncommon to hear buyers talk about living downtown for a few years, then finding some place bigger in Lafayette Square, Tower Grove or a suburban area like Kirkwood or Webster Groves.

Unfortunately, the drop in home values changed the plans of many downtown residents.

Preparing the numbers to look at the current downtown real estate market, I couldn't help but think that many readers wouldn't have the proper perspective about our market without first looking at a basic analysis of the inventory of downtown lofts.

In 2007, my partner and wife confronted a developer on Washington and 14th Street because of her concern about the over-development being unveiled that year. Over 2,200 loft condos were supposed to be built and added to the inventory in 2007-08. The graph below shows the numbers from the MLS of the total number of listings per year (based on expired listings, cancelled listings and sold listings) and the numbers sold.

In 2004-5, there was a housing shortage in Downtown. Even in a perfect market, some homes don't sell; price too high, bad smells, dirty, or ugly finishes will kill some sales. In 2005, 62% of the listings sold. What makes that even more exeptional, is that in this case, a majority of the lofts sold were newly built condos and were sold pre-construction, so they weren't even on the MLS. It was almost pure growth.

The percentage of lofts sold in Downtown dropped quickly from that point. The low point of 2008, only 18% of the inventory was sold. It was a tough year.

From that point on, the percentage of total inventory has risen steadily. In 2010 we saw a 20% increase in loft sales! Good news for the neighborhood and downtown residents.

I'm comfortable with that steady increase. For 2012 I anticipate a drop, only because the 2011 market was influenced greatly by the FDIC sell-off at the Dorsa Lofts.

With no condominiums being built downtown completely since 2007, and with a steady increase in both residency downtown and in condos sold, we should achieve a more balanced market soon.

What does that say to me? Now is a fantastic time to buy, before prices start to creep upwards.

So that is my non-economists analysis of the downtown residential inventory. Seeing that downtown is weathering the sluggish economy, I'm excited to see what happens when things really pick up.

If you're looking to get a better grip on the downtown loft market....stay tuned for the 2010 Loft Sales here at loftsinthelou.com

State of the Market: 2011, Coming Soon!

2011-12-27T22:09:00.000-08:00

My annual market review is a pretty deal at LoftsintheLou.com, so what can I do to prepare. A day at the City Museum, of course! Other than several stiff drinks, nothing helps me to forget the real world better than hanging out with kids at the City Museum.

Suprisingly, the real estate market is busy now. Usually things slow down quite a bit at some point between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year we were running all the way up to the later holiday. Despite that, the idea of showing all the loft sales for the year makes me nervous.

Back in the glory days of downtown real estate, I remember telling other agents that my seller's were "motivated". That's a generic way of saying they want to do a deal.

I say that about all my listings.

In reality, I didn't know what 'motivated' meant back then, when seller's were making money, selling lofts they owned for a few months or more. 2011 was the year of the motivated seller.

Of course, being the year of the motivated seller wasn't all that bad. From 2008-2010 these same sellers may have been waiting to sell, and just rented their place out, or maybe went into foreclosure as they just didn't see the market rebounding quickly enough. In 2011 some St Louis loft owners just lost patience and decided to sell......whatever it took. Prices will reflect that.

We've also seen some banks go this year.

At the end of 2010, the bank that owned the remaining Dorsa Lofts went under and the FDIC took over where they left off in selling the remainder of the building. The FDIC is a motivated seller. Prices were slashed. They weren't messing around. The building was such a great deal, that it sold out quickly, which was good for the building and for Downtown.

Some of the other bank owned sales were priced low. Too low. One that comes to mind was a 2 bedroom 2 bath in the Terra Cotta Lofts that went on the market on July 3rd. Despite being on a holiday, the unit had 3 offers on it within days. It was priced a hideously low $124,900. I understand foreclosures, but that space had no business being priced that low.

The rental market was the real hot spot in Downtown this year, with the completion of the Laurel and the Park Pacific. Adding several hundred new rental units to the Downtown St Louis market had very little impact on demand or rental rates. It did, as it always does, seem to give a shot in the arm to many of the Downtown businesses with more popularity and more residents. I anxiously await the opening of the National Blues Museum at 601 Washington sometime in 2013. The first event of the future Washington Avenue venue was last August and was a fantastic time! We had a staycation planned Downtown for that weekend, and had given up on the Cardinals for the year, so the Bluesweek was the high light of the weekend.

Another hot spot for 2011, on a personal level, was being interviewed by the St Louis Business Journal, Post Dispatch and also for an article on "How to Buy a Loft" in Time.

Of course, didn't I feel like a jerk when the Cardinals I had left for dead came back and won the Fall Classic? Talk about great events and a shot in the arm for Downtown.

So as soon as we can close out the books for downtown real estate in 2011, look for my breakdown of sales for the year here at LoftsintheLou.com. For a quick look at what's available in the St Louis real estate market, including great deals on foreclosures, visit our new and improved site at www.4SaleStLouis.com.

Happy 20th Schlafly's!

2011-12-26T12:00:00.000-08:00

The accolades for the rebirth of Downtown St Louis are usually given to Downtown Now, or the bankers, or the tax credits. It's hard to argue against the impact those entities had.

Schlafly's Tap Room opened 20 years Ago today, and provided they type of business that helped generate excitement about rebuilding downtown for the first wave of downtown residents, before tax credits or new loft condos were around. The Posts article frames Schlafly's as a pioneer in the Craft Beer industry, but they were a pioneer for Downtown St Louis too.

Holiday Cheer!

2011-12-20T20:34:00.000-08:00

'Tis the Season to shop downtown!

With the Republican debates going on and almost nothing else taking on so much of the news cycle, its tough to talk more about the economy. One thing that will help the economy is for the people who support downtown the most, its residents, to consider the shops and restaurants downtown as possible holiday gifts for friends and family.

A gift card to Mango would make me happy! Santa (above) may have bought those pants from Eve's Apple Vintage by the Meridian. Some artwork from the new 10th Street Gallery would really make someone's Christmas bright.

Having worked downtown for a while now, I've always noticed how excited residents get when a new place opens up close by, and how disappointed if it doesn't make it. Vote with your feet and help downtown businesses have Happy Holidays too!

Got Junk?

2011-11-28T14:22:00.001-08:00

As I type, the City's Preservation Board is re-considering the question of Cupples 7.

Normally, I side with the preservationists. Buildings that can be salvaged should be.

In real estate though, we sometimes see the result when buildings that should be bulldozed but are salvaged.

Whether its economically not viable, or the building remains in shambles after the renovation; there are limits to what can be done.

Take Cupples 7. This has been a hot topic for years.

There was a thread on UrbanSTL back in 2005 that talked about the damage done to the building during its possession by Bank of America. Having a gravity fed sprinkler systems water tank crash through the roof and 5 floors would lead some to believe that the buildings structural integrity was questionable.

The same issue came up when we listed Cupples 8 (Ballpark I) in the early part of 2009. Uncertainty about what would be necessary to fix the structure was plaguing the developer.

In the case of Cupples 7, timing is everything. If there was more life and viability in the real estate market, both residential and commercial, we may be in business. If 300 lofts per year were being scooped up, or the vacancy rate on commercial office space was extremely low right now, there would be developer's lining up to take a crack at it.

Unfortunately that is not the case.

One other new factor is the tightening up of historic tax credits and other

subsidies. While there are still some buildings downtown that aren't being utilized, its not what we were faced with a decade ago. Lawmakers have to balance the need for the subsidy with other, more pressing needs. Downtown is not the charity case it used to be. After 5 billion in investments and a growth surge in population, many believe that downtown projects should be able to hold their own.

So while I would normally take the side of the preservationist, its unrealistic to disregard the position of the owner.

All we can ask, is PLEASE....Don't give us another parking lot!!!

Need Affordable Housing Downtown?

2011-11-09T13:43:00.000-08:00

Ever since Downtown St Louis started its renaissance in residential housing, some phenomenal homes have been built. As is the case with most newly constructed homes, the prices weren't considered "affordable" by many. Times have changed, and there are some phenomenal deals downtown. Unless someone is really familiar with the market, its difficult to realize what's a great deal, and what's not. Someone working with an agent from another area might miss out on the best opportunities. This home at the Terra Cotta Lofts is a GREAT DEAL! When you open the front door to this home, you're greeted with a view of the Gateway Arch and Downtown St Louis skyline. The layout is spacious and roomy.

Many downtown St Louis lofts have a 'shot gun' layout with bedrooms in the rear and no windows. This unit has a master suite with great views adn plenty of light.

During the peak of the market, units like this would get scooped up in a matter of days. So if you're interested in seeing what downtown living is all about, check out this space for starters. Getting this kind of views of the downtown skyline is a great way to experience the urban renaissance in downtown.

OPEN TODAY! 12-2

2011-10-23T08:14:00.001-07:00

Looking to "see the sights" of Downtown between the Rock & Roll Marathon and the Rams Game?

Stop by one or both of our downtown OPEN LOFTS!

Featured in Time.com, the fantastic 3000 sq. ft Loft at Jack Thompson is what many people think of when they consider downtown living. Tons of open space, Tons of natural light, and great modern finishes. Located at SW corner of Tucker & Washington.

The Syndicate Condominiums at 915 Olive are located in the heart of the OLD POST OFFICE DISTRICT and are selling out quickly. Stop by before your floorplan sells out!

Post-Season Bonus Burning a Hole in Your Pocket?

2011-10-17T09:21:00.000-07:00

Watching the Cardinals muscle through the National League Championship Series was awe inspiring. Last nights game notwithstanding.

I was doing some searches for a downtown buyer with one eye while the other was fixed to the tv.

The thought crossed my mind that all of the Cardinals would receive a post season bonus, and a fairly healthy one, for reaching the Fall Classic. So out of curiosity, I started to look into the numbers to see how much of a loft one could buy with that bonus.

It's pretty tricky, and the Cardinals organization and player contracts have a great deal of say in how much a player gets.

My projection was that the organization would get about 21.6 Million to split up between the team if they lose the series and 32.4 Million if they win.

As affordable as the Downtown St Louis area is, players could really get a phenomenal space with the change they get from the post season play.

There are some exceptional penthouses available in the downtown area that would suit a redbird perfectly. Close to work, secured entry and top level amenities.

Even if you're not a Cardinal, but just want to take advantage of everything downtown has to offer, call the Premier Team for a no obligation tour of the fantastic urban homes available at Developer Close-Out Pricing.

Enjoy Downtown, Workers!

2011-09-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

Next Friday will be the Downtown St Louis Employee Apreciation Day. I'm a fan of the concept. Everyone in life obviously has their own perspective, and in watching the Downtown St Louis rebirth over the past several years, the one perspective that doesn't always change quickly is that of the downtown worker.

Years ago, a long time downtown worker was at a party we were attending. I was pumped up about downtown. They seemed drab. "Oh yeah...I remember the last time they tried to change things (talking about when St Louis Centre was built)." While there was a very cool influx of new residences and lots of other new plans, the overall landscape still hadn't changed much. This was in 2005.

At the time, we didn't see many veteran downtown workers climbing onto the downtown bandwagon. The typical buyers were looking
for an edgy neighborhood. Of the folks that worked downtown, most were recent grads that had just began their careers.

As time marched on, so did downtown
progress and the addition of the many things that make it the fastest growing St Louis neighborhood: new restaurants and businesses, more updated homes (both owned and rented), new public spaces and commerce.

At the same party each year, I run into the same veteran downtown worker. While she still doesn't live in a St Louis loft, her attitude about the progress downtown has changed from complete skepticism to appreciation for her improved surroundings.

The Partnership for Downtown St Louis have a great message to all the downtown workers with this years Downtown Employee Appreciation Day and many of their other efforts: ENJOY DOWNTOWN!

A Turning Point....

2011-08-04T10:10:00.000-07:00

Something is happening today that signals a turning point for the downtown neighborhood. The last developer owned unit at the Dorsa Lofts is scheduled to close, which is great news for the Dorsa building and for downtown.

When the Dorsa project was first unveiled I was excited. This was in september 2005. We were in a housing shortage downtown. Buyer's were looking downtown, only to find that the space they were looking for hadn't been built. Buyers were flipping their newly built lofts for large profits, and pricing was creeping up towards the $200/square foot mark. The Dorsa, an attractive building with timber ceilings and exposed brick was promised to be finished similar to the newly completed Banker's Lofts. Pricing started at $122 / square foot. It seemed like a safe bet on a great block. The opening party held by Pyramid Construction casual. We showed up at the beginning and started pouring over the sales materials, pricing and such to get a grasp on what was going on. We had several clients showing up and more that were interested.

The first unconventional thing about the Dorsa was that, unlike other new construction sales downtown, Pyramid failed to convert its reservations into executed purchase agreements for over 6 months. It wasn't long until the market started to cool down and lots of reservations were cancelled. It still was a good value. The location was great. We kept our reservation.

Closings started happening in Summer 2007, Pyramid collapsed in April 2008. Premier Bank took over as the 'builder' and ran the building. For over a year, the vacant units, over 50% of the building, sat empty with no visible efforts to sell. The Bank thought that selling off the units as a large block would be in its best interest, despite the negative implications for the building. With virtually no commercial lending available for anyone to buy the remaining units, they allowed a prospective buyer to start renting out units and a few went on the market. Sales started trickling in. Eventually in the fall of 2010, Premier Bank was taken over by the FDIC. Assets were going to be sold quickly. Regardless of the market, prices were slashed drastically. Rentals were terminated and some ended up buying. Finally the building started to fill up.

While the road to completion for the Dorsa took significantly longer than the buildings sold during the boom, after today, we can say that its SOLD OUT!

How is that a turning point?

When the stock market crashed in 2008 and banks started failing was when the St Louis real estate market went from slow to scary. The additional burden that downtown struggled with was the public perception that there was a glut of unsold lofts downtown.

Now that the inventory of Dorsa Lofts have sold out, we're a step closer to a balanced market (between a buyer's and seller's market) and most likely a more favorable climate for appreciation and more new construction.

OPEN HOUSES TODAY!! 1-3pm

2011-07-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

Stop by our open houses today at 1204 Washington (Jack Thompson), and the Syndicate (915 Olive)

Prices Just dropped at Grace Lofts!

Pruitt-Igoe Design Contest Winner

2011-07-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

Back when the competition was announced for the former Pruitt-Igoe site, many thoughts came to mind.

First off, the current forest that exists could use some nature trails and an obervatory. Your typical state park.

After my visit yesterday to Schaumburg Illinois in the Chicago area, my feelings changed.

With its proximity to the loft district, and several other areas that could use a good design & accessory store, St Louis should work as hard at luring Ikea as they are working on Aerotropolis.

Since the organizers of the design competition have already stated that they are in no position to make any decisions about the use of the land, and are just trying to stimulate discussion, the practicality and logistics of this award winning design aren't relevant.

My decision is made up, they just want the best Ikea.

Unique and Stunning: Jack Thompson 6A

2011-07-20T13:47:00.000-07:00

Working extensively in the downtown loft district makes "high end, stylish and modern" seem run of the mill. It's everywhere; especially once the loft boom began. High end modern spaces were being churned out all over the place. We are really lucky here in St Louis.

Every once in a while though, a loft shows up that is truly extraordinary. This space is one of those. A 2 story 3000 square foot gem. Just listed today for $524,900. We've listed it before, and also unit 6d that is similar, but not quite the same. This building has the exposed brick and timber look as do many others, but unlike some of the other spaces, this one is exquisite throughout.

Along with the Grace Lofts and the Syndicate Condominiums, this unique space will be open on July 23rd from 1-3pm.

Contact us today for a showing or any other real estate questions.

Sales Up, Prices Stabilizing

2011-07-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

Last week was a busy week at the title companies as the 1st half of 2011 came to an end and Festivities for Independence Day started up. The million dollar question remains in every real estate market, when will the market "come back?"

In the past few months, the inventory of available downtown lofts has been less than what we've seen in past years. A search for 2 bedroom, 1 bath spaces for less than $240,000 produced only 39 possibilities. Not what we're used to seeing. I double checked to make sure there wasn't a mistake.

This year it seems that several great things are happening downtown that indicate a turnaround is on the horizon. A sweep of the Reds over at Busch Stadium would have been icing on the cake.

Looking at the numbers, there were 53 condos sold in downtown St Louis during the first half of 2011. That is based on Realtor sales on the MLS. Last year there were 41 sales in the first 6 months. While the median sale price dropped by about $20,000.

From the Realtor perspective, it seemed like seller's in this years market seem to realize what they're up against more than in years past. One big factor in the increased sales this year also was the failure of Premier Bank of Jefferson City, the owner of the remaining lofts at the Dorsa. That change of the guard made the prices of these attractive units drop substantially overnight. As of today, the building is 90% Sold. The FDIC doesn't mess around when it comes to unloading property. Other foreclosures still pop up, and some are ridiculously priced. One would think that in this market, getting multiple offers on a property in less than a week wouldn't occur, but it does when a foreclosure agent prices a condo $50,000 to $100,000 below market, that happens.

Despite the number of distressed sales taking place in all areas right now, it seems that compared to 2009 and 2010, there are more loft buyers that are interested in buying a place on more factors than just price alone. I had a conversation with one agent earlier this year about how her listing was substantially overpriced. It was! It didn't matter though, someone scooped it up for nearly $180 per square foot. Most seller's aren't that lucky, but just seeing it start to happen is reasurring that prices are beginning to stabilize. Considering the inventory is lower and only the 24 Grace Lofts have been added to the number of available condos in the past 4 years, we may start to see a housing shortage again downtown; the condition we were in back in 2005 when pricing began to spike.

Lastly, one thing has continued to drag pricing down, which is the number of non-warrantable condos in the downtown area. Some of these were non-warrantable from the beginning, and others became non-warrantable when developers chose to rent out unsold inventory or some other factor. Lofts in buildings like Ely Walker, Ventana, Packard Lofts, King Bee, or Ballpark Lofts have been unable to entertain anything except cash offers; they've been sold for the lowest prices of all.

We'll see about the future, but here are the sales for the past 6 months:

2207 Washington Ave #307 47,250
1709 Washington Ave #904 58,000
210 N 17th St #205 65,000
210 N 17th St #1011 75,900
2020 Washington Ave #214 90,000
2020 Washington Ave #707 92,250
1511 Locust St #303 95,000
2020 Washington Ave #404 95,040
1501 Locust St #601 97,000
2020 Washington Ave #406 97,000
1627 Locust St #504 100,500
1511 Locust St #205 102,500
1312 Washington Ave #4a 104,000
901 Washington Ave #308 106,000
2020 Washington Ave #402 St 118,000
1720 Chouteau Ave #402 120,000
1511 Locust St #606 St 125,000
1611 Locust St #504 129,000
314 N Broadway #1301 St 134,900
2323 Locust #403 140,750
1123 Washington Ave #507 152,000
314 N Broadway #1307 St 154,000
2323 Locust #308 161,000
1123 Washington Ave #605 162,500
1123 Washington Ave #213 165,000
507 N 13th St #509 168,000
1123 Washington Ave #316 168,000
400 S 14th St #1106 184,000
1601 Washington Ave #205 200,000
2020 Washington Ave #101 St 207,000
1611 Locust St #301 211,000
1015 Washington Ave #301 213,500
901 Washington Ave #509 225,500
2020 Washington Ave #813 233,500
703 N 13th St #404 255,000
315 N 11th St #703 265,000
400 S 14th St #1214 275,000
915 Olive St #1209 285,000
915 Olive St #1401 287,900
901 Washington Ave #706PH 399,000
901 Washington #204 345,600

Dorsa Lofts
1015 Washington Ave #503 158,000
1015 Washington Ave #607 159,000
1015 Washington Ave #608 159,500
1015 Washington Ave #407 169,000
1015 Washington Ave #601 171,000
1015 Washington Ave #505 179,250
1015 Washington Ave #405 180,440
1015 Washington Ave #404 185,200
1015 Washington Ave #605 193,000

1015 Washington Ave #706PH 306,000
1015 Washington Ave #708PH 325,000
1015 Washington Ave #707PH 389,000

At It Again.....DSLRA

2011-06-11T21:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when I was waiting to show some Syndicate Condos, I was really impressed with the latest publication produced downtown by the Downtown St Louis Residents Association sitting in the lobby.

DSLRA is best if you participate, but between their new hard copy publication and their facebook page they do a fantastic job of PR to help people get an idea about some of the benefits of downtown living.

Different neighborhoods need associations for different reasons. In the 'burbs, maintaining common ground or lobbying a municiple government, but in downtown, there's a special reason: not everyone knows how or why to live downtown. As much as I hate to admit it, living downtown is still a novelty to some. Having a strong residents group gives new residents an oppotunity to plug in to the area and find out whats going on. It puts the veteran urbanist together with someone living here for the first time, and having two good PR sources, shares that message with the person "on the fence" about living downtown.

When we have open houses, we run into lots of folks "thinking" about living in Downtown St Louis. DSLRA is a great place to send them.

One problem with DSLRA that seems to be difficult for many small organizations is the rotating voluntary leadership. Sometimes the group is visible, active and thriving. After a while, leaders step down and new folks step in that aren't as motivated or savvy. Momentum is lost, members drift away.

Its exciting to see things picking back up, especially since downtown population contintues to grow.

WAY TO GO DSLRA!!!

Props to CityGarden

2011-05-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

On Mother's Day, I went to the art festival at Laumeier Sculpture Park in Southwest St Louis County. Since I'd just hung out for a while in CityGarden the day before, it was hard not to draw comparisons and think about the possibility of an even better event being held adjacent to CityGarden in Downtown St Louis.

As you can see from my drawing, I've never been an artist, but for whatever reason, the sculptures at Laumeier have never really registered with me. Being the only sculpture park I'd ever been to growing up, it just made sense that I wasn't capable of appreciating art.

Fast forward a few decades, and here comes CityGarden.

The drawing shows the general idea I was having at the art festival for Downtown's version of the event. Close of Market Street and line the vendors up along the sidewalks. Depending up on the size, they could run all the way down the Gateway Mall, Kiener Plaza and CityGarden. Music could be right in the middle of CityGarden. Just a thought.

Its no suprise to me that CityGarden won the Urban Land Institute Competition as announced today. Not only are the sculptures interesting and inspiring, but the entire landscape is inviting captivating. I'd have been more suprised had it not won.

Congratulations to the City of St Louis and the Gateway Foundation on this shared achievement!

Amazing Grace!

2011-05-18T07:20:00.001-07:00

The Grace Lofts were built in what was known as the Lesan-Gould Building, a historic building significant due to its patented use of reinforced concrete. Located in the anchor blocks of Downtown West, its surrounded by shops, restaurants cafe's and galleries.

It was originally planned as condominiums, but upon completion, plans were changed and the building was held and rented instead. Now, conversion is underway.

Compared to many of the other buildings, the lofts tend to be more open and spacious. With only four units per floor, its a boutique building.

The building is Priced to Sell! Special financing is available and there is a SPRING SPECIAL for contracts approved by June 30th of $10,000 off the loft or $10,000 in developer upgrades.

The Grace Lofts are being held open this coming Sunday, May 22nd from 1-3pm!

New FALL PRICING as of 9/1/11! Other specials apply! Check out the fall frenzy special at 4SaleStLouis.com/grace_lofts.html