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Odds and ends

By Matt Goyer November 28, 2007

Looks like a few of you can’t be trusted to comment while I’m away. Until I’m really fully engaged again here are some odds and ends:

2 story loft in the Bell building. 1,272 square feet for $735,000.
Aubrey has the dates for some upcoming design reviews
Hillku is upset Brix stole their sidewalk
Slog has a chart of apartment conversion #’s
Slog takes on their Capitol Hill hypocrite label head on
The Stranger writes about the death of East Pine
Condo Centers Hit Second Life. If any condo marketers in Seattle think this is a good idea, call me, I’ll talk you out of it.
EconE pits 2200 vs Bellora
‘Dunno’ compares condos to cars and visits the Four Seasons and 1 Hotel and Residences

See an interesting listing or article or blog post? Leave it in the comments. Have a hateful comment? Don’t leave it here!

I own and manage Urban Living, a boutique Seattle and Bellevue real estate brokerage. I love lofts, floating homes, new construction, and mid-century moderns, but I will help you buy or sell just about anything!

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30 responses to “Odds and ends”

EconE says:

November 29, 2007 at 9:10 am

LOL Matt!

When are you gonna let me see your Trace pad…we can have condo blog wars! You’ve seen my unit…let ‘er rip…give it your best shot!

My condo’s better than your condo.

:oP

But then again…I saw a unit for rent over there at Trace…not too shabby…even thought about swapping over. However…your late night drunken orgies would just be too much for me to handle and I’d end up arthritic from pounding on your door trying to get you and your harem to shut up!
EconE says:

November 29, 2007 at 1:10 am

LOL Matt!

When are you gonna let me see your Trace pad…we can have condo blog wars! You’ve seen my unit…let ‘er rip…give it your best shot!

My condo’s better than your condo.

:oP

But then again…I saw a unit for rent over there at Trace…not too shabby…even thought about swapping over. However…your late night drunken orgies would just be too much for me to handle and I’d end up arthritic from pounding on your door trying to get you and your harem to shut up!
EconE says:

November 29, 2007 at 9:19 am

Oh…and on that Belltown loft…they’ve been trying to off that one on the rental market for some time now. Seen those pics many a time! Well…4 of ’em at least on CL.

I guess there were no takers?

Could it have had something to do with that vomit colored wall and the other putrid colors?

Oh…one last word…a big congrats for a unit in CG’s building going STI! I told you your building rocks!
EconE says:

November 29, 2007 at 1:19 am

Oh…and on that Belltown loft…they’ve been trying to off that one on the rental market for some time now. Seen those pics many a time! Well…4 of ’em at least on CL.

I guess there were no takers?

Could it have had something to do with that vomit colored wall and the other putrid colors?

Oh…one last word…a big congrats for a unit in CG’s building going STI! I told you your building rocks!
CG says:

November 30, 2007 at 5:44 am

EconE never ceases to amaze me. Here I’m traveling around Hong Kong and Beijing and he keeps me informed of the sales activity in my condo. He’s gotta figure out a way to make a career out of his RE obsessions. I wonder if any of the venture capitalists in town would fund a Goyer/EconE JV?
CG says:

November 29, 2007 at 9:44 pm

EconE never ceases to amaze me. Here I’m traveling around Hong Kong and Beijing and he keeps me informed of the sales activity in my condo. He’s gotta figure out a way to make a career out of his RE obsessions. I wonder if any of the venture capitalists in town would fund a Goyer/EconE JV?
Downtown Guy says:

November 30, 2007 at 2:02 pm

Matt,

I wanted to say thanks for posting “Seattle Condos Compared to Other Cities.” Very much appreciated on my side.
Downtown Guy says:

November 30, 2007 at 6:02 am

Matt,

I wanted to say thanks for posting “Seattle Condos Compared to Other Cities.” Very much appreciated on my side.
zebra says:

November 30, 2007 at 3:34 pm

I was doing my usual search for new listings in Belltown yesterday, and noticed that Trio has slashed prices on a couple of units that it had already slashed prices on in the past. Specifically, on this blog, Matt had noted that the price of #203 had been cut from $629,950 to $599,950. This week only, the price is $499,950! (This comes out to only about $417 per square foot.) Matt had noted that the price of #302 had been cut from $395,000 to $349,000. Again, this week only (that’s what the ad says), the price is $309,000. (This is only about $356 per square foot!!!)

I have looked at the Trio. I had read a lot of bad things about it on various blogs. But to be honest, I was rather impressed by the units. They seemed very large for the money, and well laid-out. I also liked that the developers put in things like overhead lighting. (In the Parc, for example, there’s NO lighting, so you have to buy lamps or have it installed pretty much before a place is usable.) Granted, I haven’t been looking long, and a lot of the other buildings I’ve looked at are probably almost sold out, so I’m not seeing the best layouts…. But I guess my question is: How come nobody wants to live in the Trio? Is it because it’s on that totally noisy with traffic, but dead for anything else corner? Does anyone know if there are other developments planned for that neighborhood in the next couple of years? I’d really like to know, because at those prices, I would almost reconsider my conclusion that the location stinks.

Thanks!
zebra says:

November 30, 2007 at 7:34 am

I was doing my usual search for new listings in Belltown yesterday, and noticed that Trio has slashed prices on a couple of units that it had already slashed prices on in the past. Specifically, on this blog, Matt had noted that the price of #203 had been cut from $629,950 to $599,950. This week only, the price is $499,950! (This comes out to only about $417 per square foot.) Matt had noted that the price of #302 had been cut from $395,000 to $349,000. Again, this week only (that’s what the ad says), the price is $309,000. (This is only about $356 per square foot!!!)

I have looked at the Trio. I had read a lot of bad things about it on various blogs. But to be honest, I was rather impressed by the units. They seemed very large for the money, and well laid-out. I also liked that the developers put in things like overhead lighting. (In the Parc, for example, there’s NO lighting, so you have to buy lamps or have it installed pretty much before a place is usable.) Granted, I haven’t been looking long, and a lot of the other buildings I’ve looked at are probably almost sold out, so I’m not seeing the best layouts…. But I guess my question is: How come nobody wants to live in the Trio? Is it because it’s on that totally noisy with traffic, but dead for anything else corner? Does anyone know if there are other developments planned for that neighborhood in the next couple of years? I’d really like to know, because at those prices, I would almost reconsider my conclusion that the location stinks.

Thanks!
Chris says:

November 30, 2007 at 5:45 pm

I’d consider taking a look at the place for those price points, except if they are on Denny. I’d assume that they are. That is a miserable street to begin with, traffic-wise, and the units cantilever over the sidewalks so you are really close to the traffic. I ride the bus down from QA and the bus can barely make the turn left on Denny w/o clipping what little sidewalk there is next to, or rather under, Trio.

Terrific example of the strategy of building out every square inch of the zoning envelope not being in the best interest of the developer, as the added income generated on the cantilvered portion will be more than offest by the reduced $/sf on the entire unit.
Chris says:

November 30, 2007 at 9:45 am

I’d consider taking a look at the place for those price points, except if they are on Denny. I’d assume that they are. That is a miserable street to begin with, traffic-wise, and the units cantilever over the sidewalks so you are really close to the traffic. I ride the bus down from QA and the bus can barely make the turn left on Denny w/o clipping what little sidewalk there is next to, or rather under, Trio.

Terrific example of the strategy of building out every square inch of the zoning envelope not being in the best interest of the developer, as the added income generated on the cantilvered portion will be more than offest by the reduced $/sf on the entire unit.
zebra says:

November 30, 2007 at 9:17 pm

Chris–
Thanks a lot for the insight. It is true that one of the units is on Denny and the other has one side on Denny. So that probably explains why these particular units are so discounted while others are not.
zebra says:

November 30, 2007 at 1:17 pm

Chris–
Thanks a lot for the insight. It is true that one of the units is on Denny and the other has one side on Denny. So that probably explains why these particular units are so discounted while others are not.
mhays says:

November 30, 2007 at 9:38 pm

Noise is a huge issue for many buyers, including (especially) me. Trio’s location has far too much traffic. If you’re on the corner, you have to listen to cars behind five major traffic lights. The odds of some “boom car” idiot being in the area are pretty high at any given time. It’s also on three major truck routes.

It’s a fairly convenient spot in that restaurants, the sculpture park, jobs, supermarkets, etc., are within walking distance. But it doesn’t have the ambiance or immediate convenience of, say, First Avenue or the heart of LQA.
mhays says:

November 30, 2007 at 1:38 pm

Noise is a huge issue for many buyers, including (especially) me. Trio’s location has far too much traffic. If you’re on the corner, you have to listen to cars behind five major traffic lights. The odds of some “boom car” idiot being in the area are pretty high at any given time. It’s also on three major truck routes.

It’s a fairly convenient spot in that restaurants, the sculpture park, jobs, supermarkets, etc., are within walking distance. But it doesn’t have the ambiance or immediate convenience of, say, First Avenue or the heart of LQA.
nitsuj says:

December 1, 2007 at 5:40 pm

I like this line by Spencer Moody in that Stranger article

“I guess people want to live in the city, but they don’t want the city. They want to live in a city that’s like a shopping mall, and I guess if that’s what people want, then that’s what they get, that’s what they can have. It just seems like if you want a city that’s like a suburb, maybe you should just live in the suburbs.”
nitsuj says:

December 1, 2007 at 9:40 am

I like this line by Spencer Moody in that Stranger article

“I guess people want to live in the city, but they don’t want the city. They want to live in a city that’s like a shopping mall, and I guess if that’s what people want, then that’s what they get, that’s what they can have. It just seems like if you want a city that’s like a suburb, maybe you should just live in the suburbs.”
mhays says:

December 2, 2007 at 7:39 pm

Some people think being a city means you can raise all the hell you want and never consider others.

Basic city noise is fine. But a lot of noise is simply a few people being jerks — boom cars, cars that beep when you lock them, harleys, etc.

Funny…you don’t hear thee things much in London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, et al. They’ve learned to live in close proximity, and many Americans just haven’t.
mhays says:

December 2, 2007 at 11:39 am

Some people think being a city means you can raise all the hell you want and never consider others.

Basic city noise is fine. But a lot of noise is simply a few people being jerks — boom cars, cars that beep when you lock them, harleys, etc.

Funny…you don’t hear thee things much in London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, et al. They’ve learned to live in close proximity, and many Americans just haven’t.
Dunno says:

December 3, 2007 at 4:58 am

Hey Zebra,

Another reason that Trio is not popular is that it is a 5+2, meaning that they have 5 floors of wood frame on top of 2 floors of concrete. The sound proofing in wood buildings can poor and considering where Trio is located, causes concerns. You can have loud neighbors as well. Another issue with 5+2 is that the wood framing can cause building maintenance concerns in the future as they tend not to be as sturdy as a pure steel and concrete building. Hope this helps and check out my blog.
Dunno says:

December 2, 2007 at 8:58 pm

Hey Zebra,

Another reason that Trio is not popular is that it is a 5+2, meaning that they have 5 floors of wood frame on top of 2 floors of concrete. The sound proofing in wood buildings can poor and considering where Trio is located, causes concerns. You can have loud neighbors as well. Another issue with 5+2 is that the wood framing can cause building maintenance concerns in the future as they tend not to be as sturdy as a pure steel and concrete building. Hope this helps and check out my blog.
nitsuj says:

December 4, 2007 at 10:48 pm

“Basic city noise is fine. But a lot of noise is simply a few people being jerks boom cars, cars that beep when you lock them, harleys, etc.”

You get those sounds in the ‘burbs as well. The lack of thoughtfulness in America goes outside the city boundaries.
nitsuj says:

December 4, 2007 at 2:48 pm

“Basic city noise is fine. But a lot of noise is simply a few people being jerks — boom cars, cars that beep when you lock them, harleys, etc.”

You get those sounds in the ‘burbs as well. The lack of thoughtfulness in America goes outside the city boundaries.
mattgoyer says:

December 5, 2007 at 6:54 pm

EconE, once I get my place finished (still missing a window sill around most of my unit) and furnished I’ll invite you over and you can critic the place :). However, at the rate I’m going it will be another four or six months by the time I’m ready to invite people over!
Matt says:

December 5, 2007 at 10:54 am

EconE, once I get my place finished (still missing a window sill around most of my unit) and furnished I’ll invite you over and you can critic the place :). However, at the rate I’m going it will be another four or six months by the time I’m ready to invite people over!
EconE says:

December 5, 2007 at 11:47 pm

Matt…as “Mama” from the http://www.Realestalker.blogspot.com blog would say…

“You need to get a team of nice gay decorators in there”

They’ll have that place done up lickety split!

I’d help…but I’m straight so it would probably just end up looking like another spartan bachelor pad!
EconE says:

December 5, 2007 at 3:47 pm

Matt…as “Mama” from the http://www.Realestalker.blogspot.com blog would say…

“You need to get a team of nice gay decorators in there”

They’ll have that place done up lickety split!

I’d help…but I’m straight so it would probably just end up looking like another spartan bachelor pad!
nitsuj says:

December 6, 2007 at 2:46 am

“Id helpbut Im straight so it would probably just end up looking like another spartan bachelor pad!”

LOL, I just looked around my apartment….and realized it is kind of spartan, other than the skateboard hanging on the wall (all class). I think that’s why my lady friend’s house feels “inviting”, there are things on the wall and decorations other than a TV, a drum kit and some guitars. Interesting…
nitsuj says:

December 5, 2007 at 6:46 pm

“I’d help…but I’m straight so it would probably just end up looking like another spartan bachelor pad!”

LOL, I just looked around my apartment….and realized it is kind of spartan, other than the skateboard hanging on the wall (all class). I think that’s why my lady friend’s house feels “inviting”, there are things on the wall and decorations other than a TV, a drum kit and some guitars. Interesting…

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