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Update on the Alex in Belltown

May 5, 2009 By

Here’s an email I got on the Alex in Belltown:

Good Morning,

An update on Alex at First and Bell is owed to you, and thank you for your patience, as we all muddle through a sluggish downtown Seattle real estate market. We are thrilled that the final stage of the construction at Alex is in sight, and we wanted to share some information about that with you.

On the construction front: You may have noticed that a portion of the scaffolding has come down on the lower north side of the building and we predict that by the first of next week the upper levels of scaffolding will come down as well. Today, the welders are commencing the installation of the juliette balcony rails, which will add much interest to the appearance of our Alex! The windows on the east side of the building will be buttoned up by the end of May, and we are awaiting the power supply which will allow us to begin tours via the elevators.

In June, new sidewalks, curbs, and gutters will be installed along 1st Avenue and on Bell Street. Furthermore, all new concrete will be poured down half of the west side alley.

On the sales front: The developer is not RACING into selling in this market, for obvious reasons. And, while we are prepared and excited to begin work on individuals’ units and to prioritize any unit for which someone is committed to purchasing due to his/her special timing needs, our aim is to take the time necessary to produce the highest quality building and to simultaneously optimize the timing of our Grand Opening with the market conditions. Having said that, if we should not launch our opening until middle or late summer, we would still like to assure you that if your needs dictate an earlier purchase, we may commence the selling process at your convenience.

When we begin selling at the site, we expect to have three models available to show you. One will be shown at the standard level of finish, another will be at an upgrade level of finish, and of course there will be a luxury level of finish. All customization will be welcome and encouraged. We expect to generate a price list that will reflect the unfinished units, such that our buyers may then select their preferences in finish quality. We are as anxious as you are to reach that point in time when we may publish our prices! Thank you for your patience, here.

We have commenced evaluating our pricing on the units at Alex, and, while we are not prepared to release any information on the subject just yet, we want to drive home the understanding that we are going to be pricing “reasonably” for our current market. We hope to make these gorgeous homes in prime Belltown a value to the new residents.

I welcome questions via telephone or email and would enjoy speaking with you about your individual situation. For those of you who are new to our email updates, please alert me if you would like to be removed from our contact list.

Sincerely,
Maureen

Update: I closed the thread for comments since it wandered so far off topic.

Filed Under: Alex Views: 741
About Matt

Matt , Urbnlivn's publisher, has a love for lofts with industrial features and new construction condos that is only eclipsed by his passion for outdoor sports and urban living. Phrases such as “polished concrete” and “exposed brick” are music to his ears. You can also find Matt on Twitter or skiing.

  • chris

    who's the developer?

  • ssilvy

    The developer is something called Saltaire. This is the first multifamily for them. My understanding is that their construction lender more or less owns the project now. It is interesting that they think people will believe they're just now starting to think about what the pricing might be. That condescending sales style shouts “buyer beware” loud and clear.

  • oh hi!

    The units will be priced “reasonably”. Why read the rest of the email, just look for the quotation marks.

  • john cocktosin

    too, many, commas, Maureen

  • The MD

    Delusional. Wow… Completely delusional (not to mention transparent and desperate).

  • GoCougs

    I just heard from an attorney who is representing a client in Escala that the project is going high-end apartment and canceling all pending sales.

    Another one bites the dust…

  • http://www.beachrealestateagents.com/condos-myrtle-beach.html Condos Myrtle Beach

    Thanks for the updating info .the reasonable price list should be value able in purchasers and its great thinking that you generate the unfinished work price list due this purchaser deal in according to its willingness and after it shaped it as it wants.

  • jcricket

    While this isn't a surprise, exactly how high-end ($$$) will the rents have to be to come anywhere close to covering the costs of building Escala?

    There are only a couple other high-end apartment buildings downtown, as there's just not that kind of demand in Seattle. Although maybe now would be a good time to rent a swanky downtown place while waiting for prices to bottom out?

  • uwp

    Totally.

  • GoHUSKIES

    I can verify your source. I know the attorney personally…I don't like him…but I know him. He represented the defendant in a old case I had pending in civil court against the Tooth Fairy. That B*#@H broke an expensive vase while lifting my pillow and refused to pay damages. They tried to offer a settlement, double payout on all remaining molars…one problem, all my molars are gone!!! That attorney is amazing, I even heard he delivered 20 white rabbits to an orphanage on Easter…all out of his ass!

    These blogs are hilarious. Just on this project alone there have been some silly comments: Escala is stopping at the 20th floor due to economical woes…they were on the 22nd when that came out!!! Club Cielo will never work and Escala is now looking into 24hr Fitness memberships…sign me up!!! On and on, hahaha.

    run the numbers; 270 Luxury apartments, 1bd @ +900sqft, 2bd @ +1900sqft, 3bd @ +2600sqft…what do you think the rents would be in this economy? I highly doubt people would pay that number and a lower rent just doesn't make sense to the bank! The MD commented on that rumor before and it doesn't hold water! But maybe a if they market to Coug fans they may get there

  • GoCougs

    Wow…somebody is pissed. You must work at Escala right?

    Of course people aren't going to pay higher rents, I think the idea is dumb myself, but no one is going to buy the condos either. I believe rents will probably be around $2.50/sf due to the fact that they don't have to finish out the interiors to condo standards, but they will still want it to be “high-end”. Similar to the path that they are taking at Rollin Street, which is in the $2.00 price range

  • GoHuskies

    Pissed?? No way, I think its funny. Escala must have a ton of employees cause I have read that before as well…usually follows comments from Coug fans!!

    Seriously though, Rollin Street is a whole different ball of wax. They had a limited number of contracts and way less homes than Escala. Finish levels are more in-line with that of apartments…you cant say that about 1521, Four Seasons, Escala, even Olive 8. According to my sources Rollins sales had slowed enough that they were able to start considering it. But my DDS is buying at Escala and he told me they did $10M in sales just last week and he wasn't the first to say that. For me, I could careless, I can't afford it anyway. But I do like to see new buildings going up because that means I can move up into better rentals when they move…but for now I am keeping put.

  • econe

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  • voight-kampff

    I pretty much wet myself reading your post.

    oh yeah, and to the idea of escala going rental, I just dont see that as a viable option with the olivian, and aspira adding 500-600 new luxury rentals around th exact same time. If it is true, I'm going to end up in an even sweeter rental with even more bitchin pricing. I just negotiated $600 per month off my lease at another “luxury” high-rise, so if all this chocolate goes down, the rents are gonna be simply dreamy!!!

  • EconE

    The developers haven't done their homework and are foolish to try to rent them out and then “sell” when the market gets better. In my extensive research…this hasn't panned out very well for them in the past for “luxury” condos.

    How much do they think they'll get for the larger units? 3500/mo 2BR rentals languish for literally years on CL….slab granite and all. The full on Lake View 2BR rental in the ARIA building at 2200…#1402 I think…gets $2800 and another 2BR just went for $2550.

    They shoud just mark the damn things to market…sell them…deal with the bank on a write down of their loan…and let their bank cash in on some of those sweet sweet tarp funds.

    If they think that we're gonna “inflate” our way out of this they've got another thing coming.

    Banks don't want people paying off their debt with “inflated” dollars…period.

    Insurance companies who have MUCH more CASH than banks in order to pay claims are the big fish in the FIRE economy now. (Finance, Insurance, Real Estate) They CANNOT see their cash reserves be eaten away. They already are going to take hits on their “Fannie and Freddie” type investments.

    Deflation helps both of them.

  • UofDubYAHbaby

    I hate it when a COUG is right on the money and I have to admit so, but I heard the exzact same rumor from two other sources and generally speaking, when three people tell me the same thing, I tend to listen … even if one of them is a COUG w/ a mullez ;I None of us wants any condo project to fail but S-Calah came to the party too late, with stratospheric price points in a B- location and a Las Vegas flavor that is…well…kinda Las Vegas, baby [do ya like my gold chains?]. In the end, its probably the only play. Meanwhile, a lot of renters will get a deal and eventually, it will make a nice conversion. God bless developers that bring such flair and pinache to this hopelessly dull city!

  • The MD

    Matt Goyer, can you run a check on “GoHuskies” and see if he/she is posing as a new writer/reader from an IP address that is used under other writer/readers? I have a gut instinct on this one (probably an agent)…

  • http://twitter.com/mattgoyer mattgoyer

    I ran a check. I think this commenter is an Escala insider. And if so, this is the second time we've busted them for astroturfing.

  • GoHuskies

    Busted them?? What does that mean Matt, hahaha. Show one show all is how the game should be played. what if I was an insider…whhoooaaa. What is really going to blow your mind MD is when I post from the Olive 8 server next week and then 1521 the following week…maybe I will post from Rollins the week after that. Hell i may just post from yours one week MD, it aint to hard to find. You were cooking on your board the other day, cheers bro, i can't skateboard any more had to give it up for the wifey. :)
    Somebody needs to keep you negative nancy's in-check. Oh, the sky is falling, the sky is falling my a**. How is it that we can drink the same starbucks, look at the same sky, and breath the same air and yet you guys only point out the negative and leave out the positive…be fair. For example: you guys jump all over the band wagon of people backing out of their contracts at Olive 8 but forget to add that the only ones backing out were the dumbass that bought there as investors…true homeowners are closing just fine!!! So what they lost some contracts. Hey MD how many “new” condos are/will be available between now and 2014? How much commercial space is available at lower than normal rates currently? I am only asking you MD because I know that you truly know the facts and i have seen you connect the dots for people before. Companies will move in to fill vacant spots, jobs will go up and condos will vanish….that is how it has always gone. Tell me a time when it hasn't??? exactly.
    And if you want to know who I am just ask because Matt created a site that is suppose to be fair to everyone tom, dick, harry, and even coug fans!!!

    Later,
    Tim W

  • Mark W

    Maureen's Letter writes: “Today, the welders are commencing the installation of the juliette balcony rails, which will add much interest to the appearance of our Alex! “

    Ugh. I've lived in the juliette balcony capital of the world for seven years now, and I still don't get why developers dumb up their buildings with these cheap, useless things. French or sliding glass doors to nowhere don't look interesting. They look like the developer cut some corners.

    Whatever else the rest of the folks in the thread might say about Escala, at least they didn't go the juliette balcony route.

  • http://twitter.com/mattgoyer mattgoyer

    Totally agree. At least give me something large enough to put a chair on or nothing at all.

  • uwp

    Seems you touched a nerve Matt.

  • The MD

    Ummmmmmmmmmmm, WOW! GoHuskies seems very upset for some reason. More importantly, though, he/she seems confused. I don't even have a board to post on! LOL GoHuskies, you made the comment to me, “Hell i may just post from yours one week MD, it aint to hard to find. You were cooking on your board the other day, cheers bro, i can't skateboard any more had to give it up for the wifey. .” What the heck does that mean? Seriously, I think you may think I am someone I am not. As for me “connecting the dots” for people, I do not understand this statement either. Care to provide some clarification, GoHuskies? Regardless, clearly a nerve has been hit and clearly you do respect some of my posts on this site, or you wouldn't make reference to them (because they are and have been accurate).

    I do not know a Tim W. However, I know a S.C. Perhaps this is you? It really doesn't matter I suppose, because GoHuskies appears to posts under multiple names, which would naturally raise suspicion to readers of your true intentions. This means we're never going to get an honest answer anyway. So, I'll retract the question all together.

  • EconE

    Is multiple punctuation part of NAR training?

  • GoHuskies

    Oops the jig is up, Sam I AM and how you can read my 2 comments and think I am mad, pissed, or you struck a nerve is beyond me. I am simply stating my opinions just like anyone of you. I referenced you MD because we know each other and you are correct, I do respect your views (most, but definately not all of them).

    What I would like to see is both sides stated/expressed. Its so easy to jump on the negative train but that does no good for anyone. Look, whether you like it or not; whether you would live in it or not, that is way beside the point and the buildings are going up despite you. Maybe if you ALL got together in your Under-Roos and used your mutant powers you might be able to make them topple (doubtful). See all in good fun right, lol.

    So put the blogs back to what they were created for, a site where people can get the pros and cons not just so heavily skewed to one side. It may be a stretch for some of the bloggers to actually sit and think of one positive for every 2 negatives but that would be my challenge. Who knows you actually might start looking at life in a whole different way. Your way of life would improve if you can see the positive in all situations, that is a guarantee.

    Remember: “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change”

  • Other Chris

    GoHuskies, most commenters don't try to be positive or negative, but rather try to be objective. This can be a difficult concept for some Realtors(R) or other people in marketing to grasp, when so much time is spent using rhetoric instead of logic. You can't just will it to be “good” and make it so. To put a finer point on it, this board often serves a useful purpose in cutting through the marketing BS and providing some more objective perspective on pros and cons of development projects.

    Furthermore, to insinuate that because people might have “negative” comments on a certain real estate project they general thinking negatively about life is absurd. We're talking real estate. Its not life or death, and it is a trivial subject with respect to really important ones like family, health, fulfillment in career, etc. etc.

    …Now in terms of real estate in urban development, I think many commenters have a positive opinion of urban development but are often critical of projects for various reasons. For instance, I think Seattle is great, downtown living is on the upswing, and urban living is important to sustainability. On the other hand, I think Escala, for example, is overpriced, has a tacky Las Vegas design and a nauseating marketing campaign.

  • Sam Cunningham

    Any posts on this blog written by Sam Cunningham have been identified by the author. Though I am optimistic about the future of Seatte real estate & have made it my life's work, as a natural optimist I believe we can have friendly debate over these issues that we have various viewpoints on.

    Go Huskies, it looks like you're alluding to my initials. If this is a coincidence you're entitled to them, otherwise please be kind to other posters on my behalf. “An eye for an eye makes the whole World blind,”

    Sam Cunningham

  • The MD

    Gee, golly, oh my, yeah, what a coincidence! NOT! LOL This is rich. So busted and so many smoke screens yet so transparent! Does it ever stop? Ridiculous.

  • GoHuskies

    Oops the jig is up, Sam I AM and how you can read my 2 comments and think I am mad, pissed, or you struck a nerve is beyond me. I am simply stating my opinions just like anyone of you. I referenced you MD because we know each other and you are correct, I do respect your views (most, but definately not all of them).

    What I would like to see is both sides stated/expressed. Its so easy to jump on the negative train but that does no good for anyone. Look, whether you like it or not; whether you would live in it or not, that is way beside the point and the buildings are going up despite you. Maybe if you ALL got together in your Under-Roos and used your mutant powers you might be able to make them topple (doubtful). See all in good fun right, lol.

    So put the blogs back to what they were created for, a site where people can get the pros and cons not just so heavily skewed to one side. It may be a stretch for some of the bloggers to actually sit and think of one positive for every 2 negatives but that would be my challenge. Who knows you actually might start looking at life in a whole different way. Your way of life would improve if you can see the positive in all situations, that is a guarantee.

    Remember: “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change”

  • Other Chris

    GoHuskies, most commenters don't try to be positive or negative, but rather try to be objective. This can be a difficult concept for some Realtors(R) or other people in marketing to grasp, when so much time is spent using rhetoric instead of logic. You can't just will it to be “good” and make it so. To put a finer point on it, this board often serves a useful purpose in cutting through the marketing BS and providing some more objective perspective on pros and cons of development projects.

    Furthermore, to insinuate that because people might have “negative” comments on a certain real estate project they general thinking negatively about life is absurd. We're talking real estate. Its not life or death, and it is a trivial subject with respect to really important ones like family, health, fulfillment in career, etc. etc.

    …Now in terms of real estate in urban development, I think many commenters have a positive opinion of urban development but are often critical of projects for various reasons. For instance, I think Seattle is great, downtown living is on the upswing, and urban living is important to sustainability. On the other hand, I think Escala, for example, is overpriced, has a tacky Las Vegas design and a nauseating marketing campaign.

  • Sam Cunningham

    To be clear, I am NOT GoHuskies, although it would appear someone is using my initials and first name. As I work in the downtown condo market I wanted to ensure that there is absolutely no confusion on this subject, whether this is purely coincidental or intentional by whomever GoHuskies happens to be. Any posts I make will always be identified as my posts. I believe in owning one’s personal opinion and if you choose to share it, you should choose to own it. Thank you.

    Sam Cunningham

  • The MD

    Gee, golly, oh my, yeah, what a coincidence! NOT! LOL This is rich. So busted and so many smoke screens yet so transparent! Does it ever stop? Ridiculous.