Sacramento Proposal/Approval/Construction Thread - III

[snfenoc]

This article is kind of a downer :

http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2007/09/10/focus1.html?b=1189396800^1516707

Towering disappointments
Try as it might, Sacramento can't seem to find success in building a high-rise condo building. Considering other cities' vacancy rates, that might be a good thing.
Sacramento Business Journal - September 7, 2007
by Robert Celaschi -- Correspondent

On the list of big-city status symbols that Sacramento can't quite seem to land, add the condominium tower. The most ambitious project to date, John Saca's 53-story twin Towers on Capitol Mall, died in June when the California Public Employees' Retirement System bought out Saca's interests.

Saca hopes to get back in the game with a 39-story condo tower at 10th and J streets called The Metropolitan, but it's very early in its conception.

BCN Development's 38-story Aura project at 6th Street and Capitol Mall is technically still alive, but stalled.

Sacramento isn't the only place where new high-rise condos can't get traction -- Kansas City, Mo., has seen the same pattern of unfulfilled dreams in the past few years -- but most major cities have been building them in significant numbers.

San Jose's first three condo towers are under construction right now, with 20 more in the planning stages. Miami has several dozen under way. Phoenix, Denver, Dallas and Las Vegas have been sprouting them, too.

Why can't Sacramento follow suit?

Blame commutes that are still comparatively short, detached housing that's in the same price range, and a downtown that hasn't quite achieved a critical mass of entertainment and social venues.

Don't feel too bad, though. In cities where condo towers have been a hot trend, the condo markets are becoming glutted thanks to overbuilding.

Sacramento may have dodged a bullet.

EASY ACCESS
"I spent some time watching the Sacramento developments from afar and questioning at the time whether they could get done. I thought they had a chance, but I didn't think at the time Sacramento would be able to support two large developments," said Charles Young, senior development director for Mesa Development LLC. That company is building Three Sixty Residences, a 23-story tower containing 213 condos in downtown San Jose.

As with any product, it comes down to whether the market will support a price high enough to cover the costs of construction, plus a satisfactory profit. The costs aren't that different in San Jose than Sacramento, said Young, but the cheapest unit at Three Sixty is fetching $600,000. Units in Saca's Towers project started at $368,000. When the Towers' original $500 million construction costs rose by $70 million or more, the building site went dormant and liens and lawsuits from contractors began to pile up.

Even at comparatively low prices, the Towers' entry-level price didn't stack up that well against Sacramento's median housing price of $365,500 for the four-county area. In San Jose, the median is $865,000.

You can't drive 20 minutes from downtown San Jose and buy a house for less than the cost of a high-rise condo unit, but in Sacramento you still can, Young said.

And the Bay Area has the high median incomes to match the high median housing prices, he added.

With a falling median price for single-family homes, that's going to make it even harder for a tower with hundreds of condos for sale. Buyers need to sell their current homes in order to buy into a tower.

"If you can't sell it, you can't trade up," Young said. "A high-rise is not a shelter house. It's not just a place you go to sleep. It's a lifestyle choice, and you pay for that choice."

The building itself can't be the only draw. A condo tower also isn't a product that most people gravitate toward naturally or easily, said Lewis Goodkin of Goodkin Consulting in Miami. Buyers must feel tempted by what they see beyond the building.

"The cities that do the best are the ones that have truly exciting downtowns, with a lot of opportunities for retail, entertainment, social activities," Goodkin said, and relatively few cities can deliver that.

In New York, Chicago and a few other places, condo towers have been part of the landscape for decades, but for most of the country, condo towers have become popular only in the past five years, he said.

Then, too, there's the makeup of the buyer market. Goodkin's own city of Miami has downtown jobs to support condo buyers, but it also draws on the tourist and retirement markets.

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING
Miami is also a prime example of a city that has overdosed on condo towers. The city has about 25,000 units slated to close later this year, overwhelmingly owned by speculators, Goodkin said.

"Overwhelmingly" can mean 50 percent to 70 percent, depending on the source. In any case, they are people who intended to flip the units at a profit without ever moving in, sources said.

Expect to see similar problems in other cities where condo towers are hot.

"Vegas is a disaster. There is so much hotel condominium and regular condominium, it's really going to be a major, major headache within the next year," Goodkin said.

In some markets now, condominium developers are offering tens of thousands of dollars of incentives to move units, and even that's sometimes not enough, said Jack McCabe of McCabe Research & Consulting in Deerfield Beach, Fla. He's already seeing bulk sales of units to investment banks and hedge funds, he added.

"Previous boom-bust cycles really started in California, but this one seems to have started in Florida," he said. In Miami alone there were 52 projects that were previously announced for high-rise condos, and the land is now listed for sale, he said, and 37 high-rise towers are still under construction.

If Sacramento missed the condo-tower bandwagon, it might have been a blessing.

"Now, lenders are pulling in the reins on condo loans because of the risks involved," McCabe said. That includes requiring a higher percentage of presale contracts before they will release construction funds.

WHAT IT TAKES
In a perfect world, developers design condo towers in a down market and start selling as the market resumes its rise. But it's hard to hit that cycle.

"It's very important, no matter when you design the building, to have the mindset that it's going to be a tough market with lots of competition," said Krysen Heathwood, chief operating officer of The Mark Co., which is marketing the Three Sixty project in San Jose for Mesa Development.

"They came in when the market was already softening, but because we had the mentality as a partnership that we were going to design the building for a tough market with lots of competition, the building is doing very well," she said.

That means not cutting corners on anything the prospective buyer will associate with a top-quality product.

"It's the finishes and the amenities that the buyer is seeing. They aren't seeing how the elevator is built," she said.

And the advertising has to start early.

"High-rise living or high-density living is a new product type for many areas. You have to educate the people on the lifestyle that's built around that," Heathwood said. For a company like hers, that means getting in at the design phase to find out what the target buyers are willing to pay for. Then comes a PR campaign showing how the idea has worked in other cities.

"That whole urban lifestyle is beautiful, and I think it will eventually happen in Sacramento," said Young of Mesa Development. But as long as detached houses offer a reasonable alternative, it's going to be tough for a tower to lure hundreds of buyers in a short time.

The article makes some very good points. However, I'm not sure I completely agree with it. Though it is not clearly stated, I think the author implies Sacramento is not ready to have high rise condos in its down town. (I may be reading this wrong, but that's the impression I get). I don't think so.

True, the housing market's current state makes it difficult for people to sell their homes and purchase expensive condo units. It also offers a less expensive, bigger alternative to pricey, small high rise condos for those looking to buy. Also, I agree with the overall notion that Sacramento probably cannot support today's exorbitant high rise condo costs. Yes, there is a cutoff (which is different for different cities) where prices are just too high. However, I think Sacramento's ceiling is high enough to support high rise condos in reasonable market conditions (housing and construction costs). In other words: Yes, Sacramento has a lot less wiggle room when compared to New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and San Jose (I guess). However, it's price cutoff is still high enough to allow construction of at least a couple towers when construction and materials costs are reasonable and the housing market is not in the toilet. In fact, Aura may have worked (even in today's market) if Nassi had not designed such a poor pricing structure (according to a source). I've spoken to a few people who have some expertise (I've also read a number of articles); they all say Sacramento has pent up demand for high rise condo towers and can support their prices (when times are better).

The willingness to buy expensive condos is affected by a number of things according to the article. These include commute times, tourism, the amount of hip urban lifestyle (I guess), and the price of detached homes within a certain radius of down town. While all of these items (plus many more, I'll bet) can increase the demand for a lot of high rise condo towers, I am not sure the lack of huge numbers in each of those areas hurts the demand to build a few high rise condo towers.

Will we have to wait until our commute times are worse (you mean, they can get worse? ), down town is hopping and full of tourists (like San Jose's down town) and the median price of detached housing within 20 miles increases massively for a high rise condo or two or three to be built? I don't think so. (Well, I hope not )

[wburg]

It seems like we're in a situation of moderate demand. There are people who want that kind of housing, and we do have some places well-suited for the housing type, but the prices people are willing to pay aren't quite high enough to meet the construction costs. Meanwhile, there are plenty of places very close to downtown (within easy walking distance, bike or light rail) that are under construction and well-suited for someone who wants to live comfortably in the central city. It isn't because Sacramento is a cow town, over-regulation, or rampant N-wordism, it's the market.

But...the market will come. Part of what will make that nice bouncy downtown are the folks currently moving into the close-set infill projects and mid-rise buildings. Their dollars will support more businesses to serve their tastes, and eventually the critical mass will arrive. Obviously the groundwork should be started when the market is still down: that whole "buy low, sell high" concept. Current market conditions make the "buy low" part a challenge. But Sacramento is definitely on the map, and we're only going up from here--including construction in that direction.

[ltsmotorsport]

The author of the article still thinks every housing product is exactly the same, and geared towards the same kind of people. Condo builders aren't competing with SFHs the same way 500 CM isn't competing with commercial warehouse space in township 9 area. There almost two different markets. We all know there was plenty of demand for these towers with the strong pre-sales, the lenders were just wary of an unproven product in Sacramento along with the overall slowing in the housing market that made lenders tighten up on any loans being awarded.

[innov8]

Bob Shallit: Developer raises its bet on downtown revival
By Bob Shallit of The Sacramento Bee

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

The company developing a boutique hotel at 10th and J streets is placing another bet on Sacramento's downtown core.

Rubicon Partners is acquiring an interest in the former J.C. Penney building at 630 K St. -- across from the Hard Rock Cafe at Downtown Plaza's eastern entrance. Rubicon is planning to rehab the now vacant, five-story building into office and retail space.

Most of the upper floors will be leased to environmental consulting firm Jones & Stokes, which will move its corporate headquarters from midtown next year.

The ground floor will become retail space, says Peter Thompson, a principal with Sacramento-based Rubicon, which is developing the Citizens Hotel at 10th and J and also owns the historic Forum Building at Ninth and K streets.

Thompson says the arrival of Jones & Stokes is some good news for a part of downtown that's struggled but is gradually showing signs of a revival. He cites Downtown Plaza's plans for a redesign and the recent opening of the Three Monkeys restaurant at 723 K St.

"We're long-term bettors and we feel this area is going to continue to improve," he says.

Rubicon, a partnership of Thompson and Kipp Blewett, is expected to complete the K Street building deal this week. Current owner Buzz Oates will continue to have an interest in the property and Rubicon will manage it, Thompson says.

The building, constructed in the 1950s, originally was a J.C. Penney store. It was converted to office use in 1978 and most recently served as state offices.

Jones & Stokes has been considering the site for about six months, says Ron Thomas, member of a Colliers International team of office brokers that represented the consulting firm.

He says Jones & Stokes ran out of room at its current site, 2600 V St., and liked the "urban" feel of the downtown location.

"It's perfect for them," Thomas says. "They're right on the doorstep of the mall and there's a light-rail stop in front of the building."

He said the 180-person J&S office is slated to move into its new headquarters during the second quarter of next year.

* * *

[TowerDistrict]

^^^ yeah, that's really going to be interesting to see what happens to the Newton Booth School building when Jones & Stokes moves. i can't imagine there are a lot of companies lined up to move into that building. It's a unique spot to say the least.

[innov8]

Gateway West Office Tower
West of I-5
184 ft tall - 12 Story
327,316 sf
1170 parking spots

This project is envisioned to create a mirrored building of the 12 story office
building known as "Natomas East" that will be located on the East side of
interstate 5 with the exception of slightly smaller floor plates. Natomas East
is suppose to start construction this fall. If both towers get built, between
the two of them will be nearly 700,000 sf of new office space.

Entitlements needed for this project are: Amendment for increased height
and special permit for the office building.

The building would be done in white precast concrete, blue tinted glass.

[Majin]

Does the parking lot really need to be that big?

[Majin]

And I thought we agreed on no more surface parking anywhere in the city.

[JeffZurn]

^ Does Natomas area count as the city? Regardless that is big parking lot.

[Majin]

Originally Posted by JeffZurn

^ Does Natomas area count as the city? Regardless that is big parking lot.

No but I'm trying to change that.

Big parking lots aren't going to help the matter.

[COASTIE]

Tower Bridge to close for work
By Tony Bizjak - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, September 14, 2007
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A16

Print | E-Mail | Comments (3)| Digg it | del.icio.us


Christopher Baccus of West Sacramento rides on the Tower Bridge where the sidewalk has been widened. The line on which he is riding marks the edge of the old sidewalk. Baccus, who has been riding his bike over the bridge for 23 years, says the old sidewalk was "like an obstacle course."
Sacramento Bee/Autumn Cruz


Sacramento's landmark Tower Bridge has long been a stalwart span, except for one little thing:

Like a bodybuilder plagued with skinny calves, the bridge suffers a bad case of narrow sidewalks.

"Those little scrawny things where you have to dodge bicycles and people, and there isn't room!" lamented frequent crosser Marcia Johnston.

Johnston, who works in West Sacramento, is among a growing pedestrian contingent that shoulder-scrunches daily and nightly over the historic span, built in 1935, to offices, River Cat baseball games, restaurants and condos on both sides of the river.

They're about to get $12 million worth of elbow room.

The ends of the bridge have already been widened.

To finish the job, however, officials must close the bridge to traffic of all sorts -- cars, pedestrians and bikes -- for the next two months.

Barricades go up Monday at 5 a.m. The bridge is expected to remain closed until Nov. 20, while crews widen its sidewalks from 3 feet to 10 feet.

A second closure tentatively is scheduled for next year, between January and April. But Sacramento city project manager Nader Kamal said contractors are hoping to get enough done during this closure to avoid shutting the bridge a second time.

"We have a plan, but we don't know how it will work until we get out in the field," Kamal said.

Monday's closure of the historic portal to Sacramento's Capitol Mall is not precedent-setting.

The span was closed for three months in 2002 for a gold paint job. Back then most of the complaints seemed to come not from commuters but from residents who thought the bridge looked pumpkin-colored, not gold.

Officials said commute traffic on the bridge and surrounding roads has increased since then, and that could lead to some jams during the closure, especially on the nearby but undersized I Street Bridge.

Although state highway data indicate only 16,000 to 18,000 cars cross the Tower Bridge on an average day -- a tiny slice of the overall cross-river commute -- Kamal and traffic officials say the closure of a centrally located connector definitely will be noticed.

"It sounds like it is not a big number, but whenever we close it for even 10 minutes, especially in the morning, cars really line up," he said.

Officials advise motorists to use the Capital City Freeway over the Pioneer Bridge to the south. Pedestrians and bicyclists should use the I Street Bridge.

Kamal said, however, he fears many local drivers will try crossing the narrow I Street Bridge and will run into traffic jams in the first few days.

"They are going to be unhappy, but things will get easier," Kamal said.

Yolo and Sacramento transit agencies will divert buses to the Pioneer Bridge, officials said.

"If that backs up due to heavy traffic or an accident, we have very few alternatives," said Terry Bassett, head of the Yolo County Transportation District.

City officials on both sides of the river say an improved bridge is worth the bother.

Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo described the bridge as the "belt buckle" between the growing waterfronts of two cities.

"With all the development on the riverfront, it is important people in an urban setting can walk, ride bikes, take strollers, and use wheelchairs to get back and forth," Fargo said.

Sacramento is adding housing downtown and wants to develop its downtown railyard. West Sacramento officials plan more than a million square feet of offices and 1,000 residences -- including high-rise condos overlooking the river -- near the Tower Bridge over the next 10 years.

And Raley Field officials announced plans last week to build an entertainment amphitheater yards from the bridge's western anchorage.

Now, however, "you can't walk two people abreast on the bridge," said Steve Patek, West Sacramento's director of community development. "If we are trying to build a civic center with the river as a focal point, people need to be able to walk back and forth."

Workers say they are forced to close the bridge because of mechanics and maritime law.

The work will be done on the bridge's center span, which moves up and down for boat passage by use of motors and precisely calibrated counter-weights.

The bridgework, adding concrete to the sidewalks, will temporarily throw the bridge out of balance, officials said. To compensate, workers must lock the bridge, but must do so in the up -- or open -- position, because maritime rules require the bridge to open for passing boats.

Sacramento city spokeswoman Linda Tucker said the closure periods were chosen to avoid problems for Sacramento River Cats crowds and Christmas holiday travelers.


For Detour map and pictures click
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/378692.html

[wburg]

I think when majin said "we" agreed on no parking, he was using the royal "we."

[sugit]

Yeah, this makes it sound like it won't happen too soon...but at least they are getting all their ducks in a row so they can jump the moment the next opportunity comes.

We may have missed the boat this time for high rise housing, but it does at least seem like things are lined up for the next cycle.
________________________________________________________________

Downtown high-rise project seeks funds quietly, won't offer pre-sales
Sacramento Business Journal - September 14, 2007
by Michael Shaw Staff writer

Sacramento's next condo tower has been quietly approved by the city, but the owners of the project don't mind a lack of fanfare, considering how other prominent condominium projects struggled during the past year.

There's no sales office yet, no billboards and no promotion of Cathedral Square -- a 25-story, 233-unit tower planned for the southwest corner of 11th and J streets.

The canceled Towers on Capitol Mall project and the seemingly lifeless Aura condo project grabbed the limelight in part because ambitious developers were selling units while at the same time trying to finance and build them. But Cathedral Square's developers, St. Anton Partners and the Cordano family, have been more comfortable under the radar, hoping to begin selling when the market favors them.

That means not anytime soon.

Financing the estimated $120 million tower will be a challenge, said Steve Eggert, one of the St. Anton Partners along with Peter Geremia. Eggert said they'll face the same hurdles as the earlier projects, including the housing slump and rising construction costs. And there's an additional issue of a credit crunch, which has led to less capital available for construction lending.

But they have avoided some of the pitfalls.

"We're not under the time pressure of an expiring land option," Eggert said.

Developer Craig Nassi of Denver had proposed Aura on Capitol Mall on land owned by another developer. Nassi has an option for the property. The Towers at Capitol Mall collapsed under rising construction costs but also due to a progressively turbulent relationship between developer John Saca and his equity partner, the California Public Employees' Retirement System. The partnership dissolved when a new deal couldn't be struck.

Eggert said he and his partners own the Cathedral Square property, now home to vacant buildings and a few small retail shops, and don't face internal pressure to deliver the project on a timeline.

He's looking to the sale of about 600 condos in those earlier projects as a sign that there's significant demand for luxury condos downtown.

The biggest challenge is funding.

"Up until the end of last year, there was abundant capital," Eggert said. "That has tightened up significantly."

The slowdown in capital markets is somewhat tied to the subprime meltdown because higher defaults have meant less money to distribute to other investments such as high-rises.

David Taber, president and chief executive officer of American River Bankshares, noted that assets tied to the subprime mortgage fallout are also being scrutinized more thoroughly by lenders. American River doesn't do high-rise construction lending, but he said the effect of tightening credit has been minimal on commercial projects.

"From my office in Rancho Cordova, I look out and see construction all around," he said. "Walls are being tilted up. ... The commercial real estate market is very good."

The Federal Reserve said last week that commercial real estate markets had experienced somewhat tighter credit conditions, but a number of banks noted that "credit availability and credit quality remained good for most consumer and business borrowers."

The Cathedral Square's developers will need to find a construction lender to provide about 75 percent of the cost and a mezzanine lender for any remaining portion that isn't covered by equity, which is about 20 percent, Eggert said.

Unlike previous projects in Sacramento, the developers won't be pre-selling units. Eggert and his partners would get little reassurance by locking in prices at the bottom of the market under contracts that could be easily canceled by buyers, he said.

Sacramento city officials are prepared to wait until the developers are ready.

"They told us basically they need time to prepare a plan for building permits," said David Kwong, Sacramento's planning manager. "They're waiting for a better market."

Brimming with confidence
The project has sailed through the city's planning process. Developers had originally planned to put a spire atop the building, mirroring Sacramento's Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament nearby. But they canceled the spire after concerns expressed by the city's planning and design commissions, Kwong said. Any objection period for the project has passed, and the building doesn't need City Council approval.

The building is designed by San Francisco's Kwan Henmi Architects, which also is designing developer Saca's next attempt at a high-rise, The Metropolitan. That project is going through the approval process at Sacramento's design review and planning commissions, city officials said.

If built, Cathedral Square will feature many unobstructed views of the Capitol in 600- to 3,000-square-foot units, with penthouses, oversize windows, 9- or 10-foot tall ceilings and parking in a secured garage. The building will have a swimming pool, a fitness center and a clubhouse for residents. It has 12,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor for a restaurant or shops.

While the developers are taking a different approach than their predecessors, there is the same confidence about delivering the project.

"I believe it will get built," Eggert said. "The condos will be delivered just as the next cycle is heating up."

[sugit]

From the CADA Website...seems like these 2 and the 15 story one on N Street are moving along pretty quickly.
_________________________________________________________________

Progress on East End Gateway Sites 2 and 3

Ravel Rasmussen Properties is proposing to develop two sites with mixed use projects. On East End Gateway Site 2 (EEG 2), at the northwest corner of 16th and O Streets, the proposal is to construct 24 apartments above 5,816 square feet of ground floor retail. There will be a total of 36 surface parking spaces on the site which are proposed to be accessible from O Street and the alley on the north side of the site. The proposed project will be a total of four stories in height. The site is the former location for an auto repair facility and surface parking lot.

On East End Gateway Site 3 (EEG 3), at the southwest corner of 16th and O Streets, the proposal is to construct 60 apartments above 8,087 square feet of ground floor retail space. There will be a total of 57 parking spaces on the site which are proposed to be accessible from O Street, and the alley on the south side of the site. The proposed project will be a total of five stories in height. The site is the former location for a retail space and surface parking lot.

Between these two project, there will be a total of 84 apartments that include sixty 1 bedroom/1 bath units ranging from 702 to 780 square feet and twenty-four 2 bedroom/2 bath units ranging from 972 to 1,080 square feet and 13,903 square feet of ground floor retail space.

These mixed use projects are inspired by Andalusian architecture of southern Spain and the elegant interpretation of Spanish Architecture foudn in Monterey, California. They will provide multi-family housing on the upper floors of the buildings and retail/restaurants at the street level.

The materials being used for the projects are commonly found within the Sacramento region. The classic Spanish cement plaster look will be accented with brick and Spanish tile. Prominent features include two corner towers; one will be capped with a blue/green mosaic tile dome and the other with Spanish detailing that steps in as it ascends.

At the street level, the arched openings along the base of the buildings will provide an inviting feel, which will open the interior of the building to the public. The sidewalks will blend into these openings and will be used for outdoor seating for restaurant uses.

CADA will host a public workshop to discuss these projects on Thursday, September 20 from 6-7:30pm at the CADA administrative office, 1522 14th Street.

Projected Construction Period: Mid 2008 - Mid 2009

[innov8]

Here's the latest rendering without the spire.

[arod74]

Looks like the people running the show at Cathedral square are going about the process wisely. Must admit that it is hard for me to get excited about the project. Though the stature of the project probably helps the likelyhood of it going up, the size and rather pedestrian design isn't making me root hard for it. Sort of similar to the new Marriot. Having people living downtown and knocking out the structures currently in the location are great, but fairly uninspiring considering past proposals...

[Majin]

How will they truely know how the market is without trying to sell them? Doesn't make any sense to me.

Sounds like a cop out, that thing should be going up ASAP.

[TowerDistrict]

Originally Posted by Majin

How will they truely know how the market is without trying to sell them? Doesn't make any sense to me.

Sounds like a cop out, that thing should be going up ASAP.

they must be referring to some sort of lending market or something. because if they had the money to build it now, there wouldn't be a better time. "they" always act like these buildings go from demo to finished construction in two weeks.... as if they can time when they want to hit their ideal market within a window of a couple days.

and i know i'm just bitter everyone is in this holding pattern. but the endless excuses don't really satisfy.

[Cynikal]

Originally Posted by Majin

And I thought we agreed on no more surface parking anywhere in the city.

I would limit that to the central city which the City defines from river to freeway, river to freeway. Currently the City is trying to crack down on surface parking lots in the Central City. Actually, this item is going to the Law & Legislation committee ( a sub-committee of council) on Tuesday the 18.

But I digress, Outside of the central city the only vialble parking is surface parking. There is no demand to build structures generally and a structure costs between $20,000 and $40,000 per space.

[wburg]

While wandering around Saturday afternoon I went by Tapestri Square at 21st and T; two of the three models are open for tours. I went inside both, first the "Lil Brownstone" one along the back of the project, then the big "Madison" one.

The smaller ones were laid out a lot like the "skinny houses" in Portland (a friend of mine up there owns one) if you're familiar with those. The ground floor has enough room for two cars parked in tandem (well, maybe not if you own two Navigators, but two midsize cars would fit with room to spare) and have a couple of storage areas off to the side so you can still stick your kayak or whatever in the garage and fit both cars. The level above the garage is the main living area, with kitchen, dining room, full bathroom (it has a shower) and a small patio. The top level has two bedrooms: the master bedroom has its own master bath, the other bedroom does not. The building is comfortably appointed, if not outright luxurious, and the finish level is easy on the eyes. I think they are about 1400 square feet.

The Madison is the big unit of the three available models in the project--I think it is close to 3000 square feet. The bottom story also includes a two-car tandem garage, plus there is also living space on the ground floor: the model was also the tour office so I'm not sure if it was set up like the other ones will be, but I think the idea is to have two bedrooms downstairs with stair access to the upper level and also a separate entrance. The main floor is downright swanky: big windows in front of a large, airy living room, a plushly appointed kitchen/dining room in the back, and both a master staircase and secondary stairs in the middle. The top level is this huge master suite with a gargantuan bathroom and a separate den area.

The exterior is as nice as the interior. When I first saw the plans for these, I liked the way they looked but was worried that they might not look as good once completed as they did on paper, but actually I think they look better in person than they did on the plans. Needless to say I'm pretty darn happy about this project being in my neighborhood.

Price points vary from $430K to $850K. I did notice that the smaller models are actually a lot bigger than the units in the Whiskey Hill project (which I also like, btw) and are priced lower.

And despite the latest fad where providing parking is apparently Public Enemy #1, I think it's pretty cool that they provide sufficient parking. It means that you have the option to drive if you want, but if you don't want to you have a secure place to store your car. The location is close enough to light rail (four blocks) and bus lines (buses run on both 21st and T) to make public transit downright handy.