Good news on some condo units downtown. I put the big stuff in bold.
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From the Mobile Register Sat. February 25, 2006:
http://www.al.com/business/mobilereg...010.xml&coll=3
Property acquired to build on river
Work on Water Street Landing project could start next month, developers say
Saturday, February 25, 2006 By KATHY JUMPER
Real Estate Editor
Developers of Water Street Landing condominiums purchased needed land Friday in downtown Mobile from CSX Railway for $1.8 million, and presales and site work should start in late March, according to Andrew Oliver, project manager for Millennium Mobile.
Millennium, a Pasadena, Calif.-based company, spent almost nine months negotiating with CSX to purchase the 1.6-acre site, at the foot of Government Street at Water Street, that will house its residential and retail project.
The developers plan to build 239 condo units and 60,000 square feet of retail space. Trains will travel through the project on the CSX track, just as trains run underneath the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center.
"We've got the land and we can actually start building everything, and we have the rights to cover those tracks," Oliver said.
This will be the first riverside residential project downtown, allowing people to live full-time within the developing waterfront area now called Michael C. Dow Mobile Landing. Bringing people back to the waterfront to live, dine and shop is key to a renaissance for downtown Mobile, some city officials have said.
White-Spunner Construction in Mobile was hired to build Water Street Landing, which should take two years to complete. A 22,000-square-foot railroad office on the land must first be demolished, after it is cleaned of asbestos, Oliver said.
White-Spunner is the contractor for the interior finishes for the Retirement Systems of Alabama's Battle House Hotel and built the $20 million Alabama Cruise Terminal at Mobile Landing.
The condo unit prices should be released in a week, according to Oliver, who said the number will hinge on the final design and construction costs. The developers have said their project could cost as much as $60 million.
Typically, construction does not start on a project until 80 percent of the units are taken as presales, but Oliver said that work can start while presales are in progress.
MDi, a media group, the marketing agency for Millennium, has a list of 450 people who have expressed interest in the units, Oliver said. Roberts Brothers and REMAX by the Bay on the Eastern Shore will market the units.
"It's amazing the number of people that are talking about the project," said Chris King of Roberts Brothers. "I have calls all the time from prospective buyers. They like the lifestyle it will create, and the location. Right now, the downtown residential market is great."
A commercial broker will be hired to find tenants for the retail portion of the development, Oliver said. Locally owned Wintzell's Oyster House has committed to opening a restaurant there, but with a Caribbean theme, he said.
"The whole back side of our commercial space will have a Caribbean theme to tie into the cruise ship terminal," he said.

450 on waiting list, Damn everytime I think of this project and how LSU got cheated on 2years ago at Auburn gets me real upset. Now we have to put up with 3.50 a gallon on gas....Help I need a drink

Whereya at CUZ!