Posted Jun 15, 2012, 1:49 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: North Mesa
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Luxury penthouses coming to 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix
Quote:
Later this summer, tenants will begin schlepping their belongings up almost three dozen floors to nestle into their newly finished penthouse suites on the top levels of Arizona’s tallest residential complex.
Each of the eight penthouses at the luxurious 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix occupies about one-fourth of the 33rd or 34th floor. Click the image to the right to see a slide show of photos from inside a penthouse.
Joel Bachkoff, owner of Stand Up Live and Copper Blues a few blocks away at CityScape, is one of two preleased tenants ready to move in next month.
Ranging from 2,152 to 2,846 square feet, these elite urban dwellings come equipped with travertine floors, painted accent walls and stainless steel kitchen appliances, among other custom features. But for Bachkoff — or anyone stepping through the front door, for that matter —the biggest selling point is the breathtaking Valley views as far as the eye can see, with only a few obstructions by neighboring high-rises.
“When you take in those sites, you know that whatever you’re working on and as hard as you’re working, it makes it all worth it,” said Bachkoff, 41, who also owns a home in south Florida, where he runs other comedy clubs.
However, those jaw-dropping views and interior amenities aren’t for sale — and the lease prices, $4,800 to $5,250 per month, are equally jaw-dropping.
Bachkoff, who already has been a tenant at 44 Monroe in a lower-level condo for the past year, said the price never deterred him. He said he prefers the urban atmosphere, living blocks away from his new businesses and having a setup that accommodates his mobile lifestyle.
“Even though I’m renting, it feels like a home,” he said. “With me traveling all the time … there’s not a lot I have to worry about.”
Although the penthouse lifestyle isn’t for everyone, the fact that 44 Monroe even exists today is remarkable, said property manager Kevin Bohm.
When it opened as a condo complex opened at First Avenue and Monroe Street in summer 2008, it was bad timing, to say the least.
The 196 condos initially went up for sale with a price range of $450,000 to $3.2 million. But as home values began falling in the worst housing crisis in recent memory, most of the 140 or so buyers who were in escrow at the time eventually pulled out because they were unable to sell their existing homes.
The financial woes and eventual downfall of the project developer, Grace Communities , became yet another blow for the condo project.
The former Scottsdale developer completed the downtown high-rise except for the penthouse floors, but failed to sell even a dozen units. Grace shuttered after defaulting on its $87 million loan, as did several other entities that had received loans from its now-defunct private commercial lender, Mortgages Ltd.
In late 2010, ST Residential bought the building and announced plans to slash the price tags of the downtown condos in half. But in January 2011, the company decided the market still wasn’t healthy enough to support a sales structure; so it began leasing the units instead, for monthly rents of $1,373 to $3,135.
Today, 44 Monroe is at 97 percent occupancy, Bohm said.
“It’s been well-received and certainly a unique opportunity for the rental market in Phoenix,” he said.
As for the penthouses, which initially were stalled to allow the future tenants pick the final specs, ST Residential hired Bjerk Builders Inc. to finish the build-out. They are slated for completion this summer.
ST Residential plans to sell the condos after the market stabilizes. Bachkoff said the company already has one potential buyer.
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http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n....html?page=all
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I went to ASU and there were plently of trust friend kids so I shouldnt be surpised at all.
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