http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/ind...dest=STY-83325
26-story condo in works for Tempe Town Lake
By Misty Williams, Tribune
February 1, 2007
A Scottsdale developer announced Wednesday it hopes to begin construction of a 26-story condominium tower on the north shore of Tempe Town Lake early this year with sales opening in March. Developed by WestStone Communities, Onyx Tower would include 196 condos, ranging in price from the $300,000s to more than $1 million. The high rise — with its solid black glass walls — would sit near Rural Road and Loop 202.
Units will run in size from 1,653 square feet to 2,368 square feet, and the top five floors will be penthouses, said Marilyn Pfaff, WestStone’s sales manager and marketing director.
Tempe is a hot area for growth right now with new shopping centers, offices and hotels planned, she said.
“Now you need the condos to support all the other growth, so it’s very hot,” she said.
WestStone’s tower is one of a number of planned projects that could bring more than 2,000 condos to the area surrounding the lake, said John Fioramonti with real estate research firm Hanley Wood.
The million-dollar question is which of these projects will be successful or even get built because of the slowing real estate market, he said.
Fioramonti said he’s seen a frenzied rush to build condos during at least three housing market cycles in the 30 years he’s lived in the Valley.
“The bug starts, and everybody starts building condos,” he said. “And then they have way too many condos, and they can’t give them away.”
This time around, though, the argument for more condos may be stronger because it’s the only way to live closer to city cores, he said.
Still, some condo projects will likely be put on the back burner and others will be transformed into office projects, he said.
WestStone’s project will be built but probably won’t find the same kind of success as its Northshore condo development in the same area, he said.
Still in building stages, the 134-unit Northshore project is nearly sold out.
Pfaff said WestStone isn’t concerned about growing competition from other planned condo projects or the housing slowdown.
The developer is working to make the Onyx Tower units more affordable than other luxury products offered, and the lake is a desirable place to live, she said.
It’s close to freeways, the airport and Arizona State University, Pfaff said. West-Stone also is one of the initial groups building in the area.
Five years from now, “that lake is going to be a place you wish you would have bought in,” she said.
The tower will include a rooftop lap pool, bar area for private parties, 10-seat movie theater and conference room.
Construction could start early this year and finish in summer 2009, Pfaff said.
WestStone has submitted initial plans for the project to the city, and the proposal could be considered by the Development Review Commission some time in March, Tempe Planning director Lisa Collins said.
If approved, the project would be considered by the City Council in April, she said. Building height and other issues still need to discussed, but the project generally fits in with the lake area’s master plan, Collins said.
“It’s sort of the vision of the city and the area,” she said. “It’s coming to fruition, so that’s a good thing.”
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And the long awaited rendering!!!
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