The Saint Paul Condo Blog

It seems that just as soon as I post about something, it changes. 

First, a turn for the worse.  The light rail that was raised from the dead is now in jeopardy again.  This time from the University of Minnesota!  The U wants a route that is more costly and will likely get less ridership.  If this gets the nod, we will likely fail the smell test from the federal government when it comes time to collect the federal money.  Disappointing to say the least!

Next, a turn for the better??  I received an email from the developer of the Farmers Market Flats that said all hope might not be lost.  He is working with the City to still offer the building as a "For Sale" product.  It might include a lease to own option.  They are still returning earnest money from the original buyers because there is still too much up in the air.  As soon as news breaks, I'll post it!

I really should start adding cliffhangers to my posts, make it a little more like a soap opera...

Will the Rossmor get a new coffee shop?  Will River Park sell out this summer? Will the Penfield start construction this year?  Who is Dean Johnson?

Find out on the next episode of "As The World Turns: St Paul Edition"

Yesterday the family and I walked down to the Vive Minnesota event at Harriet Island.  While the festival was VERY small, we had a great time!  Bud and I were more “Vive” when we ordered some spicy pork tacos (mmmm!), and our 3 year old was more “Minnesota” with her corndog.  The music was great, the weather was perfect, it was a very enjoyable day.  We were reminded about the River Boat Grill – a restaurant that I have yet to go to (I never think of it when we’re deciding where to go for dinner).  It is now “next on our list” for when we get a free night to go out to dinner.

After spending a few hours on Harriet Island, we started walking home, only to come across an old car “show” on Kellogg Blvd.  We knew of this car show that was started up by police Chief Finney (Ret.), but we didn’t know that the tradition continued after his retirement.  It was great fun!  Remember when University Avenue used to attract all the old cars on Saturday nights?  The old cars would “cruise” the strip, stop at Porkys, and provide cheap entertainment for people of all ages…  Well, some years ago the oldies stopped going down there only to be replaced with newer model cars appealing mainly to a young crowd.  If you want to see some of the old cars again, stop by Kellogg Blvd on a Saturday night.  You can’t miss it, they close the street for it.


Click here for more photos of The Downtown Beat Classics

Have a safe and fun Memorial Day!!

www.SaintPaulHomeRealty.com

If you’re like me and staying in the city this weekend, be sure to stop by Harriet Island for Vive Minnesota!  It’s a Latin festival featuring 2 stages with music starting at 11 AM and performing throughout the day until 9ish.  It sounds like there will be some great food and music!  The weather’s supposed to be good for most of the weekend, so get out and enjoy!

It's with a heavy heart that I have to tell you that the Farmers Market Flats is no longer for sale.  The development has a storied history in the city, and the recent go at selling them as condos has come to an end.  With the current delay and the lawsuits, the developer started the process of returning everyone's earnest money.

The good news is the project is not completely dead, just dead as "for sale" condos.  The project will now go forward as market rate rentals.  Why do I call this good news?  The indoor farmers market will still be part of the project, and there is always the chance when the market rebounds, that it could be converted to condos.

The big questions mark remaining is how the lawsuits will play out.  The old builder sued the city for breach of contract and for bad mouthing them, the city has countersued for fraud.  It's gonna get ugly before it gets better!

This one's for you Dan!

Last night, under the cloak of darkness and the State's 150th birthday, the Minnesota Legislature and the Governor put the State's budget together and provided the $70 million of seed money the St Paul light rail badly needed.

Originally, I heard a date of 2014 before it's operational in Downtown and it can't come soon enough!  I'll keep track of any progress or pitfalls along the way.

Again, thanks Dan for reminding me!

Original Post

The Commerce Building (on the failed project list) and Mears Park Center (never even made it to the proposed) are full steam ahead as apartments.  The Commerce building, located across the street from City Hall is so close to being ready, they are moving renters into their new apartments in June!


The Commerce building is being managed by CommonBond Communities, the largest nonprofit developer/manager in Minnesota.  The building is finished with a fusion of loft styling, I'd go so far to call it a "Soft Loft".  The building took advantage of tax-credits, so the building will have income limits.  All that means is it will be more affordable than if they did not receive the credits.

I know one of the main problems of this as a condo building was the parking situation.  Well with apartments it really doesn't matter if you "own" your parking stall, so problem solved!

Now for Mears Park Centre...  The building is being renamed "Lowertown Lofts", which is interesting since there is already a building down here called that!  The original Lowertown Lofts is a beautiful artist co-op, so I bet there will be a showdown over the proposed name of the new building.


Well, whatever the new name is, it's going to be a very nice building!  This one would have been a very nice condo!  With lots of amenities and a very loft feel the rents get up there.  The range is from $835 to $2495.

I'll keep you posted to any new developments in the name game.

So who was looking for the Restaurant Rumor Report?  Was it You?

The last report was filed was back in November, for those of you keeping track.  I made a prediction back then and "time did tell"... I was right!

Well it looks like the little restaurant on the corner of Wacouta and 6th, just couldn’t make it.  “A Night’s Tale” was hoping to open soon, but the signs for the place were taken out of the windows about a week ago.  After further investigation, it sounds like the owners of the start up restaurant ran into some bad luck and had to bow out.  It’s really too bad, I had high hopes for that one.  But hope isn’t completely lost, there’s nearly $350k in build-out in the space!  After some more chit-chatting, I heard that the landlord has proposals out to a few establishments.  OK, I’ll name names.  D’Amico & Sons, Pop, Fern’s Gordy’s Steak House, and Rudy’s to name a few.

See any interesting names above?

Pop, once a suitor for the space at Jackson and 9th, has left the negotiating table with the landlord there.  It sounded like the build-out was getting too expensive given the current market conditions.

See any possibilities above???

Speaking of Jackson and 9th, they have been active in the last few weeks, making improvements on the building.  The wall between the two main buildings came down to make room for an outdoor seating area.  The owners of the building still have some possible tenants, but no serious takers yet.

Sawatdee’s – I covered this in the last blog post, but I did talk with them about their expansion.  It looks like they will have it ready within a few weeks!  Hooray!  A restaurant victory to report.

fhima’s – OK, I thought for sure this space would be snatched up by now.  I mean the RNC convention is less than 4 months away!  It’s a completely operational space, all it needs is someone to run it.  Whoever is in charge of the space IS NOT doing their job!

MarketHouse – The Old Supatra – It’s going to be a long time before we see another restaurant in this space!  It was a tough location to begin with (being in the center of a building, with no exterior glass).  We likely won’t see another restaurant here for many years.

That's it for this report, hopefully it won't take me 6 moths to do the next one! 

I had intended on this just being a restaurant update, but there's enough stuff moving and shaking at the Rossmor, that I thought I'd just do on big update, hence the little slide show above.

First off, Sawatdee's is expanding!  The Thai restaurant hasn't even been open a year yet, and they are blowing out the wall (When Margaux was in this space, she had planned to do the same).  Once it's all completed, I will take some better photos of the interior.

Rumor has is the Equipt Fitness is also expanding and taking the suite next to them.  It's great to see the retail at the Rossmor doing so well.  I know the developer has a little bit of an interesting relationship with the residents above, but he sure knows how to lease his space!

Which leads me to Scott Miller Studio.  A new hair salon that opened on the northeast corner of the building.  Mr. Miller was one of the top stylists at the now defunct Mink Salon in downtown.  His new studio will open to the public by the end of the month.  I'm sure if you really wanted your hair cut there, he's get you in though ;)

Now, there's only one last space to fill at the Rossmor, the Northwest corner.  C'mon coffee shop!

It's time to "stimulate the economy"

Until the end of June, if you use your stimulus check towards your closing costs when you purchase a new home using us as your realtor, we will match it!*

So let your check go farther, and find a GREAT deal here in downtown!

*We will match a total of $1200 to be used towards your closing costs.  The Kleppe Group must represent you in the purchase of your condo or loft.  The property must close by June 30th, 2008.

Thursday's bond market has opened in positive territory despite the release of stronger than expected economic data. The stock markets are reacting positively with the Dow up 50 points and the Nasdaq up 40 points. The bond market is currently up 8/32, which with yesterday's late gains should improve mortgage rates by approximately .375 - .500 of a discount point over yesterday's morning rates.

There were two pieces of monthly data posted this morning. The first was March's Personal Income & Outlays report that showed personal income fell short of forecasts with a 0.3% rise but that spending rose 0.4% when it was expected to rise only 0.2%. That means that consumers spent more than expected and that is considered bad news for bonds.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released their manufacturing index for April late this morning. It showed a reading of 48.6, meaning that manufacturer sentiment remained unchanged from March to April. Anal ysts were expecting to see a small decline, so this report could also be taken as a negative towards bonds. However, the market seems to not be too concerned with it. Trader are probably waiting for tomorrow's data before making any moves.

The almighty Employment report will be released early tomorrow morning, giving us April's employment statistics. This is where we may see a huge rally or major sell-off in the bond market and large changes in mortgage rates. The ideal situation for the bond and mortgage markets would be an increase in the unemployment rate and fewer than expected new payrolls. Just how much of an improvement or worsening depends on how much variance there is between forecasts and actual readings. This could turn out to be a wonderful day in the mortgage market, but it also carries risks of seeing mortgage rates move higher if the Labor Department posts stronger than expected readings. Current forecasts are calling for a 5.2% unemployment rate and approximately 75,000 jobs lost during the month.

Tomorrow's second report and the last of the week is March's Factory Orders data at 10:00AM. This is a fairly important release because it measures manufacturing sector strength. It is similar to last week's Durable Goods Orders, except this report includes non-durable goods such as food and clothing. Generally, the market is more concerned with the durable goods orders like refrigerators and electronics than items such as cigarettes and toothpaste. This is why the Durable Goods report usually has more of an impact on the financial markets than the Factory Orders report does. Still, a smaller increase than the 0.2% that is expected could push mortgage rates slightly lower, while a larger increase will likely lead to higher rates. But, the employment numbers are of much more importance to the markets than this data is.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Float if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.