The Saint Paul Condo Blog

One step closer!

Wow, what a year!

As promised, I told you I'd crunch the numbers and there are sure some interesting statistics.

First off, the fun nuggets...

There were no sales (as reported by NorthstarMLS, Inc.) in the following buildings:

Chicago Great Western (2006 was the last reported sale and will be for the foreseeable future)
College Hill (2006 was the last reported sale)
John Matheis House (2007 was the last reported sale)
LOT270 (this one was a bit of a shocker, but the development did sell it's last home in 2008)
Park Tower (Since 2000, there have been only 7 reported sales)

When I weed out the properties that shouldn't be listed in downtown, and narrow the list to just the condos in the directory, I come up with a downtown median price of $180,000 and a median size of 1,054sf - which gives us a median Price per Square Feet (PSF for short) of $171psf.

The median price for downtown dropped a bit, down 9.95%.  The PSF fared better, but still down 6.03% 

Top Four buildings based on Median Price increase

1. Mississippi Flats - 66% increase*
2. MarketHouse - 8% increase
3. City Walk - 4% increase
4. Pointe of St Paul - 3% increase

Top Four buildings based on Median Price decrease

1. Gallery Tower - -36% decrease
2. Rossmor - -34% decrease
3. Printers Row - -33% decrease
4. Ninth Street Lofts - -27% decrease

Top Four buildings based on Median Price per Square Foot increase

1. The Pointe - 31% increase
2. Mississippi Flats - 12% increase*
3. Rossmor - 9% increase
4. City Walk - 3% increase

Top Four buildings based on Median Price per Square Foot decrease

1. MarketHouse - -28% decrease
2. Gallery Tower - -24% decrease
3. Printers Row - -21% decrease
4. River Park Lofts - -9% decrease

From looking at the data, one can make a few assumptions.  Median price in a condo means very little on its own.  With the addition of Median size, you can calculate the price per square footage of a condo/loft and get a good snap shot of the value.

Know that smaller units will generally have a higher PSF (price per square feet) than larger units in the same building.  PSF isn't the holy grail either.  There is a lot that can alter the value of a home.  What floor is the unit on?  What view?  Upgrades? - You get the picture.

The data can give someone false impressions at times, and this is where I step in.  If you have questions about a building, it's values, etc...  I'm always willing to chat.

In the coming days, I'll update each condo page with the new 2009 data.  I'm also working on data mining past years.  I've currently got a good breakdown back to 2007, but I want to go back to 2000, kind of the start of the renaissance for Downtown.

*Mississippi Flats is a newer condo development this is finishing out the sales in the building
NOTE - I decided to exclude buildings that only had one sale during the course of the year.

I've decided to handle news and rumors coming from the Penfield project just a little bit different than most development news and reports.  Since the developers are pretty tight-lipped as of late, some of the info I am receiving is a bit "off-the-cuff"

So it seems only fitting to style it in the Restaurant Rumors Report posts.

Here’s my preamble that will accompany all future Rumor Reports posts.

Information contained in this post is gathered from multiple sources, some of whom wish to remain anonymous.  At times, I have to bridge the gap of information and make assumptions to make the post work.  I do my best to fact check, but remember I am a realtor not a reporter. 

With that, let the gossip begin.

Like I said above, with the Penfield being mum on the development, I decided to do some digging.  I found some gems in the trash of the Met Council building (kidding, kidding – meeting minutes online).  The Community Development Committee has awarded a Livable Communities Demonstration Account (LCDA) grant in the amount of $610,000.  The award will now go before the full board of Met Council for approval.  From what I understand, it’s got a good chance of getting approved this month.

On another front, after planting a bug at the Mayor’s office (you know that’s a joke too, right?), I hear the developers and the Minnesota Historic Preservation Commission are close to finishing a Mitigation Agreement (MA) over the partial removal of the old Public Safety Building.   Once the MA is finalized, it will allow the developers to submit their project to HUD for Mortgage Insurance approval.  That seems to be the golden ticket, as really what bank wants to loan millions of dollars to a real estate development right now?  This way, you-me-and every other tax payer is taking the risk on the development and not the bank issuing the loan (makes sense right?).  If everything shakes out like planned, the project should be shovel ready by Summer 2010.

And finally, it’s my understanding that the Lund’s as part of the development is still alive and well.  Again, from what I understand, the contract between Lund’s and the Developer has a end of year deadline for the Penfield to hand over the raw space to Lund’s no later than the end of the year, 2011.  Judging my the above timeline it looks tight when you consider a Summer start time, but Lund’s will be doing the build-out, and not the developers.  So maybe construction of the tower will be going on while the Lund’s gets built out.

Hopefully there will be an official statement from the Developers soon, until then I keep my 80's Spy Tech kit handy.

Rumors are surfacing again that Lenny Russo is thinking about opening a Heartland or Heartland concept in Downtown, specifically in the MarketHouse building.  I say surfacing again, because back in 2007, when the Farmers Market Flats project was in full swing, there were rumors he was looking at opening a space within the indoor market.

Well here we are, in the New Year, with a hot new rumor.  I've heard from two sources now, which is generally my tipping point for making into the Rumor Report.

What I am hearing is Heartland would take over the space in the MarketHouse building where Sawatdee/Supatra's used to be (in the atrium).  I'm still not convinced this is the best place for a restaurant space, as there is zero street visibility, but you can't beat the proximity to the Farmers' Market.  If the crystal ball of Lowertown stays true, this is will a wise bet. 

With all the talk of a Saints Stadium, the FMF project being resuscitated by the City, and the impending Light Rail - Maybe people will look back and think it was a no-brainer decision.