The Saint Paul Condo Blog

"Refined coolness" pretty much sums up 9th Street Lofts.  When most people think of a modern loft, they think of brick and steel meshed together with lots of style.  9th Street does not disappoint!  It just has a great look to it with aluminium clad windows and penthouse bump-outs.  Interior hallways can look a little sterile but the actual lofts make all the difference.  Some of my favorite units there are the corners with too many windows to count.  Another nice feature some of the lofts have is acid-etched concrete floors.  Original developer, Lander/Sherman did a great job with this building and I'm so glad that it was hooked up to the district energy system.

9th Street Lofts even has underground, heated parking, which in Downtown can be nearly impossible to find.  Now that Wacouta Commons Park is complete, the curb appeal can't be beat!

It's a little harsh, but a fitting title.  We are seeing a big push away from the ultra modern decor of the typical loft and a move to a more classic-contemporary finish.  The resurgence of the Arts & Crafts in interior finishes is showing up is just about all of the new projects.  I've even seen some of the most raw lofts convert their space, adding more wood for a warmer feeling.

I'm sure the loft look won't ever go away, but I think its lost some of its mass appeal.  I wonder how long before the Arts & Crafts look becomes outdated?

OK, it's coming to life, finally!  After many years of delays, the development is looking to break ground this May (2007).  The project will have a total of 48 condos, with nearly half of the condos priced under $200k!  The best news about the whole project is your truly will be representing Sweeney Development in the sale of the condos starting in a few weeks.

We will have a sales center in the Market House building, just on the opposite corner of the development.  Which is also the same building we here at Infinity Realty call home.

The project has gone under a few name revisions since its birth.  Market Lofts, Farmers Market Lofts, and finally Farmers Market Flats.  It's a brand new construction building, with great finishes so "loft" seemed out of place.  Farmers Market Flats will be a very Eco friendly building, with district energy for heating and cooling, garden plots on the roof, and renewable materials used throughout the building.  One of the best features of the project is what it means for the City as a whole.  Once construction is complete.  The Saint Paul Farmers Market will have a 15,000 sq ft indoor space, making the market really year round!

If you want to get in on the ground floor and help support the Growers Association, we are now taking reservations!

I should have mentioned this some time ago, but City Walk finished their elevator modernization project and what a difference!  I am very surprised on how fast they are!  Not too sure on the all mirror interior, but maybe it will grow on me.

I talked to a resident there today and asked him how he liked the new elevator...  His response "Well I'm still paying for them, so I guess I like them".  The assessment was about $1500 to replace 2-27 story elevators, I think $1500 a resident was a steal!  City Walk made the right call in replacing the elevators now rather than waiting for them to break.  Well at least that's my opinion!

Trixx has officially closed operation in the Rossmor building.  There has been tension in the building since residents started moving into the Rossmor about the noise coming from the bar.  The Rossmor was originally going to use the second floor as a buffer, renting it as office space.  The demand was too high for the building when they started selling and the developer decided to "condo-ize" the second floor as well, leading to the problem.

I have it from good sources that Trixx will re-open in Downtown in a new location, with a new name.  Not sure on the time table though.  I also heard from the same source that a comedy club is in negotiations to lease out the space occupied by Trixx.

More news for the Rossmor is that Margaux is opening their expansion this month, to the delight of downtown residents everywhere!

Ok, there were no lions or tigers, but there was a bear roaming the halls and lofts at the Rossmor.  I just received some pictures of the Bear that was working his acting gig at the Rossmor building a couple weeks back.  These are pictures from the parking lot (Thanks Caitlin!!!).  I was told an ad firm representing the Minnesota State Lottery was shooting a commercial with the bear.  The Bear owns a "trendy" loft in the city and brings home some women to thank them for playing the lottery.

Can't wait to see the ads!  If you have photos of the bear at the Rossmor and wouldn't mind sharing them, I'd love to post them!

Rumor on the street has it that the Airye is looking at a 2+Million assessment for the window curtain wall replacement that sits atop of the building.  Yikes!  I'm not sure if the assessment is being split for the whole building or just the condo portion (Airye Condos is at the top of Galtier, the top 19 floors).  I've heard assessments in the range of $20k-50k per unit.  I have a feeling that they will have a hard time selling at anywhere near value until their Association Board makes a decision about this monumental assessment.

If anyone knows more about this than I do, Please use the comment option below!

The bridge between Lowertown and Downtown.  One of the recognized historical buildings located in Lowertown, but connected to the skyway system, this building offers a lot of bang for the buck.  River Park Lofts starting marketing the old Lowertown Business Center about 2 1/2 years ago and now the first residents have finally moved in.  There was a lot of work that the building to bring it to it's current state. 

Just about every unique piece of architecture in this building came with some sort of controversy.  The exposed beams had to be sandblasted clean and the debris had to be treated like contaminated material because of the age of the building.  The atrium in the building almost didn't happen because of smoke ventilation.  One of the proposed solutions was to put a plexi-glass cover over every floor, creating a cleaning nightmare!  The balconies on the back of the building also almost didn't make it past approval from the Historic Preservation Committee.  Then when they did they received the OK from the the city to use Trex decking.  When the City came through for their final inspection for the C.O.O. (Certificate of Occupancy), they nixed the Trex decking as a fire hazard, this was a week from the first resident scheduled to move in.  They had to throw away $75,000 worth of unusable decking and replace it with aluminum decking.

If anyone ever said that converting 100 year old warehouses was easy, they were crazy!

River Park Lofts is still constructing some of the individual lofts, but most of the building is complete.  With over 100 workers on site Monday - Friday, the building tends to be a mess.  My guess is that the building will look really sharp come September, when just about all of the construction should be completed.

Market House Condominiums is the first loft converted in Downtown Saint Paul, the true trend setter.  For many years, it was kind of depressing, to see the raw potential of a building, stuck in the 80's.  Well finally after many years, it's happening!  Massive building improvements from historically correct entrances, to updated and modern lobby's.  The owner of the commercial space on the first couple of floors is has completely remodeled from top to bottom and is turning them over as for sale office condos.

The party room on the 6th floor was also remodeled which has a sweet roof top deck.  An elevator remodel tops of the list of improvements to date.  What's on the horizon?  From what I have heard, District Cooling hook-up, and hallway improvements on every floor.  This is on top of the association approved window replacement.

Market House is now pretty much a new building!  The parking for this condo is not ideal, but has greatly improved over the gravel unsecured lot they once had.

The fireworks went off tonight at 10:20pm (Friday night).  As much as I love fireworks, I guess I didn't pass that gene down to my two year old daughter.  She woke up very afraid of them.  I took her out to the balcony to watch, but she just latched on to me and covered her eyes.  Maybe she will like them by the 4th, but I doubt it.

Below are a few shots from tonight's display (until Amelia woke up).

Well I should probably mention the Pointe condos at some point, since it's the place I call home!  The Pointe condos was built in 1987 with construction being completed in 1988.  The conversion to condos began in early 2003 and took a record two years to sell out.  The original developers, Brothers Property, remodeled most of the common areas of the building including the lobby, pool area, and the party room where they really went all out.  Our association has been making additional improvements to the building since we took over control about a year and a half ago.  We just finished remodeling the laundry room and 2nd floor lobby, using the same tile as the lobby to jazz it it some.

The inventory, like most buildings in Downtown is higher than usual.  We are currently sitting at about 20 units on market.  The units that have been selling are the ones that have been completely remodeled from the original apartment finishes.  Units recently sold included new cabinets, countertops, stainless steel appliances, and wood/laminate floors.

James J. Hill, one of Minnesota's richest people, built himself an amazing office in Lowertown!  It's wonderful to see that Great Northern Lofts was rehabilitated into some of the most amazing lofts in the Twin Cities.  It wasn't an easy project, starting in 2000 it took nearly four years just to move the first owners in.  The developers ran into major problems with the building which required them to correct the sinking foundation of the building.  They also had to build a brand new parking ramp across the street, since underground parking was out of the question because of the water table.

With the conversion from an abandoned office building to impressive lofts, much has been retained to keep some of the more historical features of the building.  The grand entrance of Kellogg looks fabulous, then you walk into the lobby with it's original iron banister in full view.  The barrel-vault ceilings are a "must-see" and so is the private courtyard in the middle of the building.

The lofts at this building can be difficult to sell at times because of the over bearing association rules about resales.  For instance, they do not allow open houses.  Which is an absolute shame since the Farmers Market is less than a block away.  The home owners association must want a little more privacy to their building, but I think this goes a little too far.  If the association wanted to reduce traffic in the building, they could have stipulated hours/days when open houses were acceptable.

If any of you reading this live at Great Northern Lofts, consider changing the rules a little bit.  It will help the resale value in your building.

Are you deciding between a few different condos or lofts in different buildings?  How do you compare prices?  Use the technique that the developers use!  Look at the price per square foot cost of the condo.  It's a great way to quickly compare condos of different buildings or even the same building.  Now you will have to adjust for some of the same things you normally would, but it gives you a quick glance at costs.

Data that I gathered from the RMLS of Minnesota for 2005 showed Gallery Tower with the lowest closed price per square foot with a price of $135.12.  The highest was Great Northern Lofts at $284.63.

If you are interested in learning more about price per square foot comparisons, just send an email to PPSQFT@YourStPaulHome.com or call me at 651-270-9395.  I will update the complete list for 2nd Quarter in mid July.  The complete list will be available by email only.

I just went through the LOT270 condo building today, previewing a unit for a client and I was impressed on how the project has turned out.  I am always skeptical of new construction, but I think Mendota Homes did a marvolus job!  It's not something you would see advertised in a design magazine, but for their price points, it has some very nice features.

1. It's located on the South West corner of the Farmers Market.
2. It's an all brink exterior, fitting in nicely with the surrounding buildings.
3. It has underground, heated parking directly under the building.  Somthing that can be hard to find in downtown.
4. It has a community room, exercise room, private outdoor courtyard, and a very nice lobby.

Some of the finishes of the indivual unit can at times seem low-cost, but they are waiting to complete unsold units until the new buyer picks there upgrades, giving the buyer the chance to correct some the finishes that are standard.

One of the downsides to this building is the view to the west (which is where the under $200k one bedrooms are located).  Your view is about 15 feet away from a solid steel wall of the next building.  If you are on the 4th or 5th floor, you do however get lots of light coming into the unit, just not much direct.

If you would like to see what LOT270 is all about, just let me know and I can arrainge a private viewing.