The Saint Paul Condo Blog

So what do you think of my second edition of the video blog?

EDIT:  Changed video hosting servers.

So it's not really a restaurant, but it is a pretty cool idea.  413 on Wacouta is a new event center located in the basement of the Gilbert Building (across the street from the firehouse of River Park Lofts).  What makes this a pretty cool idea is that a lot of weddings take place in Mears Park in the summer months.  Having this great banquet space just a half block away from the park is ideal.  Also having the wedding reception in an historic building built by famed architect Cass Gilbert is pretty nifty too.

Maybe I'll have to start hosting parties down there!

I knew I should have blogged about this one sooner!  I was waiting to take a picture of the place first, oh well.  Thanks gregg for the heads up!

The Coney Island is reopening for the RNC.  After being closing for many, many years, the family that owns the place is going to serve liquor during the convention.  Those of you who are Coney Dog fans will just have to wait...  No plans yet to open the kitchen.  Those of you looking for a good coney will just have to bring your "cash" to the Gopher Bar on 7th and Wacouta.

The most exciting part of the whole deal for me?  Celebrity bar tender John Easton will be mixing the cocktails!

OK, I really don't have a "list" for you this time.  A two bedroom just got listed at the Pointe for such an incredible price, I had to bring it up.  It's a two bed, one bath listed under $100,000!

If you are interested in this condo, call me ASAP, as it will likely be sold by Monday.  (the last bank owned at the Pointe sold within 4 hours of being on the market).

651-270-9395

I reported about the problems with River Park Lofts (RPL) connected parking ramp some time ago, and it looks like there are problems once again.  The ramp is actually not owned by the condo association (which is a good thing), but they do have to access the ramp to get to the upper level of the new parking garage that was built underneath it.  Some lofts in the building do not own parking, they lease from the owners of the Lowertown Business Center Annex Ramp (the official name of the ramp - for you history buffs, RPL was called the Lowertown Business Center before the conversion to lofts).  Well the owner of the ramp, who was also one of the original developer partners has failed to keep up to his end of a deal with the City of Saint Paul to fix the parking structure.  He claims the ramp is in foreclosure and can no longer pay for repairs.

The city of Saint Paul said they do not intend to hinder to access to the condo owners parking, but what happens to residents of RPL who do not own their spaces, and park in the ramp?  Will they have to find new parking elsewhere?

I'll keep tabs on the situation and update this post when I get new information.  I will also add a better picture of the ramp tomorrow.

Seems like we are having a mini sell-a-thon in downtown.  In two weeks, I've now seen three properties go into multiple offers, with all of them selling for over list price!

So who are these lucky sellers who are having buyers fight over them?  Institutional Sellers, that's who - i.e. banks, reo's, corporate owned.  Within the last month or so, I have noticed that the REO's (short for Real Estate Owned) have been aggressively pricing their portfolio's.

So how does this affect the market overall?

This will help reduce the inventory, the faster we burn through the bank inventory, the sooner we can return to a more normal market.  As quick as the properties have been selling, it's not your average home owners.  Those properties are still hanging on the market.

Now if you are a buyer, this is a mixed-bag review.  On one side, it's good to know you are not alone in buying property.  But on the other side, it's driving prices higher than the listed price, not something buyers want to see when it's a "Buyers Market".

On the first Tuesday of each August, National Night Out is celebrated nationwide. The Saint Paul Police Department encourages you and your neighbors to use this day to declare to criminals that you will not tolerate criminal activity in YOUR neighborhood! Take a stand against crime and drugs by coming together with your neighbors.  Get to know each other and learn who belongs in your neighborhood,recognizing who your neighbors are, and making a unified statement that you will watch out for each other and for your properties. Neighbors who are united, and report suspicious activity, have safer neighborhoods to live in and raise their families.

Join in the festivities at three different Downtown locations:

Mears Park from 6pm to 9pm
Landmark Plaza from 7pm to 9pm
Exchange Street from 5pm to 8pm

For more information visit the city of Saint Paul's website

It's not only the Republicans that are coming, Big Brother is coming too.  Today they installed cameras throughout downtown, mostly closer to the Xcel, but I spotted 5 within a two block radius.

I'm split on whether I want them after the convention leaves.  On one side, it would be nice to help curb crime, but on the other hand, I'm not sure I would want someone watching everything I did.  That's a little too British for me.

Well, well, well - Look what we have here!  A great looking new restaurant/bar for Lowertown.  The Bulldog restaurant of Minneapolis fame crosses the river to make its St Paul debut.  I can't wait to get some more details, but I would bet they will try to open before the grand old party makes their way here.

They are opening in the space where A Night's Tale tried to open, or for you downtown old timers, the quasi market that sold expired produce and over-priced funions.

The Bulldog St Paul has picked an absolutely stunning location for their new home.  Right on the corner of 6th and Wacouta on Mears Park.

There are reasons high-rises don't like charcoal grills!  As it was the likely culprit of the fire that happened this evening at the Pointe of Saint Paul.  From what is known, it looks like someone threw hot embers from a grill down the building's trash chute.  It didn't take long for that to start other trash on fire.

Luckily, the fire was contained to the trash room, because the building has internal sprinklers inside the trash chute.  Fire always sounds scary in a high-rise, but the bigger problem is water damage.  It looks like the Pointe dodged a bullet on the water issue.  The first floor is all tiled and the trash room grades to the back driveway.  The room also has a floor drain, but quickly became overcome with the amount of water coming from the sprinkler system.

The buildings trash compactor was damaged, but other than that everything was back to normal within no time at all.

Sometimes it pays to have an awesome fire station across the street ;)

A big thank you goes out to the men and women of Fire Station No. 8!

EDIT (08/0/08):  Looks like the trash compactor may be out for a while.  BFI was at the building this morning, and it took considerably more damage than initially thought.

Today marks the one year anniversary of the 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis - A sad and tragic event that seemed like just yesterday.  As sad as it was, I can't help to think of all the amazing stories that came out of that tragic day - Of people rushing to help, or all of the people donating blood and money, it makes me very proud to call myself a Minnesotan.

Today is a great day to make a contribution to the Twin Cities chapter of the Red Cross, whether money or blood - it all helps.

Also, make sure to pray for those who are still healing from the collapse!