urbanSTL

DowntownMortgageBroker wrote:I was told they were having some sort of walkthrough tomorrow. Does anyone have any info on this?

Tomorrow from 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm they are hosting a First-Showing Event with the opportunity to place a reservation. It is by RSVP and their opening to the public will be this Saturday.



I have seen floor plans and pricing. Sizes range from around 1,000 square feet and go up to 1590. Most are 2BR, 2BA and some have small dens. Base pricing starts out at around $137 a square foot and goes to about $150 a square foot. There are 4 floor plans that have balconies, all facing south and that pricing ranges from about $160 - $180 a square foot. The refurbished wood floors are the standard, even in the bathrooms. All tile is an upgrade. I have not seen a full list of amenities but categorize this development as good starter lofts, meaning the prices are quite affordable but nothing standard could be confused for high-end.



There are not enough parking spots for everyone underneath so some will be parking on the rooftop of the Terra Cotta/Annex adjacent garage.



Hope this helps.

I'm glad to see some starter lofts, as too many overpriced splash pool lofts have been poping up as of late and it was begining to price out the young professional base that Wash Ave thrives off of.

MistaC01 wrote:I'm glad to see some starter lofts, as too many overpriced splash pool lofts have been poping up as of late and it was begining to price out the young professional base that Wash Ave thrives off of.

I agree, I want the area to cater to people just like me. It's getting too expensive down there.

I went to the First-Showing Event tonight and was quite impressed. By 7pm, I would estimate that 60 units had been reserved out of the approximately 143 units currently available. I was told that the 7th floor units are not available to reserve yet as the designs are not complete. Of course, I?m sure the prices will increase for that. The display unit looked great and was loaded with the upgrades. The demand for downtown lofts continues to be strong!

markinlondon wrote:I went to the First-Showing Event tonight and was quite impressed. By 7pm, I would estimate that 60 units had been reserved out of the approximately 143 units currently available. I was told that the 7th floor units are not available to reserve yet as the designs are not complete. Of course, I?m sure the prices will increase for that. The display unit looked great and was loaded with the upgrades. The demand for downtown lofts continues to be strong!

I can second that emotion. WOW! I think a world record was set this evening. In about 4 hours there was a total of about 70 reservations taken. That's just crazy! And it was a good diverse crowd, younger, older, white, African American, single, couples, etc., etc. I have to give them props. They did the event up right and they did the display unit up right. That display unit was totally tricked out. Hardly anything was standard. The lighting, the color, the windows, the angles, all excited the senses. And the price helped too. Very good pre-construction pricing, only good for that night only. Prices go up tomorrow.



So this will be interesting to watch. How many reserves will stick? How many speculators just looking to flip were in the crowd? Is the demand truly there for 70 people to buy in the first evening? As a downtown resident I was quite pleased to see all that action. Still can't believe 70 reserves were to be had. Damn!

I thought the display loft was really nice. The refinished hardwood floors are beautiful. I stopped by just long enough to wiggle through the crowds and be shocked at the number of lofts reserved or sold. I am still considering moving (across the street...or alley in this case) but I hope some of the floorplans I like are still left!



The one thing I don't like about this building is the parking situation. There are three parking options including underground, a space on the roof of the current Terra Cotta/Annex garage or rental parking. When you look at the price sheet, the option for each loft is already decided. I guess I would rather have it first come, first served instead of automatically having the higher priced/larger lofts get the underground parking. But, all in all, that is a small gripe.



The units go from $138,900 for 1,035 square feet (2nd floor and rental parking) to $252,900 for 1,590 square feet (6th floor and underground parking).

For those that attended, did the developer hint at what retail would be part of the project i.e. Gold's Gym??

STLMel wrote:I thought the display loft was really nice. The refinished hardwood floors are beautiful. I stopped by just long enough to wiggle through the crowds and be shocked at the number of lofts reserved or sold. I am still considering moving (across the street...or alley in this case) but I hope some of the floorplans I like are still left!



The one thing I don't like about this building is the parking situation. There are three parking options including underground, a space on the roof of the current Terra Cotta/Annex garage or rental parking. When you look at the price sheet, the option for each loft is already decided. I guess I would rather have it first come, first served instead of automatically having the higher priced/larger lofts get the underground parking. But, all in all, that is a small gripe.



The units go from $138,900 for 1,035 square feet (2nd floor and rental parking) to $252,900 for 1,590 square feet (6th floor and underground parking).

They have to do parking this way otherwise it would be difficult to sell the higher priced lofts later ( Who would pay 250k for a loft with rental parking!). You get what you pay for man, nothing in life is free.

OU812 wrote:

markinlondon wrote:I went to the First-Showing Event tonight and was quite impressed. By 7pm, I would estimate that 60 units had been reserved out of the approximately 143 units currently available. I was told that the 7th floor units are not available to reserve yet as the designs are not complete. Of course, I?m sure the prices will increase for that. The display unit looked great and was loaded with the upgrades. The demand for downtown lofts continues to be strong!

I can second that emotion. WOW! I think a world record was set this evening. In about 4 hours there was a total of about 70 reservations taken. That's just crazy! And it was a good diverse crowd, younger, older, white, African American, single, couples, etc., etc. I have to give them props. They did the event up right and they did the display unit up right. That display unit was totally tricked out. Hardly anything was standard. The lighting, the color, the windows, the angles, all excited the senses. And the price helped too. Very good pre-construction pricing, only good for that night only. Prices go up tomorrow.







So this will be interesting to watch. How many reserves will stick? How many speculators just looking to flip were in the crowd? Is the demand truly there for 70 people to buy in the first evening? As a downtown resident I was quite pleased to see all that action. Still can't believe 70 reserves were to be had. Damn!

Check that. Revised numbers are this. They took 91 reservations last night. This coming from the mouth of an Orhard employee. Are you kidding me?

That is just insane! I was just sick to my stomach last night for not going to the event earlier and trying to reserve one of those corner units. Unfortunately, since I moved to St. Louis on short notice, I purchased a ?ready for occupancy? loft. If I?m going to ?move up?, I?ll need to be more alert next time!

Yeah there was alot of pent up demand for reasonably priced lofts for younger buyers. I think that helped fuel all those reservations. The question is, how many of those reservations are just people looking to flip the loft on completion.

Wow - 50% sold in just a matter of hours!



Orchard has got to be pleased with the response they've gotten to their four St. Louis developments (Terra Cotta, Annex, Lafayette Walk, Ely Walker) thus far. Hopefully, they're planning more developments.

MistaC01 wrote: The question is, how many of those reservations are just people looking to flip the loft on completion.

I doubt there's many who want to"flip" on completion. Considering closing costs and real estate fees etc., I just can't see that level of appreciation in the short term. Buying as a long term investment is a different story. I think that this development has a lot going for it - location, an incredible building, and reasonable prices. Other developments on Washington and 16th/17th Ave have faired equally well (Railway, Windows). I just really hope that Gold's Gym returns as a lot of us count on it being close by!!

loftlover wrote:

MistaC01 wrote: The question is, how many of those reservations are just people looking to flip the loft on completion.

I doubt there's many who want to"flip" on completion. Considering closing costs and real estate fees etc., I just can see that level of appreciation in the short term. Buying as a long term investment is a different story. I think that this development has a lot going for it - location, an incredible building, and reasonable prices. Other developments on Washington and 16th/17th Ave have faired equally well (Railway, Windows). I just really hope that Gold's Gym returns as a lot of us count on it being close by!!

You probably are correct but I did overhear a few conversations of people saying things like they owned 2 units at Annex but are just sitting on them for now and am only investing in Ely to flip. And there was at least one owner from Railway that put a deposit down as only thinking they are buying as a short term investement. And I know a few others who had similar thoughts. But overall I believe most are wanting to live there.



You have to wonder a little though. That situation is reminiscent of articles I have read about the real estate bubble, specifically on the coasts where devlopments would have a pre-construction opening and people would drive down the night before to camp out and be first in line the day of the opening. Most of these people were flippers.

OU812 wrote:

markinlondon wrote:I went to the First-Showing Event tonight and was quite impressed. By 7pm, I would estimate that 60 units had been reserved out of the approximately 143 units currently available. I was told that the 7th floor units are not available to reserve yet as the designs are not complete. Of course, I?m sure the prices will increase for that. The display unit looked great and was loaded with the upgrades. The demand for downtown lofts continues to be strong!

I can second that emotion. WOW! I think a world record was set this evening. In about 4 hours there was a total of about 70 reservations taken. That's just crazy! And it was a good diverse crowd, younger, older, white, African American, single, couples, etc., etc. I have to give them props. They did the event up right and they did the display unit up right. That display unit was totally tricked out. Hardly anything was standard. The lighting, the color, the windows, the angles, all excited the senses. And the price helped too. Very good pre-construction pricing, only good for that night only. Prices go up tomorrow.



So this will be interesting to watch. How many reserves will stick? How many speculators just looking to flip were in the crowd? Is the demand truly there for 70 people to buy in the first evening? As a downtown resident I was quite pleased to see all that action. Still can't believe 70 reserves were to be had. Damn!

I agree the display unit was great. Did you notice the display was one of the widest units in the building? It was almost like a corner unit. Most of the other units are narrower.



I have the list of included features and options and I can say the price range is broad. I do not understand much about additional features but if someone decides to add EVERYTHING then price could be increasing by 42,000. They should be making a more user friendly list. Even though, it seems features did not discourage the huge amount of reservations they got.

But how do you compare Ely Walker price against similar options? For example The Meridian is including granite countertop in all the units so there is not need for an upgrade.

Pedestrian only streets are a hard to make work in the U.S., they often look empty and unsafe. I'll remain open minded - I could see lots of cafe tables and such.

I think the pedestrian only street has a lot of potential to become successful. I would rather see downtown develop into a more ?European feel? rather than following other U.S cities standards. A pedestrian only street tucked between Terra Cotta, Annex Lofts, Ely Walker and Printers Lofts could be successful if done right



Ely Walker is ideally surrounded by loft developments. Once complete, there should be approximately 800 residential units within this small 2 or 3 block area.



The total number of reservations is well past 100 now. Also, they are now allowing the reservation of 7th floor units; however the renderings for these floors are not finalized. One Orchard Sales Person described a ?Mediterranean Style? restaurant on the first floor. The one thing that bothers me is the 1 story part of the building located on the east side. It would be ideal for a rooftop restaurant or coffee shop, but I don?t think they can do anything with it since they are selling the 2nd floor as residential.





On the issue of ?flippers? vs. long-term buyers, I guess time will tell. From what I understand, those with reservations must enter into a contract at 60 days. I was told that there is a backup list for reservations that fall through; specifically the corner units.

Urban Review St. Louis wrote:

markinlondon wrote:I think the pedestrian only street has a lot of potential to become successful. I would rather see downtown develop into a more ?European feel? rather than following other U.S cities standards. A pedestrian only street tucked between Terra Cotta, Annex Lofts, Ely Walker and Printers Lofts could be successful if done right



Ely Walker is ideally surrounded by loft developments. Once complete, there should be approximately 800 residential units within this small 2 or 3 block area.

Thanks for the arial image. Is the pedestrian street supposed to go to 16th or 17th? I ask because 16th ends at the Western edge of Ely Walker. To be behind Printers Lofts the pedestrian zone would need to continue to 17th.

markinlondon wrote:The one thing that bothers me is the 1 story part of the building located on the east side. It would be ideal for a rooftop restaurant or coffee shop, but I don?t think they can do anything with it since they are selling the 2nd floor as residential.

Good point! Hopefully the adjacent lofts will be able to have private terraces on the rooftop to add some visual interest. If the roof is left empty it will be a missed opportunity.



On the flipper issue... They are artificially driving up prices which could contribute to a correction later. In the meantime by buying up reservations of the more affordable units they are potentially keeping others out of the market. I have no problems with the developer making a profit as they are taking on the financial risks. Speculators are simply using the fact they have the means to make even more money. I'd rather see the market go at a natural pace. At New Town at St. Charles they limit the number of houses that can be reserved by non-owner occupants - not sure of the percentage or how they determine who is buying for their home or spec.

It will not be pedestrain only. They have to leave a driving lane for Fire Safety. I was told the street improvements will stop at 16th and they will have one lane and will be planting trees and the such down the sides.

Well, there goes the affordability force in the loft district. I sincerely hope that alot of younger buyers got in on the cheaper prices and not flippers because if the lifeline of the loft district continues to get priced out, I'm afraid downtown will become a "little clayton(stuffy)" instead of a "bigger CWE(ideal!)". Something about this situation just smells rotten to me, 100+ reservations while other developments hover around 70% pre construction sold and all of a sudden a 30k increase in prices. I think flippers are artifically inflating the market as someone stated earlier.

We placed a reservation on one of the units in Ely Walker, so I've been pestering Orchard with random questions for some more details...



Building amenities:

- fitness center

- rooftop deck (with some kind of "water feature" to be decided)

- two-story lobby

- 6-story atrium 2nd through 7th floor (renderings looks very cool)

- community meeting area

- private storage locker for each unit



The development includes sharing the building with a restaurant with lots of bar space and patio seating, likely Italian or Mediterranean. They're talking to "several national retailers" for two more spaces within the building... speculate away



119 of the 143(?) units on the main plan (floors 2-6) are reserved; the remaining are mostly 1200 sq. ft. or less 1 bed/1 bath units and on the south side. Apparently a significant wait-list for several of the reserved. No idea about the "penthouse" spaces for the 7th floor that were being discussed, but I don't get to play in that ballpark.



I asked about getting a tour of the interior before build out (and contract) so I can get a better idea of the space, but that doesn't sound like a safe option yet. Hopefully I can grab a camera for that.