urbanSTL

Welcome, and congratulation's on your reservation. Thanks for the info, hopefully you can get that tour and take some pics to share.

OU812 wrote:I can tell you at Printers Lofts that granite for island and kitchen counters was about $3700.

Do you know the total square feet of the counters?

ContractorKitchens wrote:

OU812 wrote:I can tell you at Printers Lofts that granite for island and kitchen counters was about $3700.

Do you know the total square feet of the counters?

The islands were 8' x 3'.



The counters were 11' x 2' with a 4" backsplash running the length of the 11 feet.



That $3700 price included all the above.

Does anyone what all comes with the purchase price as far as appliances. Refrigerator, washer, dryer, etc....

Downtown2007 wrote:Does anyone what all comes with the purchase price as far as appliances. Refrigerator, washer, dryer, etc....

Included:

<ul>Black GE package including:

<li>Dishwasher

<li>Electric Range

<li>Microwave Oven

<li>Refrigerator with Icemaker

</ul>

Upgrades:

<ul>

<li>Variety of black, white and stainless appliance options

<li>Clothes washer and dryer options

<li>Undercounter wine chiller

</ul>

I reserved a Unit last week at the ELY! Cant wait for it to start construction. They described the Alley project where the Red Moon restaraunt and the one proposed for Ely walker will be connected and offer outdoor dining via a landscaped courtyard etc...

MidcoastSTL wrote:I reserved a Unit last week at the ELY! Cant wait for it to start construction. They described the Alley project where the Red Moon restaraunt and the one proposed for Ely walker will be connected and offer outdoor dining via a landscaped courtyard etc...

I recently reserved an Ely Walker unit as well. What did they tell you about the estimated move-in date? I'm hoping it's BEFORE their originally-planned April 2007 date...now that they are WAY ahead of schedule for reservations.



Any more details about the pedestrian walkway on St.Charles St.?



I have a meeting with Orchard Development on December 18th to discuss upgrades and other miscelaneous items. I'll keep everyone updated.

Albert? Just kidding. Welcome to the neighborhood!

pujols2005 wrote:
I have a meeting with Orchard Development on December 18th to discuss upgrades and other miscelaneous items. I'll keep everyone updated.

Normally I'd say "Ha!, good luck" on expecting a developer finishing construction AHEAD of schedule, but if you're already picking options that's lightening fast!!! Did you already close or is this just a meeting discussiong available upgrades and their estimated cost?

Has anyone who reserved a unit been contacted yet to sign the contract?

They told me 15-18 months with construction starting in January...

MidcoastSTL wrote:They told me 15-18 months with construction starting in January...

I think that is absolutely absurd. 15-18 months...for 6 floors??? Come on. The interior of that building must be in HORRIBLE shape.

pujols2005 wrote:

MidcoastSTL wrote:They told me 15-18 months with construction starting in January...

I think that is absolutely absurd. 15-18 months...for 6 floors??? Come on. The interior of that building must be in HORRIBLE shape.

Keep in mind they're not just cleaning and then putting up walls like many other buildings. They're also cutting out 2 atriums ... that's gonna take some time.



And yes, if you've been in the building, you've noticed it's in pretty bad shape. The floors are terribly torn up. But that's where cutting the atriums help ... plenty of extra original flooring material to refill the bad spots. You just have to hope it matches.



I do worry about a price correction after the call for contracts is made. If 20, 30, or 40 lofts are suddenly vacant due to speculation, I can see a lot of "discounts" being made (I've been contacted by some other buildings already about such "discounts" ... it's always funny when a building raises prices by 10-30 grand, then offers a 2% "discount" to new buyers). Now, I don't think that a full 40 units will be coming back on the market, but with reports of people reserving 4, 5, and even 6 units at a time, it's possible.

JimJim15 wrote:I do worry about a price correction after the call for contracts is made. If 20, 30, or 40 lofts are suddenly vacant due to speculation, I can see a lot of "discounts" being made (I've been contacted by some other buildings already about such "discounts" ... it's always funny when a building raises prices by 10-30 grand, then offers a 2% "discount" to new buyers).

Can I ask what other buildings have mentioned a discount? I am looking at purchasing even if it might not be a move-in for a while, but I want to explore all my options.

In November, the 6th and 7th floor windows were covered so that work could begin. I?m guessing that they were sandblasting the brick or something like that. Last week, they covered the windows for the 4th and 5th floors, so it looks like the pre-construction work is well under way. I?ve also heard that the 7th floor/penthouse unit floor plans have not been finalized yet. Apparently there are problems with incorporating the skylights and mezzanines into the floor plans for 7.

mbow76 wrote:


Can I ask what other buildings have mentioned a discount? I am looking at purchasing even if it might not be a move-in for a while, but I want to explore all my options.

I know Windows was offering discounts for the last few remaining units they had a couple of months ago.

I was told by a number of different people in the industry that prices for new construction DT were very rigid, and I am surprised to hear that "discounts" are being offerred. It does make sense, however, that the last few units in a project would be discounted as these are usually less desirable floor plans.

loftlover wrote:I was told by a number of different people in the industry that prices for new construction DT were very rigid, and I am surprised to hear that "discounts" are being offerred. It does make sense, however, that the last few units in a project would be discounted as these are usually less desirable floor plans.

Yes I agree that prices are rigid unless you want to go up with upgrades. In some ways it is uncomfortable to have no leverage besides walking away from the deal. Plus when you are buying a place that is not going to be ready for almost a year you are taking on quite a risk without knowing how the market will look in the future. The positive is that appreciation might more than make up for the worry about overpaying and you could get in before downtown truly takes off.

The Bogen has specifically offered me a discount on any remaining unit (which is nearly half of what they have left. I'm not surprised, considering they're prices are nearing $180-190 a sqft. on some lofts pre-upgrade. They're VERY overpriced in my opinion. Good location, though.



A 2% discount (after they raised the price of many lofts in the past 2 weeks by up to 11 thousand) is not much incentive.



We're talking 310 and up on 1500 sqft lofts. Not so hot. And the model they show you is about 200-300 sqft bigger than the actual unit it's supposed to represent. I had to dig that out of them ...

Yeah all the new kids on the block, ie Chasten Properties and Jacob Developments, are confused. Someone tricked them into thinking they can demand 180-190 pre-upgrade pricing for lofts. Not many informed buyers will pay that right now unless they REALLY love the paticular location or property. The seasoned pros of STL loft building(ie Pyramid, Loftworks, and Orchard) know that they cannot charge that just yet. That's whay these three builders can reserve/sell 80-90% of lofts pre construction and those other have to offer "discounts" to try and cover up their pricing errors while they stagnate around 45-50%. Maybe if some of them cut corners by oh I don't know NOT HIRING CALDWELL BANKER to sell lofts for them and marketing and selling the units it in house, they could charge reasonable prices. Let's face it, any fool can sell these lofts right now, they are in incredible demand, IF they are priced fairly. On top of all this, thos inflated prices might not even include parking or a second bathroom at some of the complexes, INSANE!! Then there's McGowan Bros who can't seem to fininsh projects..... but that's for another post.

About the 7th floor of Ely Walker ... I was told a couple weeks ago that the "penthouses" were almost certainly going to be the same floorplans as the lower floors. MAYBE a few would be combined or changed in some way.



I was also told that the corner units already had reservations and had backup reservations 3-4 deep, and units facing good views (I think on the west side ... not sure though) are taken, too. So it seems like if you ask enough times, they'll let you reserve what they haven't opened to the "general public" yet.



But things change I guess. Maybe they're open now. I don't know.

So if I reserve a unit that has 1050 sq feet then I woulf expect it to actually be about 900 due to some tricky measurements? Is that what you telling me?

I assume you're asking me that question with regard to what I said about their display being several hundred feet bigger than the actual unit.



What I meant by that with Bogen was that one of the walls of the display was built to incorporate what will be a hallway in the actual units. Literally, they pushed a wall out by about 7 feet into a hallway. It made the unit look very wide, when infact it will be much smaller.

Downtown2007 wrote:So if I reserve a unit that has 1050 sq feet then I woulf expect it to actually be about 900 due to some tricky measurements? Is that what you telling me?

Or does this go back to the question of how square footage is measured? Is it actual livable space or another method?