Depends on the development. Pyramid tends to measure from the outside of external walls to the middle of shared walls ... that's how most commercial outfits do it.
Others will give you actual square footage. You have to find out.
You need to ask what your unit's NET square footage is. This is the livable square footage for your unit, only interior walls included. Most realtors/developers will tell you the GROSS square footage of a unit. That includes measurements to the center of shared walls, the outside of the facade wall for your unit, and balcony dimensions, if you have one. The architect of record needs to supply these for the condo documents. They should have the records to tell you both square footages.
Does anybody have an idea of what the rooftop of the Ely Walker Building will include? Most people are talking about their lobby-level...but no one has mentioned their rooftop.
I have reserved @ Ely Walker...but I also checked out The Ventana across the street. They're planning on putting a rooftop pool on their development. We walked up there, and the realtor said that "Ely Walker had talked about putting a rooftop pool on there's....but I don't think it's possible". She was referring to the giant, pre-existing structure that's located on their rooftop.
janit0r wrote: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.
If you've reserved at Ely(pre price spike) I'd stay where you are unless you really feel like you need a "wading pool", because Ventana is way more expensive for no good reason.
MistaC01 wrote:
If you've reserved at Ely(pre price spike) I'd stay where you are unless you really feel like you need a "wading pool", because Ventana is way more expensive for no good reason.
I couldn't agree more. I think I toured every loft development in downtown STL, and the Ely Walker had THE best mix of the following...
- Standard Package w/ hardwood floors
- Visually-appealing building facade (once it's cleaned up, it's going to look even more stunning...and is a huge factor for resale)
I agree Ely had lots of good points, only downsides are it isn't going to be done for 1/2-2 years(that's a long time my friend), and the units wil have that "finished look", like most of Orchard's lofts do(which isn't a bad thing, just different), I don't exactally call overflow parking in terra cotta's garage all the way at the top and exposed a great parking deal, and also those standard features are the norm in most developments. But now their current prices are so inflated that it's no longer ahead of other developments(thanks to lack of speculation limits). Ely was a good option for affordable lofts while it lasted. I hope price corrections kick in after some of the speculator reservations fall through and more people can get a great deal at this building.
MistaC01 wrote: and the units wil have that "finished look", like most of Orchard's lofts do(which isn't a bad thing, just different), .
I agree with you about the finished look in the sense that it is a good thing. I thought it was great to see and really made me consider Ely. The lofts are great, but there has to be an alternative to concrete floors and wide open spaces. Both are great, but the more alternatives there are then a wider audience can be marketed to which will boost downtown's development.
I also agree the EW Lofts were the best deal I have encountered. However, I am worried about too many people going into contract with no intent of the loft being their primary residence which will cause the area to be less vibrant. I am also concerned about the hardwood floors since the one in the model looked rather beat up. They were patched up with concrete filler in some parts of the display and makes me wonder what mine will look like. Does anyone else agree?
Downtown2007 wrote:I also agree the EW Lofts were the best deal I have encountered. However, I am worried about too many people going into contract with no intent of the loft being their primary residence which will cause the area to be less vibrant. I am also concerned about the hardwood floors since the one in the model looked rather beat up. They were patched up with concrete filler in some parts of the display and makes me wonder what mine will look like. Does anyone else agree?
I would agree to some extent on that one. Did you happen to see the floors that were in the hallway just as your turned left to head to the display? That section was horrible with being dead wood that was about 1 - 2 inches lower than the rest of the floor. Whose to say that a similar section won't end up in your unit?
I saw a couple of finished units in The Annex Lofts (same developer) and could not believe my eyes. The floors were the original concrete. They did not do a fresh pour over there. There were sections of floor in one finished unit that still had some nails embedded into the foor that were kind of sticking out. There was also a section that was full of cracks and another section that looked like an outdoor parking lot. I would not have closed on that unit had it been mine. Now, don't want to slam the project because I like a lot of other things that they do well but floors are a big issue to me.
The floors, if done correctly...was one of the things that I liked about the Ely Walker Lofts.
In the model, there were some patches in the floor...but it really gave it an overall character that concrete or sparkling hardwood doens't have. I actually liked some of the gaps in the model's floor.
Now, if the above floors are littered with deadwood...that's another thing.
I had my contract-meeting with Orchard Development this weekend...and thought I would share some details...
- Upgrade-discussions will take place in 6-8 months.
- Construction is currently ahead of schedule. ClayCo wasn't even supposed to be in the building until the beginning of 2006, but they already completed most of the sandblasting.
- Orchard has received city-approval to build the "pedestrian-only" walkway on St. Charles St. from Red Moon to the west end of the Ely Walker Building.
- A Mediterranian-style restaurant will occupy the east-sided, one-floor space. An outside patio will be on the features highlighted in the pedestrian-only walkway.
- On the first floor, below the residential units, there will be four blocks that will be available to commercial vendors. No contracts have been signed for these spots yet, although Orchard told me that they'vve only been talking to national chains.
- I've heard rumors from someone downtown that Border's is looking to buy two of the four spots.
Needless to say...all very good news. Personally, I think a Border's would be prime and additionally highlight this popular development. Keep your fingers crossed.
JimJim15 wrote:Why doesn't Ely Walker have a website yet?
Their link was posted to this thread back on September 19 of last year: http://www.elywalkerlofts.com/ Back then, there wasn't much more to look at than a logo and way to contact them, but now the site shows floor plans, building features, information about Orchard Development Group and more....
I was pretty impressed with the website. Nice to have floorplans and graphics on there to show possible referrals.
Kind of odd how they didn't list prices on the website per floorplan. Prices have been real speculative thus far because of the high demand. I'd be interested to see exactly how many units are still available (after everyone has signed contracts), and at what price.
I think a lot of people reserved but didn?t sign a contract. I asked around 2 weeks ago and they had more than 50 contracts. Even if they signed some more, there is a huge gap between 143 reservations and 50? 60? 70? contracts
Is that faux brick in the pics of Ely's display unit? I was under the impression that they did not have exposed brink in this project more more finnished units.
MistaC01 wrote:Is that faux brick in the pics of Ely's display unit? I was under the impression that they did not have exposed brink in this project more more finnished units.
The model photos show the building's real brick, likely after some sand-blasting. The rest of the building was getting blasted about 2 months ago I think. The exterior walls of units are brick, so if you have windows (which everyone does) you've got at least one brick wall. If you have a corner unit you'll likely have two. Interior walls between units (that don't currently exist) will be your more "finished" look, in so much as it's drywall and not original material.
I suppose one could request to cover up the brick, or carpet over the hardwood floors, but I'm not that person.
loftlover wrote:Heard a rumour today at work that Orchard was talking to Barnes and Noble. Totally unfounded, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway ...
That'd mean another Starbucks pit-stop on my walk to work. Excellent!
Having that two floors down would be so dangerous to my health. I'm a slave to the chai.
This is an interesting rumor as it'd mean they've backed off on trying to get Borders to come in. Between that and the rumors that St. Louis Centre was trying for Borders and that something is up with the Centre... hmm.
I work across the street from Ely, and have been keeping a close eye on the building. As of Friday, they've begun putting new windows on the west side of the building. They look fabulous. You can really start to visualize how great this structure is going to look after renovation.
Just thought future Ely residents would like to know...
NICE, can't wait for the building to be done and to move in... BTW if you go in to view the model the walls have been down and you can see the entire 2 nd floor window to window...
Also my dad snuck up stairs and said that there is some framing going in on the top floors...
