urbanSTL

jlblues wrote:^Yes, I have always thought that would be a great target market for downtown developers. I personally probably know a dozen people that are now renting that would be very interested in buying downtown if they could get in for 125% of their monthly rent, or ~1k a month. I realize that developers could get a better return on the higher end stuff, but since the market for those may be a bit saturated now, it would seem to make sense to go downscale. For whatever reason, local developers don't seem to think so.



I watched several entry level developments in Chicago go pretty fast - they always seem to be in high demand - so I would think it would be a great opportunity to turn around a project fast and move on to the next one. Plus, in my experience, those units appreciate better. You could even have a combination rental/entry level condo building, get a quick turnaround on the condo units, hold on to the rentals until the upscale market picks up again., and then convert, but what do I know?

Other rehabilitation projects now under construction require revamping many smaller apartments in a building into fewer, larger units. Designs for Ford Condominiums, a renovation of a 1920s building at North 14th and Pine streets, call for converting 104 apartments into 26 units.



"The interior was completely demolished (in the last two months), and then you go back in there with a new floor plan," said John Grey, a senior project manager at Edwardsville, Ill.-based Contegra Construction, the contractor.



Construction is scheduled to start early next month, pending federal approvals. Grey declined to give the construction cost.



In any rehabilitation, the unknown is a key obstacle, Grey said. During construction, workers could discover rotten wood, unplanned piping or wiring or even old newspapers.



"When it comes to renovations, you never know what's behind a wall," he said.

MattnSTL wrote:

Other rehabilitation projects now under construction require revamping many smaller apartments in a building into fewer, larger units. Designs for Ford Condominiums, a renovation of a 1920s building at North 14th and Pine streets, call for converting 104 apartments into 26 units.



"The interior was completely demolished (in the last two months), and then you go back in there with a new floor plan," said John Grey, a senior project manager at Edwardsville, Ill.-based Contegra Construction, the contractor.



Construction is scheduled to start early next month, pending federal approvals. Grey declined to give the construction cost.



In any rehabilitation, the unknown is a key obstacle, Grey said. During construction, workers could discover rotten wood, unplanned piping or wiring or even old newspapers.



"When it comes to renovations, you never know what's behind a wall," he said.

Source

When the five-story building at 4100 Forest Park Avenue opened in 1914, it was designed for the production of Model Ts. Ninety-three years later, the former Ford Motor Co. factory will soon house people, not cars.



That transformation into 120 residential loft units and ground-floor retail space requires a serious face-lift — inside and out.

Other rehabilitation projects now under construction require revamping many smaller apartments in a building into fewer, larger units. Designs for Ford Condominiums, a renovation of a 1920s building at North 14th and Pine streets, call for converting 104 apartments into 26 units.

The Ford Apartments, located at 1405 Pine Streed in St. Louis Missouri, is a fourteen story rectangular brick tower on a limestone base. The Modern building, completed in 1950, is almost completely unadorned.

dina wrote:I do know their website is no longer available

MattnSTL wrote:The project is not, I repeat, not dead. The money just came in last week for construction. This comes from a source that is close to the construction.

innov8ion wrote:^ Excellent news, Matt. Does the plan remain the same?

Moorlander wrote:

MattnSTL wrote:The project is not, I repeat, not dead. The money just came in last week for construction. This comes from a source that is close to the construction.

Still have the 40% contingency or no?

MattnSTL wrote:The project is not, I repeat, not dead. The money just came in last week for construction. This comes from a source that is close to the construction.