dman379

Per Doug Smith, Novare won't begin selling Catalyst units until early 2008. Given market conditions though, I wouldn't be surprised if that's pushed back similar to 300 S. Tryon. http://www.charlotte.com/business/columnis...ory/176912.html

In Doug Smith's article in the link below, it says, "Novare plans to begin selling Catalyst units in early 2008 and move owners into the tower starting in early 2009." That's about what I had expected given the way Novare waited to start selling the Avenue until it was well under way. By then, they may have made progress on the park and/or baseball stadium, which may increase the attraction to buyers if they can actually see the surrounding blocks evolving. http://www.charlotte.com/business/columnis...ory/176912.html

If you look closely at the second picture or visit the actual site, you'll see that the action and cranes are closer to the corner of MLK and Church than MLK and Mint. It's a huge block between Church and Mint and can be somewhat deceptive from various angles. That's an awesome second picture capturing the skyline view from the site. With the open block north of the site due to the new park, owners on the skyline facing side of the building are going to have forever-open and amazing views of the skyline, park, and new baseball stadium. Those in the upper floors might even be able to watch a game from their balcony. How cool would that be?

I'm hoping for the same, but I don't think those prices are likely given the cost of the remaining units at the Avenue combined with the superior (IMO) location and view of Overture and Twelve directly on the new park and overlooking the new baseball stadium and pictured skyline section. Granted, there are still a number of 2BR units remaining at the Avenue, but they're priced between $310-410/sq. ft. The only thing that may keep the average price at Overture down will be the fact that it appears to have units beginning on much lower floors compared to those at Avenue. I would expect prices at Overture and Twelve to start around $300/sq ft at the lowest floors and South-facing views and work their way up from there, averaging about $375/sq. ft. That's just my speculation though. If anyone can keep the prices reasonable amid material costs and competition though, it's Novare. They leverage their buying power well and have been rumored to actually lower prices from previous developments in the same city. I just don't see it on this plot in Charlotte. As a potential buyer though, I'd love to be proven wrong.

Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump were all in Charlotte on Thursday and spotted out at the Wachovia Championship. I know there's plenty of golf spectator opportunities elsewhere and have to assume that they were in town on business. Apparently the three Trump kids are playing a heavy role in Trump Constuction.

Yeah - they're going to need every bit of a full court press to get those prices! I just spoke to a buddy of mine this evening who had lost his contract with The Renwick when it was reclaimed and renamed as The Enclave. Part of that deal apparently gave the original contract owners the first right of refusal to the new prices for the units they had originally selected. He told me that he reserved his ~1600sq. ft penthouse, skyline view unit for $327k back in June of 2004. They called him just the other day and said they were offering him the option to purchase the same exact unit now for $569k. Can you believe that? He sure couldn't and just laughed in their face before hanging up. If that isn't an act of disrespect, I don't know what is. In my opinion, the view from The Enclave isn't all that impressive considering it's predominately of Courtside's ugly backside. For $375/sq. ft., you can buy a stellar highrise condo on the 22nd floor of TradeMark, which doesn't even compare to the lowrise, stick-built Enclave. After what they greedily did to the original contract owners, I hope they have a dreadfully difficult time selling these newly and outrageously priced units.

My friend said he consulted his lawyer and they said there probably isn't very much he can do regarding the lost profits. I think the contracts were written that loosely using the verbiage "unforeseen circumstances" as a situation allowing the developer to cancel the contracts. Regardless, they're requesting that the Renwick developer pay him $10k in addition to his downpayment, but he hasn't heard anything back from the lawyer yet regarding that request. I'll keep everyone posted.

My friend was the 4th person to go to contract on the Renwick back in June '04 and got in on a ~1600 sq. ft penthouse unit with a great city view for around $320k. I called the sales team several months ago to look into a similar unit for myself and they were then selling those without a city view for $400k and about to go through a price increase. As such, I think a $100k profit was definitely a possibility. Is being upset at the loss of a potential $100k profit because the developer cancelled the contract greedy and shameful? I don't think so considering that he'd been waiting for the project to be complete for 2.5 years with his down payment earning the developer interest the entire time. Luckily he was smart enough to see the writing on the wall and bought another place while waiting for the Renwick to be completed. Otherwise, he would have continued paying rent while real estate prices increased considerably, only to be shafted and left out in the cold down the road by a greedy and shameful developer. Unfortunately, I'm sure there are many other singles, couples, and families that didn't have as much foresight to buy elsewhere while waiting.

I just spoke to my good friend who owned a contract at the Renwick and he confirmed what we have been discussing over the last several weeks regarding the contract cancellations. Under the advice of his lawyer, he refused to sign the contract cancellation document that he was originally sent, but the Renwick folks sent him a check for his $4,000 down payment anyway. Under that action, I'm assuming the developer just cancelled the contract without his signature. He said that his lawyer is currently trying to get an additional $10,000 on top of the down payment, but he's not too optimistic. Even if he were successful, it's still a big disappointment compared to the ~$100k he was hoping to make on the flip. Greedy and shameful indeed!

I didn't personally see the letter verbiage, but my buddy said that it wasn't very official and he is indeed refusing to sign it until he receives counsel from his lawyer. He looked back over his contract and said that the verbiage there around contract termination was written very loosely, stating acts of God and unforeseen circumstances as justification for termination. It will be interesting to see how the little guys fair against a developer with ~$6 Million in additional estimated costs to recover.

My former roommate went to contract on a penthouse unit at the Renwick back in the summer of 2004. Over the past two years, he's been licking his chops as Uptown real estate values soared, putting him on track for a $100K+ profit if he chose to flip at the time of completion. Then just the week before last, he received a letter from the Renwick's developer asking for his signature and agreement to be released from the contract. Apparently the Renwick's developer is attempting to have all existing long-term contracts canceled so that they can be reissued at current market values. If you figure 80 units at approximately $80K appreciation on each, the developer has $6 Million to gain if he's successful. My buddy was furious and put an immediate call into his lawyer, so we'll have to see how loose the contract was written and what power the contract owners have. How would you like to have waited 2 years just for the Renwick to break ground, throwing your money into rent the entire time, just to lose your contract and all potential appreciation profit and find yourself right back where you started? Anyone else caught in this nightmare?

You're right Seabreeze, only 2 elevators for TradeMark. I really can't believe that! Hopefully they'll have nice lobbies with flat screen TVs because folks will be spending a good bit of time there waiting on the elevators and will need something to keep them entertained.

Above is the statement that started all of the talk about elevators, but I can't seem to find where TradeMark's website states that the building will only have 2 elevators. I should probably have posted this under the Trademark thread and maybe I'm just missing something really obvious, but it would be great if someone could direct me to that information and confirm our concern.

Boulevard Centro has begun reservations for The QUAD, the first of three buildings within their Quarterside development. Below is the link to their updated website and text from an email I received from them. Unit sizes and prices range from 525-1148sq ft and $225-$265/sq. ft, respectively. http://www.blvdcentro.com/quarterside/quad/quad.htm "Thanks so much for your interest in The Quad! We are excited to be able to offer this brand new development to Uptown. THE QUAD, a condo community located in QUARTERSIDE, is an exciting mixed use development on the city block bounded by Sixth Street, McDowell Street and Seventh Street, and consists of loft-style condos within easy walking distance of the arena, trolley, and the restaurants and nightlife uptown Charlotte has to offer! We are now accepting reservations! We understand everyone