What is Real Estate

Writen by Will Daly

Talk about a boom! There are currently over fifty loft projects either built, under construction or proposed for Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe when just five years ago there were literally no residential lofts. Of these buildings there is one that truly stands out. I am in no way affiliated with the building, the developer, or the sales team. However, I am a fan.

Portland Place is a three phase, two hundred unit, project which will contain condo "flats", two story loft penthouses, and what the developer calls brownstones (I call them two story condos made of brick since they don't really have the feel of a brownstone). Portland place is located on the north edge of the Phoenix Art District, just a short walk from the Phoenix Art Museum and the Library and reportedly just one building away from a light rail station. I really like the floor plans and the project as a whole is architecturally interesting. The current plans call for three large buildings with six, eight and ten stories each to house a total of 184 flats and lofts and two smaller buildings with sixteen brownstones. What I really like is the price. The sales team is selling phase one with prices starting in the mid-$300 per foot range. This is a real deal. The one thing that I think really hurts this project is that regardless of how large a unit one buys, he or she only gets one parking space. That might fly in denser cities like Chicago, New York or San Francisco but that does not work in Phoenix. The good news is that the developer has now said that with Phase Two he'll build enough parking spaces for the folks in Phase One to have another spot. Of course he'll charge for it but that's pretty much the norm today (there are exceptions).

There is one other thing; I'm a bit concerned that they have done very little construction at the site. Yes a hole is dug. But a hole alone shows very little financial commitment on the part of a developer; after all a hole can be filled back in RELATIVELY inexpensively. Until I start seeing concrete and footings I'll wonder if this guy is moving forward or not. I for one sure hope he does.

Copyright © 2006 Will Daly. All Rights Reserved.

For current pricing, floor plan or status information on Portland Place or ANY loft project in Phoenix, Scottsdale or Tempe contact Will Daly, a Realtor with RE/MAX Excalibur and owner of http://www.WeKnowUrban.com/and http://www.CondosPhx.com/ and http://www.We-Know-Urban.blogspot.com/. His phone number is (480) 510-8755.