A year ago, the Helgesons were celebrating a makeover of their Queen Creek home by TV star designer Nate Berkus.
This year, Jessica and Cody Helgeson have turned that southeast Valley home into a rental and are celebrating their recent move to a high-rise in downtown Phoenix, 44 Monroe. Moving downtown has saved them hundreds of dollars a month in gas, reduced their headaches, eliminated their long commutes and improved their social lives, they said.
The switch from suburban to urban life has its price. They lost nearly 800 square feet of space and a lush green yard.
Do they miss it?
"We haven't really," said Cody Helgeson, 26. "We had a yard that was all landscaped, but at the same time, we were paying a gardener to come out every week."
"Here we have Civic Space Park," he said. "It's not even a block away."
44 Monroe in Phoenix
The Helgesons are among an influx of new tenants at the 202-unit, 34-story building at First Avenue and Monroe Street. The tower once intended for condos is around 75 percent full, rebounding from a slump that began with the housing-market crash a few years ago and foreclosures tied to the bankruptcy of lender Mortgages Ltd.
A year ago, a new company in Chicago, ST Residential, bought the tower out of foreclosure and opened a sales office to sell the remaining 196 empty condos. Starting prices were below $200,000.
Sales were so slow that in January, ST Residential announced it would rent the units.
"The worst thing in the world is a vacant tower," said Wade Hundley, CEO of ST Residential. "We felt like there was a better market for renting. We wanted to get people in the building."
The rent for a 44 Monroe apartment ranges according to size. Rent is $1,582 for a one-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath unit that spans 1,126 square feet, according to the 44Monroe.com website. Rent can range from $2,900 to $2,990 for the largest unit, a 2,079-square-foot space that includes two bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.
Hundley said the company looks to other properties in the area to develop its pricing and rents, but 44 Monroe is a unique property. The downtown area has a few high-rises, and some of them, such as the Summit at Copper Square near Chase Field, are struggling to fill their units in the aftermath of bankruptcy.
"We had a hard time finding comps (for setting rent)," Hundley said.
The new 44 Monroe renters include people in their 20s, such as the Helgesons, and some young professionals in their 30s.
Kevin Bohm, the tower's leasing director, said he has worked to nab renters through Internet marketing and by networking with organizations such as the Phoenix Community Alliance, a non-profit organization that represents Phoenix-area businesses.
Nationwide and in Phoenix, the housing market has become a renter's market, Bohm said.
Bohm said 44 Monroe has a lot of pluses: It's near CityScape, which has entertainment venues such as Lucky Strike Lanes and Stand Up Live comedy club, and is within walking distance of two grocery stores - the Downtown Phoenix Public Market and Oakville Grocery.
The building also sits near the Metro light rail, which enables some of its tenants to commute to work on mass transit.
Cody Helgeson said that convenience has allowed him and his wife to sell one of their cars.
"When we lived in Queen Creek, we were budgeting about $500 a month in gas," he said. "Now, we've got it down to one vehicle. We're probably able to go one whole month on one tank of gas. We walk everywhere."
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
44 Monroe
By the numbers:
• $1,582 to $2,990: Range in monthly rent, depending on the floor plan.
• 1,126 square feet: Smallest floor plan (one bedroom, 1 1/2 baths).
• 2,079 square feet: Largest floor plan (two bedroom, two bath).
• 1,300 square feet: Size of midrange apartments.
• 202: Units in the building.
• 75 percent: Percentage of building leased.
• 34 stories: Height of building.
More information is online at 44Monroe.com.
by Emily Gersema The Arizona Republic Sept. 29, 2011 12:00 AM
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
Showing posts with label 44 monroe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 44 monroe. Show all posts
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
A year ago, the Helgesons were celebrating a makeover of their Queen Creek home by TV star designer Nate Berkus.
This year, Jessica and Cody Helgeson have turned that southeast Valley home into a rental and are celebrating their recent move to a high-rise in downtown Phoenix, 44 Monroe. Moving downtown has saved them hundreds of dollars a month in gas, reduced their headaches, eliminated their long commutes and improved their social lives, they said.
The switch from suburban to urban life has its price. They lost nearly 800 square feet of space and a lush green yard.
Do they miss it?
"We haven't really," said Cody Helgeson, 26. "We had a yard that was all landscaped, but at the same time, we were paying a gardener to come out every week."
"Here we have Civic Space Park," he said. "It's not even a block away."
44 Monroe in Phoenix
The Helgesons are among an influx of new tenants at the 202-unit, 34-story building at First Avenue and Monroe Street. The tower once intended for condos is around 75 percent full, rebounding from a slump that began with the housing-market crash a few years ago and foreclosures tied to the bankruptcy of lender Mortgages Ltd.
A year ago, a new company in Chicago, ST Residential, bought the tower out of foreclosure and opened a sales office to sell the remaining 196 empty condos. Starting prices were below $200,000.
Sales were so slow that in January, ST Residential announced it would rent the units.
"The worst thing in the world is a vacant tower," said Wade Hundley, CEO of ST Residential. "We felt like there was a better market for renting. We wanted to get people in the building."
The rent for a 44 Monroe apartment ranges according to size. Rent is $1,582 for a one-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath unit that spans 1,126 square feet, according to the 44Monroe.com website. Rent can range from $2,900 to $2,990 for the largest unit, a 2,079-square-foot space that includes two bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.
Hundley said the company looks to other properties in the area to develop its pricing and rents, but 44 Monroe is a unique property. The downtown area has a few high-rises, and some of them, such as the Summit at Copper Square near Chase Field, are struggling to fill their units in the aftermath of bankruptcy.
"We had a hard time finding comps (for setting rent)," Hundley said.
The new 44 Monroe renters include people in their 20s, such as the Helgesons, and some young professionals in their 30s.
Kevin Bohm, the tower's leasing director, said he has worked to nab renters through Internet marketing and by networking with organizations such as the Phoenix Community Alliance, a non-profit organization that represents Phoenix-area businesses.
Nationwide and in Phoenix, the housing market has become a renter's market, Bohm said.
Bohm said 44 Monroe has a lot of pluses: It's near CityScape, which has entertainment venues such as Lucky Strike Lanes and Stand Up Live comedy club, and is within walking distance of two grocery stores - the Downtown Phoenix Public Market and Oakville Grocery.
The building also sits near the Metro light rail, which enables some of its tenants to commute to work on mass transit.
Cody Helgeson said that convenience has allowed him and his wife to sell one of their cars.
"When we lived in Queen Creek, we were budgeting about $500 a month in gas," he said. "Now, we've got it down to one vehicle. We're probably able to go one whole month on one tank of gas. We walk everywhere."
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
44 Monroe
By the numbers:
• $1,582 to $2,990: Range in monthly rent, depending on the floor plan.
• 1,126 square feet: Smallest floor plan (one bedroom, 1 1/2 baths).
• 2,079 square feet: Largest floor plan (two bedroom, two bath).
• 1,300 square feet: Size of midrange apartments.
• 202: Units in the building.
• 75 percent: Percentage of building leased.
• 34 stories: Height of building.
More information is online at 44Monroe.com.
by Emily Gersema The Arizona Republic Sept. 29, 2011 12:00 AM
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
This year, Jessica and Cody Helgeson have turned that southeast Valley home into a rental and are celebrating their recent move to a high-rise in downtown Phoenix, 44 Monroe. Moving downtown has saved them hundreds of dollars a month in gas, reduced their headaches, eliminated their long commutes and improved their social lives, they said.
The switch from suburban to urban life has its price. They lost nearly 800 square feet of space and a lush green yard.
Do they miss it?
"We haven't really," said Cody Helgeson, 26. "We had a yard that was all landscaped, but at the same time, we were paying a gardener to come out every week."
"Here we have Civic Space Park," he said. "It's not even a block away."
44 Monroe in Phoenix
The Helgesons are among an influx of new tenants at the 202-unit, 34-story building at First Avenue and Monroe Street. The tower once intended for condos is around 75 percent full, rebounding from a slump that began with the housing-market crash a few years ago and foreclosures tied to the bankruptcy of lender Mortgages Ltd.
A year ago, a new company in Chicago, ST Residential, bought the tower out of foreclosure and opened a sales office to sell the remaining 196 empty condos. Starting prices were below $200,000.
Sales were so slow that in January, ST Residential announced it would rent the units.
"The worst thing in the world is a vacant tower," said Wade Hundley, CEO of ST Residential. "We felt like there was a better market for renting. We wanted to get people in the building."
The rent for a 44 Monroe apartment ranges according to size. Rent is $1,582 for a one-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath unit that spans 1,126 square feet, according to the 44Monroe.com website. Rent can range from $2,900 to $2,990 for the largest unit, a 2,079-square-foot space that includes two bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.
Hundley said the company looks to other properties in the area to develop its pricing and rents, but 44 Monroe is a unique property. The downtown area has a few high-rises, and some of them, such as the Summit at Copper Square near Chase Field, are struggling to fill their units in the aftermath of bankruptcy.
"We had a hard time finding comps (for setting rent)," Hundley said.
The new 44 Monroe renters include people in their 20s, such as the Helgesons, and some young professionals in their 30s.
Kevin Bohm, the tower's leasing director, said he has worked to nab renters through Internet marketing and by networking with organizations such as the Phoenix Community Alliance, a non-profit organization that represents Phoenix-area businesses.
Nationwide and in Phoenix, the housing market has become a renter's market, Bohm said.
Bohm said 44 Monroe has a lot of pluses: It's near CityScape, which has entertainment venues such as Lucky Strike Lanes and Stand Up Live comedy club, and is within walking distance of two grocery stores - the Downtown Phoenix Public Market and Oakville Grocery.
The building also sits near the Metro light rail, which enables some of its tenants to commute to work on mass transit.
Cody Helgeson said that convenience has allowed him and his wife to sell one of their cars.
"When we lived in Queen Creek, we were budgeting about $500 a month in gas," he said. "Now, we've got it down to one vehicle. We're probably able to go one whole month on one tank of gas. We walk everywhere."
44 Monroe
By the numbers:
• $1,582 to $2,990: Range in monthly rent, depending on the floor plan.
• 1,126 square feet: Smallest floor plan (one bedroom, 1 1/2 baths).
• 2,079 square feet: Largest floor plan (two bedroom, two bath).
• 1,300 square feet: Size of midrange apartments.
• 202: Units in the building.
• 75 percent: Percentage of building leased.
• 34 stories: Height of building.
More information is online at 44Monroe.com.
by Emily Gersema The Arizona Republic Sept. 29, 2011 12:00 AM
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
A year ago, the Helgesons were celebrating a makeover of their Queen Creek home by TV star designer Nate Berkus.
This year, Jessica and Cody Helgeson have turned that southeast Valley home into a rental and are celebrating their recent move to a high-rise in downtown Phoenix, 44 Monroe. Moving downtown has saved them hundreds of dollars a month in gas, reduced their headaches, eliminated their long commutes and improved their social lives, they said.
The switch from suburban to urban life has its price. They lost nearly 800 square feet of space and a lush green yard.
Do they miss it?
"We haven't really," said Cody Helgeson, 26. "We had a yard that was all landscaped, but at the same time, we were paying a gardener to come out every week."
"Here we have Civic Space Park," he said. "It's not even a block away."
44 Monroe in Phoenix
The Helgesons are among an influx of new tenants at the 202-unit, 34-story building at First Avenue and Monroe Street. The tower once intended for condos is around 75 percent full, rebounding from a slump that began with the housing-market crash a few years ago and foreclosures tied to the bankruptcy of lender Mortgages Ltd.
A year ago, a new company in Chicago, ST Residential, bought the tower out of foreclosure and opened a sales office to sell the remaining 196 empty condos. Starting prices were below $200,000.
Sales were so slow that in January, ST Residential announced it would rent the units.
"The worst thing in the world is a vacant tower," said Wade Hundley, CEO of ST Residential. "We felt like there was a better market for renting. We wanted to get people in the building."
The rent for a 44 Monroe apartment ranges according to size. Rent is $1,582 for a one-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath unit that spans 1,126 square feet, according to the 44Monroe.com website. Rent can range from $2,900 to $2,990 for the largest unit, a 2,079-square-foot space that includes two bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.
Hundley said the company looks to other properties in the area to develop its pricing and rents, but 44 Monroe is a unique property. The downtown area has a few high-rises, and some of them, such as the Summit at Copper Square near Chase Field, are struggling to fill their units in the aftermath of bankruptcy.
"We had a hard time finding comps (for setting rent)," Hundley said.
The new 44 Monroe renters include people in their 20s, such as the Helgesons, and some young professionals in their 30s.
Kevin Bohm, the tower's leasing director, said he has worked to nab renters through Internet marketing and by networking with organizations such as the Phoenix Community Alliance, a non-profit organization that represents Phoenix-area businesses.
Nationwide and in Phoenix, the housing market has become a renter's market, Bohm said.
Bohm said 44 Monroe has a lot of pluses: It's near CityScape, which has entertainment venues such as Lucky Strike Lanes and Stand Up Live comedy club, and is within walking distance of two grocery stores - the Downtown Phoenix Public Market and Oakville Grocery.
The building also sits near the Metro light rail, which enables some of its tenants to commute to work on mass transit.
Cody Helgeson said that convenience has allowed him and his wife to sell one of their cars.
"When we lived in Queen Creek, we were budgeting about $500 a month in gas," he said. "Now, we've got it down to one vehicle. We're probably able to go one whole month on one tank of gas. We walk everywhere."
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
44 Monroe
By the numbers:
• $1,582 to $2,990: Range in monthly rent, depending on the floor plan.
• 1,126 square feet: Smallest floor plan (one bedroom, 1 1/2 baths).
• 2,079 square feet: Largest floor plan (two bedroom, two bath).
• 1,300 square feet: Size of midrange apartments.
• 202: Units in the building.
• 75 percent: Percentage of building leased.
• 34 stories: Height of building.
More information is online at 44Monroe.com.
by Emily Gersema The Arizona Republic Sept. 29, 2011 12:00 AM
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
This year, Jessica and Cody Helgeson have turned that southeast Valley home into a rental and are celebrating their recent move to a high-rise in downtown Phoenix, 44 Monroe. Moving downtown has saved them hundreds of dollars a month in gas, reduced their headaches, eliminated their long commutes and improved their social lives, they said.
The switch from suburban to urban life has its price. They lost nearly 800 square feet of space and a lush green yard.
Do they miss it?
"We haven't really," said Cody Helgeson, 26. "We had a yard that was all landscaped, but at the same time, we were paying a gardener to come out every week."
"Here we have Civic Space Park," he said. "It's not even a block away."
44 Monroe in Phoenix
The Helgesons are among an influx of new tenants at the 202-unit, 34-story building at First Avenue and Monroe Street. The tower once intended for condos is around 75 percent full, rebounding from a slump that began with the housing-market crash a few years ago and foreclosures tied to the bankruptcy of lender Mortgages Ltd.
A year ago, a new company in Chicago, ST Residential, bought the tower out of foreclosure and opened a sales office to sell the remaining 196 empty condos. Starting prices were below $200,000.
Sales were so slow that in January, ST Residential announced it would rent the units.
"The worst thing in the world is a vacant tower," said Wade Hundley, CEO of ST Residential. "We felt like there was a better market for renting. We wanted to get people in the building."
The rent for a 44 Monroe apartment ranges according to size. Rent is $1,582 for a one-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath unit that spans 1,126 square feet, according to the 44Monroe.com website. Rent can range from $2,900 to $2,990 for the largest unit, a 2,079-square-foot space that includes two bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.
Hundley said the company looks to other properties in the area to develop its pricing and rents, but 44 Monroe is a unique property. The downtown area has a few high-rises, and some of them, such as the Summit at Copper Square near Chase Field, are struggling to fill their units in the aftermath of bankruptcy.
"We had a hard time finding comps (for setting rent)," Hundley said.
The new 44 Monroe renters include people in their 20s, such as the Helgesons, and some young professionals in their 30s.
Kevin Bohm, the tower's leasing director, said he has worked to nab renters through Internet marketing and by networking with organizations such as the Phoenix Community Alliance, a non-profit organization that represents Phoenix-area businesses.
Nationwide and in Phoenix, the housing market has become a renter's market, Bohm said.
Bohm said 44 Monroe has a lot of pluses: It's near CityScape, which has entertainment venues such as Lucky Strike Lanes and Stand Up Live comedy club, and is within walking distance of two grocery stores - the Downtown Phoenix Public Market and Oakville Grocery.
The building also sits near the Metro light rail, which enables some of its tenants to commute to work on mass transit.
Cody Helgeson said that convenience has allowed him and his wife to sell one of their cars.
"When we lived in Queen Creek, we were budgeting about $500 a month in gas," he said. "Now, we've got it down to one vehicle. We're probably able to go one whole month on one tank of gas. We walk everywhere."
44 Monroe
By the numbers:
• $1,582 to $2,990: Range in monthly rent, depending on the floor plan.
• 1,126 square feet: Smallest floor plan (one bedroom, 1 1/2 baths).
• 2,079 square feet: Largest floor plan (two bedroom, two bath).
• 1,300 square feet: Size of midrange apartments.
• 202: Units in the building.
• 75 percent: Percentage of building leased.
• 34 stories: Height of building.
More information is online at 44Monroe.com.
by Emily Gersema The Arizona Republic Sept. 29, 2011 12:00 AM
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
A year ago, the Helgesons were celebrating a makeover of their Queen Creek home by TV star designer Nate Berkus.
This year, Jessica and Cody Helgeson have turned that southeast Valley home into a rental and are celebrating their recent move to a high-rise in downtown Phoenix, 44 Monroe. Moving downtown has saved them hundreds of dollars a month in gas, reduced their headaches, eliminated their long commutes and improved their social lives, they said.
The switch from suburban to urban life has its price. They lost nearly 800 square feet of space and a lush green yard.
Do they miss it?
"We haven't really," said Cody Helgeson, 26. "We had a yard that was all landscaped, but at the same time, we were paying a gardener to come out every week."
"Here we have Civic Space Park," he said. "It's not even a block away."
44 Monroe in Phoenix
The Helgesons are among an influx of new tenants at the 202-unit, 34-story building at First Avenue and Monroe Street. The tower once intended for condos is around 75 percent full, rebounding from a slump that began with the housing-market crash a few years ago and foreclosures tied to the bankruptcy of lender Mortgages Ltd.
A year ago, a new company in Chicago, ST Residential, bought the tower out of foreclosure and opened a sales office to sell the remaining 196 empty condos. Starting prices were below $200,000.
Sales were so slow that in January, ST Residential announced it would rent the units.
"The worst thing in the world is a vacant tower," said Wade Hundley, CEO of ST Residential. "We felt like there was a better market for renting. We wanted to get people in the building."
The rent for a 44 Monroe apartment ranges according to size. Rent is $1,582 for a one-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath unit that spans 1,126 square feet, according to the 44Monroe.com website. Rent can range from $2,900 to $2,990 for the largest unit, a 2,079-square-foot space that includes two bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.
Hundley said the company looks to other properties in the area to develop its pricing and rents, but 44 Monroe is a unique property. The downtown area has a few high-rises, and some of them, such as the Summit at Copper Square near Chase Field, are struggling to fill their units in the aftermath of bankruptcy.
"We had a hard time finding comps (for setting rent)," Hundley said.
The new 44 Monroe renters include people in their 20s, such as the Helgesons, and some young professionals in their 30s.
Kevin Bohm, the tower's leasing director, said he has worked to nab renters through Internet marketing and by networking with organizations such as the Phoenix Community Alliance, a non-profit organization that represents Phoenix-area businesses.
Nationwide and in Phoenix, the housing market has become a renter's market, Bohm said.
Bohm said 44 Monroe has a lot of pluses: It's near CityScape, which has entertainment venues such as Lucky Strike Lanes and Stand Up Live comedy club, and is within walking distance of two grocery stores - the Downtown Phoenix Public Market and Oakville Grocery.
The building also sits near the Metro light rail, which enables some of its tenants to commute to work on mass transit.
Cody Helgeson said that convenience has allowed him and his wife to sell one of their cars.
"When we lived in Queen Creek, we were budgeting about $500 a month in gas," he said. "Now, we've got it down to one vehicle. We're probably able to go one whole month on one tank of gas. We walk everywhere."
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
44 Monroe
By the numbers:
• $1,582 to $2,990: Range in monthly rent, depending on the floor plan.
• 1,126 square feet: Smallest floor plan (one bedroom, 1 1/2 baths).
• 2,079 square feet: Largest floor plan (two bedroom, two bath).
• 1,300 square feet: Size of midrange apartments.
• 202: Units in the building.
• 75 percent: Percentage of building leased.
• 34 stories: Height of building.
More information is online at 44Monroe.com.
by Emily Gersema The Arizona Republic Sept. 29, 2011 12:00 AM
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
This year, Jessica and Cody Helgeson have turned that southeast Valley home into a rental and are celebrating their recent move to a high-rise in downtown Phoenix, 44 Monroe. Moving downtown has saved them hundreds of dollars a month in gas, reduced their headaches, eliminated their long commutes and improved their social lives, they said.
The switch from suburban to urban life has its price. They lost nearly 800 square feet of space and a lush green yard.
Do they miss it?
"We haven't really," said Cody Helgeson, 26. "We had a yard that was all landscaped, but at the same time, we were paying a gardener to come out every week."
"Here we have Civic Space Park," he said. "It's not even a block away."
44 Monroe in Phoenix
The Helgesons are among an influx of new tenants at the 202-unit, 34-story building at First Avenue and Monroe Street. The tower once intended for condos is around 75 percent full, rebounding from a slump that began with the housing-market crash a few years ago and foreclosures tied to the bankruptcy of lender Mortgages Ltd.
A year ago, a new company in Chicago, ST Residential, bought the tower out of foreclosure and opened a sales office to sell the remaining 196 empty condos. Starting prices were below $200,000.
Sales were so slow that in January, ST Residential announced it would rent the units.
"The worst thing in the world is a vacant tower," said Wade Hundley, CEO of ST Residential. "We felt like there was a better market for renting. We wanted to get people in the building."
The rent for a 44 Monroe apartment ranges according to size. Rent is $1,582 for a one-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath unit that spans 1,126 square feet, according to the 44Monroe.com website. Rent can range from $2,900 to $2,990 for the largest unit, a 2,079-square-foot space that includes two bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.
Hundley said the company looks to other properties in the area to develop its pricing and rents, but 44 Monroe is a unique property. The downtown area has a few high-rises, and some of them, such as the Summit at Copper Square near Chase Field, are struggling to fill their units in the aftermath of bankruptcy.
"We had a hard time finding comps (for setting rent)," Hundley said.
The new 44 Monroe renters include people in their 20s, such as the Helgesons, and some young professionals in their 30s.
Kevin Bohm, the tower's leasing director, said he has worked to nab renters through Internet marketing and by networking with organizations such as the Phoenix Community Alliance, a non-profit organization that represents Phoenix-area businesses.
Nationwide and in Phoenix, the housing market has become a renter's market, Bohm said.
Bohm said 44 Monroe has a lot of pluses: It's near CityScape, which has entertainment venues such as Lucky Strike Lanes and Stand Up Live comedy club, and is within walking distance of two grocery stores - the Downtown Phoenix Public Market and Oakville Grocery.
The building also sits near the Metro light rail, which enables some of its tenants to commute to work on mass transit.
Cody Helgeson said that convenience has allowed him and his wife to sell one of their cars.
"When we lived in Queen Creek, we were budgeting about $500 a month in gas," he said. "Now, we've got it down to one vehicle. We're probably able to go one whole month on one tank of gas. We walk everywhere."
44 Monroe
By the numbers:
• $1,582 to $2,990: Range in monthly rent, depending on the floor plan.
• 1,126 square feet: Smallest floor plan (one bedroom, 1 1/2 baths).
• 2,079 square feet: Largest floor plan (two bedroom, two bath).
• 1,300 square feet: Size of midrange apartments.
• 202: Units in the building.
• 75 percent: Percentage of building leased.
• 34 stories: Height of building.
More information is online at 44Monroe.com.
by Emily Gersema The Arizona Republic Sept. 29, 2011 12:00 AM
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
A year ago, the Helgesons were celebrating a makeover of their Queen Creek home by TV star designer Nate Berkus.
This year, Jessica and Cody Helgeson have turned that southeast Valley home into a rental and are celebrating their recent move to a high-rise in downtown Phoenix, 44 Monroe. Moving downtown has saved them hundreds of dollars a month in gas, reduced their headaches, eliminated their long commutes and improved their social lives, they said.
The switch from suburban to urban life has its price. They lost nearly 800 square feet of space and a lush green yard.
Do they miss it?
"We haven't really," said Cody Helgeson, 26. "We had a yard that was all landscaped, but at the same time, we were paying a gardener to come out every week."
"Here we have Civic Space Park," he said. "It's not even a block away."
44 Monroe in Phoenix
The Helgesons are among an influx of new tenants at the 202-unit, 34-story building at First Avenue and Monroe Street. The tower once intended for condos is around 75 percent full, rebounding from a slump that began with the housing-market crash a few years ago and foreclosures tied to the bankruptcy of lender Mortgages Ltd.
A year ago, a new company in Chicago, ST Residential, bought the tower out of foreclosure and opened a sales office to sell the remaining 196 empty condos. Starting prices were below $200,000.
Sales were so slow that in January, ST Residential announced it would rent the units.
"The worst thing in the world is a vacant tower," said Wade Hundley, CEO of ST Residential. "We felt like there was a better market for renting. We wanted to get people in the building."
The rent for a 44 Monroe apartment ranges according to size. Rent is $1,582 for a one-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath unit that spans 1,126 square feet, according to the 44Monroe.com website. Rent can range from $2,900 to $2,990 for the largest unit, a 2,079-square-foot space that includes two bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.
Hundley said the company looks to other properties in the area to develop its pricing and rents, but 44 Monroe is a unique property. The downtown area has a few high-rises, and some of them, such as the Summit at Copper Square near Chase Field, are struggling to fill their units in the aftermath of bankruptcy.
"We had a hard time finding comps (for setting rent)," Hundley said.
The new 44 Monroe renters include people in their 20s, such as the Helgesons, and some young professionals in their 30s.
Kevin Bohm, the tower's leasing director, said he has worked to nab renters through Internet marketing and by networking with organizations such as the Phoenix Community Alliance, a non-profit organization that represents Phoenix-area businesses.
Nationwide and in Phoenix, the housing market has become a renter's market, Bohm said.
Bohm said 44 Monroe has a lot of pluses: It's near CityScape, which has entertainment venues such as Lucky Strike Lanes and Stand Up Live comedy club, and is within walking distance of two grocery stores - the Downtown Phoenix Public Market and Oakville Grocery.
The building also sits near the Metro light rail, which enables some of its tenants to commute to work on mass transit.
Cody Helgeson said that convenience has allowed him and his wife to sell one of their cars.
"When we lived in Queen Creek, we were budgeting about $500 a month in gas," he said. "Now, we've got it down to one vehicle. We're probably able to go one whole month on one tank of gas. We walk everywhere."
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
44 Monroe
By the numbers:
• $1,582 to $2,990: Range in monthly rent, depending on the floor plan.
• 1,126 square feet: Smallest floor plan (one bedroom, 1 1/2 baths).
• 2,079 square feet: Largest floor plan (two bedroom, two bath).
• 1,300 square feet: Size of midrange apartments.
• 202: Units in the building.
• 75 percent: Percentage of building leased.
• 34 stories: Height of building.
More information is online at 44Monroe.com.
by Emily Gersema The Arizona Republic Sept. 29, 2011 12:00 AM
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
This year, Jessica and Cody Helgeson have turned that southeast Valley home into a rental and are celebrating their recent move to a high-rise in downtown Phoenix, 44 Monroe. Moving downtown has saved them hundreds of dollars a month in gas, reduced their headaches, eliminated their long commutes and improved their social lives, they said.
The switch from suburban to urban life has its price. They lost nearly 800 square feet of space and a lush green yard.
Do they miss it?
"We haven't really," said Cody Helgeson, 26. "We had a yard that was all landscaped, but at the same time, we were paying a gardener to come out every week."
"Here we have Civic Space Park," he said. "It's not even a block away."
44 Monroe in Phoenix
The Helgesons are among an influx of new tenants at the 202-unit, 34-story building at First Avenue and Monroe Street. The tower once intended for condos is around 75 percent full, rebounding from a slump that began with the housing-market crash a few years ago and foreclosures tied to the bankruptcy of lender Mortgages Ltd.
A year ago, a new company in Chicago, ST Residential, bought the tower out of foreclosure and opened a sales office to sell the remaining 196 empty condos. Starting prices were below $200,000.
Sales were so slow that in January, ST Residential announced it would rent the units.
"The worst thing in the world is a vacant tower," said Wade Hundley, CEO of ST Residential. "We felt like there was a better market for renting. We wanted to get people in the building."
The rent for a 44 Monroe apartment ranges according to size. Rent is $1,582 for a one-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath unit that spans 1,126 square feet, according to the 44Monroe.com website. Rent can range from $2,900 to $2,990 for the largest unit, a 2,079-square-foot space that includes two bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.
Hundley said the company looks to other properties in the area to develop its pricing and rents, but 44 Monroe is a unique property. The downtown area has a few high-rises, and some of them, such as the Summit at Copper Square near Chase Field, are struggling to fill their units in the aftermath of bankruptcy.
"We had a hard time finding comps (for setting rent)," Hundley said.
The new 44 Monroe renters include people in their 20s, such as the Helgesons, and some young professionals in their 30s.
Kevin Bohm, the tower's leasing director, said he has worked to nab renters through Internet marketing and by networking with organizations such as the Phoenix Community Alliance, a non-profit organization that represents Phoenix-area businesses.
Nationwide and in Phoenix, the housing market has become a renter's market, Bohm said.
Bohm said 44 Monroe has a lot of pluses: It's near CityScape, which has entertainment venues such as Lucky Strike Lanes and Stand Up Live comedy club, and is within walking distance of two grocery stores - the Downtown Phoenix Public Market and Oakville Grocery.
The building also sits near the Metro light rail, which enables some of its tenants to commute to work on mass transit.
Cody Helgeson said that convenience has allowed him and his wife to sell one of their cars.
"When we lived in Queen Creek, we were budgeting about $500 a month in gas," he said. "Now, we've got it down to one vehicle. We're probably able to go one whole month on one tank of gas. We walk everywhere."
44 Monroe
By the numbers:
• $1,582 to $2,990: Range in monthly rent, depending on the floor plan.
• 1,126 square feet: Smallest floor plan (one bedroom, 1 1/2 baths).
• 2,079 square feet: Largest floor plan (two bedroom, two bath).
• 1,300 square feet: Size of midrange apartments.
• 202: Units in the building.
• 75 percent: Percentage of building leased.
• 34 stories: Height of building.
More information is online at 44Monroe.com.
by Emily Gersema The Arizona Republic Sept. 29, 2011 12:00 AM
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
A year ago, the Helgesons were celebrating a makeover of their Queen Creek home by TV star designer Nate Berkus.
This year, Jessica and Cody Helgeson have turned that southeast Valley home into a rental and are celebrating their recent move to a high-rise in downtown Phoenix, 44 Monroe. Moving downtown has saved them hundreds of dollars a month in gas, reduced their headaches, eliminated their long commutes and improved their social lives, they said.
The switch from suburban to urban life has its price. They lost nearly 800 square feet of space and a lush green yard.
Do they miss it?
"We haven't really," said Cody Helgeson, 26. "We had a yard that was all landscaped, but at the same time, we were paying a gardener to come out every week."
"Here we have Civic Space Park," he said. "It's not even a block away."
44 Monroe in Phoenix
The Helgesons are among an influx of new tenants at the 202-unit, 34-story building at First Avenue and Monroe Street. The tower once intended for condos is around 75 percent full, rebounding from a slump that began with the housing-market crash a few years ago and foreclosures tied to the bankruptcy of lender Mortgages Ltd.
A year ago, a new company in Chicago, ST Residential, bought the tower out of foreclosure and opened a sales office to sell the remaining 196 empty condos. Starting prices were below $200,000.
Sales were so slow that in January, ST Residential announced it would rent the units.
"The worst thing in the world is a vacant tower," said Wade Hundley, CEO of ST Residential. "We felt like there was a better market for renting. We wanted to get people in the building."
The rent for a 44 Monroe apartment ranges according to size. Rent is $1,582 for a one-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath unit that spans 1,126 square feet, according to the 44Monroe.com website. Rent can range from $2,900 to $2,990 for the largest unit, a 2,079-square-foot space that includes two bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.
Hundley said the company looks to other properties in the area to develop its pricing and rents, but 44 Monroe is a unique property. The downtown area has a few high-rises, and some of them, such as the Summit at Copper Square near Chase Field, are struggling to fill their units in the aftermath of bankruptcy.
"We had a hard time finding comps (for setting rent)," Hundley said.
The new 44 Monroe renters include people in their 20s, such as the Helgesons, and some young professionals in their 30s.
Kevin Bohm, the tower's leasing director, said he has worked to nab renters through Internet marketing and by networking with organizations such as the Phoenix Community Alliance, a non-profit organization that represents Phoenix-area businesses.
Nationwide and in Phoenix, the housing market has become a renter's market, Bohm said.
Bohm said 44 Monroe has a lot of pluses: It's near CityScape, which has entertainment venues such as Lucky Strike Lanes and Stand Up Live comedy club, and is within walking distance of two grocery stores - the Downtown Phoenix Public Market and Oakville Grocery.
The building also sits near the Metro light rail, which enables some of its tenants to commute to work on mass transit.
Cody Helgeson said that convenience has allowed him and his wife to sell one of their cars.
"When we lived in Queen Creek, we were budgeting about $500 a month in gas," he said. "Now, we've got it down to one vehicle. We're probably able to go one whole month on one tank of gas. We walk everywhere."
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
44 Monroe
By the numbers:
• $1,582 to $2,990: Range in monthly rent, depending on the floor plan.
• 1,126 square feet: Smallest floor plan (one bedroom, 1 1/2 baths).
• 2,079 square feet: Largest floor plan (two bedroom, two bath).
• 1,300 square feet: Size of midrange apartments.
• 202: Units in the building.
• 75 percent: Percentage of building leased.
• 34 stories: Height of building.
More information is online at 44Monroe.com.
by Emily Gersema The Arizona Republic Sept. 29, 2011 12:00 AM
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
This year, Jessica and Cody Helgeson have turned that southeast Valley home into a rental and are celebrating their recent move to a high-rise in downtown Phoenix, 44 Monroe. Moving downtown has saved them hundreds of dollars a month in gas, reduced their headaches, eliminated their long commutes and improved their social lives, they said.
The switch from suburban to urban life has its price. They lost nearly 800 square feet of space and a lush green yard.
Do they miss it?
"We haven't really," said Cody Helgeson, 26. "We had a yard that was all landscaped, but at the same time, we were paying a gardener to come out every week."
"Here we have Civic Space Park," he said. "It's not even a block away."
44 Monroe in Phoenix
The Helgesons are among an influx of new tenants at the 202-unit, 34-story building at First Avenue and Monroe Street. The tower once intended for condos is around 75 percent full, rebounding from a slump that began with the housing-market crash a few years ago and foreclosures tied to the bankruptcy of lender Mortgages Ltd.
A year ago, a new company in Chicago, ST Residential, bought the tower out of foreclosure and opened a sales office to sell the remaining 196 empty condos. Starting prices were below $200,000.
Sales were so slow that in January, ST Residential announced it would rent the units.
"The worst thing in the world is a vacant tower," said Wade Hundley, CEO of ST Residential. "We felt like there was a better market for renting. We wanted to get people in the building."
The rent for a 44 Monroe apartment ranges according to size. Rent is $1,582 for a one-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath unit that spans 1,126 square feet, according to the 44Monroe.com website. Rent can range from $2,900 to $2,990 for the largest unit, a 2,079-square-foot space that includes two bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.
Hundley said the company looks to other properties in the area to develop its pricing and rents, but 44 Monroe is a unique property. The downtown area has a few high-rises, and some of them, such as the Summit at Copper Square near Chase Field, are struggling to fill their units in the aftermath of bankruptcy.
"We had a hard time finding comps (for setting rent)," Hundley said.
The new 44 Monroe renters include people in their 20s, such as the Helgesons, and some young professionals in their 30s.
Kevin Bohm, the tower's leasing director, said he has worked to nab renters through Internet marketing and by networking with organizations such as the Phoenix Community Alliance, a non-profit organization that represents Phoenix-area businesses.
Nationwide and in Phoenix, the housing market has become a renter's market, Bohm said.
Bohm said 44 Monroe has a lot of pluses: It's near CityScape, which has entertainment venues such as Lucky Strike Lanes and Stand Up Live comedy club, and is within walking distance of two grocery stores - the Downtown Phoenix Public Market and Oakville Grocery.
The building also sits near the Metro light rail, which enables some of its tenants to commute to work on mass transit.
Cody Helgeson said that convenience has allowed him and his wife to sell one of their cars.
"When we lived in Queen Creek, we were budgeting about $500 a month in gas," he said. "Now, we've got it down to one vehicle. We're probably able to go one whole month on one tank of gas. We walk everywhere."
44 Monroe
By the numbers:
• $1,582 to $2,990: Range in monthly rent, depending on the floor plan.
• 1,126 square feet: Smallest floor plan (one bedroom, 1 1/2 baths).
• 2,079 square feet: Largest floor plan (two bedroom, two bath).
• 1,300 square feet: Size of midrange apartments.
• 202: Units in the building.
• 75 percent: Percentage of building leased.
• 34 stories: Height of building.
More information is online at 44Monroe.com.
by Emily Gersema The Arizona Republic Sept. 29, 2011 12:00 AM
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
A year ago, the Helgesons were celebrating a makeover of their Queen Creek home by TV star designer Nate Berkus.
This year, Jessica and Cody Helgeson have turned that southeast Valley home into a rental and are celebrating their recent move to a high-rise in downtown Phoenix, 44 Monroe. Moving downtown has saved them hundreds of dollars a month in gas, reduced their headaches, eliminated their long commutes and improved their social lives, they said.
The switch from suburban to urban life has its price. They lost nearly 800 square feet of space and a lush green yard.
Do they miss it?
"We haven't really," said Cody Helgeson, 26. "We had a yard that was all landscaped, but at the same time, we were paying a gardener to come out every week."
"Here we have Civic Space Park," he said. "It's not even a block away."
44 Monroe in Phoenix
The Helgesons are among an influx of new tenants at the 202-unit, 34-story building at First Avenue and Monroe Street. The tower once intended for condos is around 75 percent full, rebounding from a slump that began with the housing-market crash a few years ago and foreclosures tied to the bankruptcy of lender Mortgages Ltd.
A year ago, a new company in Chicago, ST Residential, bought the tower out of foreclosure and opened a sales office to sell the remaining 196 empty condos. Starting prices were below $200,000.
Sales were so slow that in January, ST Residential announced it would rent the units.
"The worst thing in the world is a vacant tower," said Wade Hundley, CEO of ST Residential. "We felt like there was a better market for renting. We wanted to get people in the building."
The rent for a 44 Monroe apartment ranges according to size. Rent is $1,582 for a one-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath unit that spans 1,126 square feet, according to the 44Monroe.com website. Rent can range from $2,900 to $2,990 for the largest unit, a 2,079-square-foot space that includes two bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.
Hundley said the company looks to other properties in the area to develop its pricing and rents, but 44 Monroe is a unique property. The downtown area has a few high-rises, and some of them, such as the Summit at Copper Square near Chase Field, are struggling to fill their units in the aftermath of bankruptcy.
"We had a hard time finding comps (for setting rent)," Hundley said.
The new 44 Monroe renters include people in their 20s, such as the Helgesons, and some young professionals in their 30s.
Kevin Bohm, the tower's leasing director, said he has worked to nab renters through Internet marketing and by networking with organizations such as the Phoenix Community Alliance, a non-profit organization that represents Phoenix-area businesses.
Nationwide and in Phoenix, the housing market has become a renter's market, Bohm said.
Bohm said 44 Monroe has a lot of pluses: It's near CityScape, which has entertainment venues such as Lucky Strike Lanes and Stand Up Live comedy club, and is within walking distance of two grocery stores - the Downtown Phoenix Public Market and Oakville Grocery.
The building also sits near the Metro light rail, which enables some of its tenants to commute to work on mass transit.
Cody Helgeson said that convenience has allowed him and his wife to sell one of their cars.
"When we lived in Queen Creek, we were budgeting about $500 a month in gas," he said. "Now, we've got it down to one vehicle. We're probably able to go one whole month on one tank of gas. We walk everywhere."
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
44 Monroe
By the numbers:
• $1,582 to $2,990: Range in monthly rent, depending on the floor plan.
• 1,126 square feet: Smallest floor plan (one bedroom, 1 1/2 baths).
• 2,079 square feet: Largest floor plan (two bedroom, two bath).
• 1,300 square feet: Size of midrange apartments.
• 202: Units in the building.
• 75 percent: Percentage of building leased.
• 34 stories: Height of building.
More information is online at 44Monroe.com.
by Emily Gersema The Arizona Republic Sept. 29, 2011 12:00 AM
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
This year, Jessica and Cody Helgeson have turned that southeast Valley home into a rental and are celebrating their recent move to a high-rise in downtown Phoenix, 44 Monroe. Moving downtown has saved them hundreds of dollars a month in gas, reduced their headaches, eliminated their long commutes and improved their social lives, they said.
The switch from suburban to urban life has its price. They lost nearly 800 square feet of space and a lush green yard.
Do they miss it?
"We haven't really," said Cody Helgeson, 26. "We had a yard that was all landscaped, but at the same time, we were paying a gardener to come out every week."
"Here we have Civic Space Park," he said. "It's not even a block away."
44 Monroe in Phoenix
The Helgesons are among an influx of new tenants at the 202-unit, 34-story building at First Avenue and Monroe Street. The tower once intended for condos is around 75 percent full, rebounding from a slump that began with the housing-market crash a few years ago and foreclosures tied to the bankruptcy of lender Mortgages Ltd.
A year ago, a new company in Chicago, ST Residential, bought the tower out of foreclosure and opened a sales office to sell the remaining 196 empty condos. Starting prices were below $200,000.
Sales were so slow that in January, ST Residential announced it would rent the units.
"The worst thing in the world is a vacant tower," said Wade Hundley, CEO of ST Residential. "We felt like there was a better market for renting. We wanted to get people in the building."
The rent for a 44 Monroe apartment ranges according to size. Rent is $1,582 for a one-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath unit that spans 1,126 square feet, according to the 44Monroe.com website. Rent can range from $2,900 to $2,990 for the largest unit, a 2,079-square-foot space that includes two bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.
Hundley said the company looks to other properties in the area to develop its pricing and rents, but 44 Monroe is a unique property. The downtown area has a few high-rises, and some of them, such as the Summit at Copper Square near Chase Field, are struggling to fill their units in the aftermath of bankruptcy.
"We had a hard time finding comps (for setting rent)," Hundley said.
The new 44 Monroe renters include people in their 20s, such as the Helgesons, and some young professionals in their 30s.
Kevin Bohm, the tower's leasing director, said he has worked to nab renters through Internet marketing and by networking with organizations such as the Phoenix Community Alliance, a non-profit organization that represents Phoenix-area businesses.
Nationwide and in Phoenix, the housing market has become a renter's market, Bohm said.
Bohm said 44 Monroe has a lot of pluses: It's near CityScape, which has entertainment venues such as Lucky Strike Lanes and Stand Up Live comedy club, and is within walking distance of two grocery stores - the Downtown Phoenix Public Market and Oakville Grocery.
The building also sits near the Metro light rail, which enables some of its tenants to commute to work on mass transit.
Cody Helgeson said that convenience has allowed him and his wife to sell one of their cars.
"When we lived in Queen Creek, we were budgeting about $500 a month in gas," he said. "Now, we've got it down to one vehicle. We're probably able to go one whole month on one tank of gas. We walk everywhere."
44 Monroe
By the numbers:
• $1,582 to $2,990: Range in monthly rent, depending on the floor plan.
• 1,126 square feet: Smallest floor plan (one bedroom, 1 1/2 baths).
• 2,079 square feet: Largest floor plan (two bedroom, two bath).
• 1,300 square feet: Size of midrange apartments.
• 202: Units in the building.
• 75 percent: Percentage of building leased.
• 34 stories: Height of building.
More information is online at 44Monroe.com.
by Emily Gersema The Arizona Republic Sept. 29, 2011 12:00 AM
Moving to downtown Phoenix has saved couple lots of money, time
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Citing weak demand for upscale condominiums, the owner of high-rise condo property 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix has decided to convert the project to apartments.
Chicago-based ST Residential bought 44 Monroe out of foreclosure in June and opened a sales office inside the building in November, hoping to sell its remaining 196 units at prices starting just under $200,000.
The company has been unable to sell any of the units as condos, according to a spokesman for ST Residential.
Only 14 units sold originally when the project was built in 2006. Company spokesman Greg Sexton said those buyers will retain ownership of their condo units and could offer them for sale to ST Residential or retain ownership until the building's owners decide to convert 44 Monroe back to a condo project.
"This is a big win for the current residents," Sexton said, adding that the change from an almost-empty condo tower to a busy apartment property would be good for existing residents and the downtown area.
Commercial real-estate analyst Bob Kammrath of Kammrath & Associates in Mesa said ST Residential is following a recent trend in which multifamily properties originally marketed as luxury-condo communities have gone rental.
Condo-to-apartment conversions hinder the ability of existing unit owners to sell their properties, Kammrath said, but could keep the project viable until the downtown housing market recovers.
"I'm sure that's the hope," he said. "The problem is, the rental market stinks, too."
Tighter lending standards and the sudden affordability of single-family homes in the Valley have hit condo investors hard, Kammrath said.
Converting to apartments offers some advantages to property owners, such as recurring revenue and the ability to adjust prices as demand waxes and wanes.
And ST Residential would have the choice to resume condo sales if and when it decides the market can accommodate them.
The median resale price for a condo in Phoenix dropped to under $60,000 in November, according to Jay Butler, an Arizona State University housing expert.
A year earlier, the median condo price had been about $88,000, according to Butler, of ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.
ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said his company will continue to monitor the local housing market and could potentially resume condo sales.
"We remain believers in the potential of the downtown Phoenix market, and we know that 44 Monroe will be a part of the recovery when it occurs," Hundley said.
ST Residential purchased two other local condo projects in June that were in foreclosure: Safari Drive in Scottsdale and 3rd Avenue Palms in downtown Phoenix.
Those properties continue to attract prospective condo buyers and will not be available for lease, Hundley said.
A revamped leasing center is expected to open at 44 Monroe in January.
The company did not provide any details about lease rates or how the change would affect existing property owners.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential involves the FDIC and a group of private-equity firms led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three metro Phoenix properties purchased by ST Residential in June had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., a holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion in residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, Hundley said in an interview in July.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Jan. 5, 2011 12:00 AM
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Chicago-based ST Residential bought 44 Monroe out of foreclosure in June and opened a sales office inside the building in November, hoping to sell its remaining 196 units at prices starting just under $200,000.
The company has been unable to sell any of the units as condos, according to a spokesman for ST Residential.
Only 14 units sold originally when the project was built in 2006. Company spokesman Greg Sexton said those buyers will retain ownership of their condo units and could offer them for sale to ST Residential or retain ownership until the building's owners decide to convert 44 Monroe back to a condo project.
"This is a big win for the current residents," Sexton said, adding that the change from an almost-empty condo tower to a busy apartment property would be good for existing residents and the downtown area.
Commercial real-estate analyst Bob Kammrath of Kammrath & Associates in Mesa said ST Residential is following a recent trend in which multifamily properties originally marketed as luxury-condo communities have gone rental.
Condo-to-apartment conversions hinder the ability of existing unit owners to sell their properties, Kammrath said, but could keep the project viable until the downtown housing market recovers.
"I'm sure that's the hope," he said. "The problem is, the rental market stinks, too."
Tighter lending standards and the sudden affordability of single-family homes in the Valley have hit condo investors hard, Kammrath said.
Converting to apartments offers some advantages to property owners, such as recurring revenue and the ability to adjust prices as demand waxes and wanes.
And ST Residential would have the choice to resume condo sales if and when it decides the market can accommodate them.
The median resale price for a condo in Phoenix dropped to under $60,000 in November, according to Jay Butler, an Arizona State University housing expert.
A year earlier, the median condo price had been about $88,000, according to Butler, of ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.
ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said his company will continue to monitor the local housing market and could potentially resume condo sales.
"We remain believers in the potential of the downtown Phoenix market, and we know that 44 Monroe will be a part of the recovery when it occurs," Hundley said.
ST Residential purchased two other local condo projects in June that were in foreclosure: Safari Drive in Scottsdale and 3rd Avenue Palms in downtown Phoenix.
Those properties continue to attract prospective condo buyers and will not be available for lease, Hundley said.
A revamped leasing center is expected to open at 44 Monroe in January.
The company did not provide any details about lease rates or how the change would affect existing property owners.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential involves the FDIC and a group of private-equity firms led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three metro Phoenix properties purchased by ST Residential in June had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., a holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion in residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, Hundley said in an interview in July.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Jan. 5, 2011 12:00 AM
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Citing weak demand for upscale condominiums, the owner of high-rise condo property 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix has decided to convert the project to apartments.
Chicago-based ST Residential bought 44 Monroe out of foreclosure in June and opened a sales office inside the building in November, hoping to sell its remaining 196 units at prices starting just under $200,000.
The company has been unable to sell any of the units as condos, according to a spokesman for ST Residential.
Only 14 units sold originally when the project was built in 2006. Company spokesman Greg Sexton said those buyers will retain ownership of their condo units and could offer them for sale to ST Residential or retain ownership until the building's owners decide to convert 44 Monroe back to a condo project.
"This is a big win for the current residents," Sexton said, adding that the change from an almost-empty condo tower to a busy apartment property would be good for existing residents and the downtown area.
Commercial real-estate analyst Bob Kammrath of Kammrath & Associates in Mesa said ST Residential is following a recent trend in which multifamily properties originally marketed as luxury-condo communities have gone rental.
Condo-to-apartment conversions hinder the ability of existing unit owners to sell their properties, Kammrath said, but could keep the project viable until the downtown housing market recovers.
"I'm sure that's the hope," he said. "The problem is, the rental market stinks, too."
Tighter lending standards and the sudden affordability of single-family homes in the Valley have hit condo investors hard, Kammrath said.
Converting to apartments offers some advantages to property owners, such as recurring revenue and the ability to adjust prices as demand waxes and wanes.
And ST Residential would have the choice to resume condo sales if and when it decides the market can accommodate them.
The median resale price for a condo in Phoenix dropped to under $60,000 in November, according to Jay Butler, an Arizona State University housing expert.
A year earlier, the median condo price had been about $88,000, according to Butler, of ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.
ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said his company will continue to monitor the local housing market and could potentially resume condo sales.
"We remain believers in the potential of the downtown Phoenix market, and we know that 44 Monroe will be a part of the recovery when it occurs," Hundley said.
ST Residential purchased two other local condo projects in June that were in foreclosure: Safari Drive in Scottsdale and 3rd Avenue Palms in downtown Phoenix.
Those properties continue to attract prospective condo buyers and will not be available for lease, Hundley said.
A revamped leasing center is expected to open at 44 Monroe in January.
The company did not provide any details about lease rates or how the change would affect existing property owners.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential involves the FDIC and a group of private-equity firms led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three metro Phoenix properties purchased by ST Residential in June had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., a holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion in residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, Hundley said in an interview in July.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Jan. 5, 2011 12:00 AM
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Chicago-based ST Residential bought 44 Monroe out of foreclosure in June and opened a sales office inside the building in November, hoping to sell its remaining 196 units at prices starting just under $200,000.
The company has been unable to sell any of the units as condos, according to a spokesman for ST Residential.
Only 14 units sold originally when the project was built in 2006. Company spokesman Greg Sexton said those buyers will retain ownership of their condo units and could offer them for sale to ST Residential or retain ownership until the building's owners decide to convert 44 Monroe back to a condo project.
"This is a big win for the current residents," Sexton said, adding that the change from an almost-empty condo tower to a busy apartment property would be good for existing residents and the downtown area.
Commercial real-estate analyst Bob Kammrath of Kammrath & Associates in Mesa said ST Residential is following a recent trend in which multifamily properties originally marketed as luxury-condo communities have gone rental.
Condo-to-apartment conversions hinder the ability of existing unit owners to sell their properties, Kammrath said, but could keep the project viable until the downtown housing market recovers.
"I'm sure that's the hope," he said. "The problem is, the rental market stinks, too."
Tighter lending standards and the sudden affordability of single-family homes in the Valley have hit condo investors hard, Kammrath said.
Converting to apartments offers some advantages to property owners, such as recurring revenue and the ability to adjust prices as demand waxes and wanes.
And ST Residential would have the choice to resume condo sales if and when it decides the market can accommodate them.
The median resale price for a condo in Phoenix dropped to under $60,000 in November, according to Jay Butler, an Arizona State University housing expert.
A year earlier, the median condo price had been about $88,000, according to Butler, of ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.
ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said his company will continue to monitor the local housing market and could potentially resume condo sales.
"We remain believers in the potential of the downtown Phoenix market, and we know that 44 Monroe will be a part of the recovery when it occurs," Hundley said.
ST Residential purchased two other local condo projects in June that were in foreclosure: Safari Drive in Scottsdale and 3rd Avenue Palms in downtown Phoenix.
Those properties continue to attract prospective condo buyers and will not be available for lease, Hundley said.
A revamped leasing center is expected to open at 44 Monroe in January.
The company did not provide any details about lease rates or how the change would affect existing property owners.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential involves the FDIC and a group of private-equity firms led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three metro Phoenix properties purchased by ST Residential in June had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., a holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion in residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, Hundley said in an interview in July.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Jan. 5, 2011 12:00 AM
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Citing weak demand for upscale condominiums, the owner of high-rise condo property 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix has decided to convert the project to apartments.
Chicago-based ST Residential bought 44 Monroe out of foreclosure in June and opened a sales office inside the building in November, hoping to sell its remaining 196 units at prices starting just under $200,000.
The company has been unable to sell any of the units as condos, according to a spokesman for ST Residential.
Only 14 units sold originally when the project was built in 2006. Company spokesman Greg Sexton said those buyers will retain ownership of their condo units and could offer them for sale to ST Residential or retain ownership until the building's owners decide to convert 44 Monroe back to a condo project.
"This is a big win for the current residents," Sexton said, adding that the change from an almost-empty condo tower to a busy apartment property would be good for existing residents and the downtown area.
Commercial real-estate analyst Bob Kammrath of Kammrath & Associates in Mesa said ST Residential is following a recent trend in which multifamily properties originally marketed as luxury-condo communities have gone rental.
Condo-to-apartment conversions hinder the ability of existing unit owners to sell their properties, Kammrath said, but could keep the project viable until the downtown housing market recovers.
"I'm sure that's the hope," he said. "The problem is, the rental market stinks, too."
Tighter lending standards and the sudden affordability of single-family homes in the Valley have hit condo investors hard, Kammrath said.
Converting to apartments offers some advantages to property owners, such as recurring revenue and the ability to adjust prices as demand waxes and wanes.
And ST Residential would have the choice to resume condo sales if and when it decides the market can accommodate them.
The median resale price for a condo in Phoenix dropped to under $60,000 in November, according to Jay Butler, an Arizona State University housing expert.
A year earlier, the median condo price had been about $88,000, according to Butler, of ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.
ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said his company will continue to monitor the local housing market and could potentially resume condo sales.
"We remain believers in the potential of the downtown Phoenix market, and we know that 44 Monroe will be a part of the recovery when it occurs," Hundley said.
ST Residential purchased two other local condo projects in June that were in foreclosure: Safari Drive in Scottsdale and 3rd Avenue Palms in downtown Phoenix.
Those properties continue to attract prospective condo buyers and will not be available for lease, Hundley said.
A revamped leasing center is expected to open at 44 Monroe in January.
The company did not provide any details about lease rates or how the change would affect existing property owners.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential involves the FDIC and a group of private-equity firms led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three metro Phoenix properties purchased by ST Residential in June had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., a holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion in residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, Hundley said in an interview in July.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Jan. 5, 2011 12:00 AM
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Chicago-based ST Residential bought 44 Monroe out of foreclosure in June and opened a sales office inside the building in November, hoping to sell its remaining 196 units at prices starting just under $200,000.
The company has been unable to sell any of the units as condos, according to a spokesman for ST Residential.
Only 14 units sold originally when the project was built in 2006. Company spokesman Greg Sexton said those buyers will retain ownership of their condo units and could offer them for sale to ST Residential or retain ownership until the building's owners decide to convert 44 Monroe back to a condo project.
"This is a big win for the current residents," Sexton said, adding that the change from an almost-empty condo tower to a busy apartment property would be good for existing residents and the downtown area.
Commercial real-estate analyst Bob Kammrath of Kammrath & Associates in Mesa said ST Residential is following a recent trend in which multifamily properties originally marketed as luxury-condo communities have gone rental.
Condo-to-apartment conversions hinder the ability of existing unit owners to sell their properties, Kammrath said, but could keep the project viable until the downtown housing market recovers.
"I'm sure that's the hope," he said. "The problem is, the rental market stinks, too."
Tighter lending standards and the sudden affordability of single-family homes in the Valley have hit condo investors hard, Kammrath said.
Converting to apartments offers some advantages to property owners, such as recurring revenue and the ability to adjust prices as demand waxes and wanes.
And ST Residential would have the choice to resume condo sales if and when it decides the market can accommodate them.
The median resale price for a condo in Phoenix dropped to under $60,000 in November, according to Jay Butler, an Arizona State University housing expert.
A year earlier, the median condo price had been about $88,000, according to Butler, of ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.
ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said his company will continue to monitor the local housing market and could potentially resume condo sales.
"We remain believers in the potential of the downtown Phoenix market, and we know that 44 Monroe will be a part of the recovery when it occurs," Hundley said.
ST Residential purchased two other local condo projects in June that were in foreclosure: Safari Drive in Scottsdale and 3rd Avenue Palms in downtown Phoenix.
Those properties continue to attract prospective condo buyers and will not be available for lease, Hundley said.
A revamped leasing center is expected to open at 44 Monroe in January.
The company did not provide any details about lease rates or how the change would affect existing property owners.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential involves the FDIC and a group of private-equity firms led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three metro Phoenix properties purchased by ST Residential in June had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., a holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion in residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, Hundley said in an interview in July.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Jan. 5, 2011 12:00 AM
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Citing weak demand for upscale condominiums, the owner of high-rise condo property 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix has decided to convert the project to apartments.
Chicago-based ST Residential bought 44 Monroe out of foreclosure in June and opened a sales office inside the building in November, hoping to sell its remaining 196 units at prices starting just under $200,000.
The company has been unable to sell any of the units as condos, according to a spokesman for ST Residential.
Only 14 units sold originally when the project was built in 2006. Company spokesman Greg Sexton said those buyers will retain ownership of their condo units and could offer them for sale to ST Residential or retain ownership until the building's owners decide to convert 44 Monroe back to a condo project.
"This is a big win for the current residents," Sexton said, adding that the change from an almost-empty condo tower to a busy apartment property would be good for existing residents and the downtown area.
Commercial real-estate analyst Bob Kammrath of Kammrath & Associates in Mesa said ST Residential is following a recent trend in which multifamily properties originally marketed as luxury-condo communities have gone rental.
Condo-to-apartment conversions hinder the ability of existing unit owners to sell their properties, Kammrath said, but could keep the project viable until the downtown housing market recovers.
"I'm sure that's the hope," he said. "The problem is, the rental market stinks, too."
Tighter lending standards and the sudden affordability of single-family homes in the Valley have hit condo investors hard, Kammrath said.
Converting to apartments offers some advantages to property owners, such as recurring revenue and the ability to adjust prices as demand waxes and wanes.
And ST Residential would have the choice to resume condo sales if and when it decides the market can accommodate them.
The median resale price for a condo in Phoenix dropped to under $60,000 in November, according to Jay Butler, an Arizona State University housing expert.
A year earlier, the median condo price had been about $88,000, according to Butler, of ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.
ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said his company will continue to monitor the local housing market and could potentially resume condo sales.
"We remain believers in the potential of the downtown Phoenix market, and we know that 44 Monroe will be a part of the recovery when it occurs," Hundley said.
ST Residential purchased two other local condo projects in June that were in foreclosure: Safari Drive in Scottsdale and 3rd Avenue Palms in downtown Phoenix.
Those properties continue to attract prospective condo buyers and will not be available for lease, Hundley said.
A revamped leasing center is expected to open at 44 Monroe in January.
The company did not provide any details about lease rates or how the change would affect existing property owners.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential involves the FDIC and a group of private-equity firms led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three metro Phoenix properties purchased by ST Residential in June had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., a holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion in residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, Hundley said in an interview in July.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Jan. 5, 2011 12:00 AM
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Chicago-based ST Residential bought 44 Monroe out of foreclosure in June and opened a sales office inside the building in November, hoping to sell its remaining 196 units at prices starting just under $200,000.
The company has been unable to sell any of the units as condos, according to a spokesman for ST Residential.
Only 14 units sold originally when the project was built in 2006. Company spokesman Greg Sexton said those buyers will retain ownership of their condo units and could offer them for sale to ST Residential or retain ownership until the building's owners decide to convert 44 Monroe back to a condo project.
"This is a big win for the current residents," Sexton said, adding that the change from an almost-empty condo tower to a busy apartment property would be good for existing residents and the downtown area.
Commercial real-estate analyst Bob Kammrath of Kammrath & Associates in Mesa said ST Residential is following a recent trend in which multifamily properties originally marketed as luxury-condo communities have gone rental.
Condo-to-apartment conversions hinder the ability of existing unit owners to sell their properties, Kammrath said, but could keep the project viable until the downtown housing market recovers.
"I'm sure that's the hope," he said. "The problem is, the rental market stinks, too."
Tighter lending standards and the sudden affordability of single-family homes in the Valley have hit condo investors hard, Kammrath said.
Converting to apartments offers some advantages to property owners, such as recurring revenue and the ability to adjust prices as demand waxes and wanes.
And ST Residential would have the choice to resume condo sales if and when it decides the market can accommodate them.
The median resale price for a condo in Phoenix dropped to under $60,000 in November, according to Jay Butler, an Arizona State University housing expert.
A year earlier, the median condo price had been about $88,000, according to Butler, of ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.
ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said his company will continue to monitor the local housing market and could potentially resume condo sales.
"We remain believers in the potential of the downtown Phoenix market, and we know that 44 Monroe will be a part of the recovery when it occurs," Hundley said.
ST Residential purchased two other local condo projects in June that were in foreclosure: Safari Drive in Scottsdale and 3rd Avenue Palms in downtown Phoenix.
Those properties continue to attract prospective condo buyers and will not be available for lease, Hundley said.
A revamped leasing center is expected to open at 44 Monroe in January.
The company did not provide any details about lease rates or how the change would affect existing property owners.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential involves the FDIC and a group of private-equity firms led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three metro Phoenix properties purchased by ST Residential in June had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., a holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion in residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, Hundley said in an interview in July.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Jan. 5, 2011 12:00 AM
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Citing weak demand for upscale condominiums, the owner of high-rise condo property 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix has decided to convert the project to apartments.
Chicago-based ST Residential bought 44 Monroe out of foreclosure in June and opened a sales office inside the building in November, hoping to sell its remaining 196 units at prices starting just under $200,000.
The company has been unable to sell any of the units as condos, according to a spokesman for ST Residential.
Only 14 units sold originally when the project was built in 2006. Company spokesman Greg Sexton said those buyers will retain ownership of their condo units and could offer them for sale to ST Residential or retain ownership until the building's owners decide to convert 44 Monroe back to a condo project.
"This is a big win for the current residents," Sexton said, adding that the change from an almost-empty condo tower to a busy apartment property would be good for existing residents and the downtown area.
Commercial real-estate analyst Bob Kammrath of Kammrath & Associates in Mesa said ST Residential is following a recent trend in which multifamily properties originally marketed as luxury-condo communities have gone rental.
Condo-to-apartment conversions hinder the ability of existing unit owners to sell their properties, Kammrath said, but could keep the project viable until the downtown housing market recovers.
"I'm sure that's the hope," he said. "The problem is, the rental market stinks, too."
Tighter lending standards and the sudden affordability of single-family homes in the Valley have hit condo investors hard, Kammrath said.
Converting to apartments offers some advantages to property owners, such as recurring revenue and the ability to adjust prices as demand waxes and wanes.
And ST Residential would have the choice to resume condo sales if and when it decides the market can accommodate them.
The median resale price for a condo in Phoenix dropped to under $60,000 in November, according to Jay Butler, an Arizona State University housing expert.
A year earlier, the median condo price had been about $88,000, according to Butler, of ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.
ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said his company will continue to monitor the local housing market and could potentially resume condo sales.
"We remain believers in the potential of the downtown Phoenix market, and we know that 44 Monroe will be a part of the recovery when it occurs," Hundley said.
ST Residential purchased two other local condo projects in June that were in foreclosure: Safari Drive in Scottsdale and 3rd Avenue Palms in downtown Phoenix.
Those properties continue to attract prospective condo buyers and will not be available for lease, Hundley said.
A revamped leasing center is expected to open at 44 Monroe in January.
The company did not provide any details about lease rates or how the change would affect existing property owners.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential involves the FDIC and a group of private-equity firms led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three metro Phoenix properties purchased by ST Residential in June had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., a holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion in residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, Hundley said in an interview in July.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Jan. 5, 2011 12:00 AM
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Chicago-based ST Residential bought 44 Monroe out of foreclosure in June and opened a sales office inside the building in November, hoping to sell its remaining 196 units at prices starting just under $200,000.
The company has been unable to sell any of the units as condos, according to a spokesman for ST Residential.
Only 14 units sold originally when the project was built in 2006. Company spokesman Greg Sexton said those buyers will retain ownership of their condo units and could offer them for sale to ST Residential or retain ownership until the building's owners decide to convert 44 Monroe back to a condo project.
"This is a big win for the current residents," Sexton said, adding that the change from an almost-empty condo tower to a busy apartment property would be good for existing residents and the downtown area.
Commercial real-estate analyst Bob Kammrath of Kammrath & Associates in Mesa said ST Residential is following a recent trend in which multifamily properties originally marketed as luxury-condo communities have gone rental.
Condo-to-apartment conversions hinder the ability of existing unit owners to sell their properties, Kammrath said, but could keep the project viable until the downtown housing market recovers.
"I'm sure that's the hope," he said. "The problem is, the rental market stinks, too."
Tighter lending standards and the sudden affordability of single-family homes in the Valley have hit condo investors hard, Kammrath said.
Converting to apartments offers some advantages to property owners, such as recurring revenue and the ability to adjust prices as demand waxes and wanes.
And ST Residential would have the choice to resume condo sales if and when it decides the market can accommodate them.
The median resale price for a condo in Phoenix dropped to under $60,000 in November, according to Jay Butler, an Arizona State University housing expert.
A year earlier, the median condo price had been about $88,000, according to Butler, of ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.
ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said his company will continue to monitor the local housing market and could potentially resume condo sales.
"We remain believers in the potential of the downtown Phoenix market, and we know that 44 Monroe will be a part of the recovery when it occurs," Hundley said.
ST Residential purchased two other local condo projects in June that were in foreclosure: Safari Drive in Scottsdale and 3rd Avenue Palms in downtown Phoenix.
Those properties continue to attract prospective condo buyers and will not be available for lease, Hundley said.
A revamped leasing center is expected to open at 44 Monroe in January.
The company did not provide any details about lease rates or how the change would affect existing property owners.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential involves the FDIC and a group of private-equity firms led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three metro Phoenix properties purchased by ST Residential in June had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., a holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion in residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, Hundley said in an interview in July.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Jan. 5, 2011 12:00 AM
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Citing weak demand for upscale condominiums, the owner of high-rise condo property 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix has decided to convert the project to apartments.
Chicago-based ST Residential bought 44 Monroe out of foreclosure in June and opened a sales office inside the building in November, hoping to sell its remaining 196 units at prices starting just under $200,000.
The company has been unable to sell any of the units as condos, according to a spokesman for ST Residential.
Only 14 units sold originally when the project was built in 2006. Company spokesman Greg Sexton said those buyers will retain ownership of their condo units and could offer them for sale to ST Residential or retain ownership until the building's owners decide to convert 44 Monroe back to a condo project.
"This is a big win for the current residents," Sexton said, adding that the change from an almost-empty condo tower to a busy apartment property would be good for existing residents and the downtown area.
Commercial real-estate analyst Bob Kammrath of Kammrath & Associates in Mesa said ST Residential is following a recent trend in which multifamily properties originally marketed as luxury-condo communities have gone rental.
Condo-to-apartment conversions hinder the ability of existing unit owners to sell their properties, Kammrath said, but could keep the project viable until the downtown housing market recovers.
"I'm sure that's the hope," he said. "The problem is, the rental market stinks, too."
Tighter lending standards and the sudden affordability of single-family homes in the Valley have hit condo investors hard, Kammrath said.
Converting to apartments offers some advantages to property owners, such as recurring revenue and the ability to adjust prices as demand waxes and wanes.
And ST Residential would have the choice to resume condo sales if and when it decides the market can accommodate them.
The median resale price for a condo in Phoenix dropped to under $60,000 in November, according to Jay Butler, an Arizona State University housing expert.
A year earlier, the median condo price had been about $88,000, according to Butler, of ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.
ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said his company will continue to monitor the local housing market and could potentially resume condo sales.
"We remain believers in the potential of the downtown Phoenix market, and we know that 44 Monroe will be a part of the recovery when it occurs," Hundley said.
ST Residential purchased two other local condo projects in June that were in foreclosure: Safari Drive in Scottsdale and 3rd Avenue Palms in downtown Phoenix.
Those properties continue to attract prospective condo buyers and will not be available for lease, Hundley said.
A revamped leasing center is expected to open at 44 Monroe in January.
The company did not provide any details about lease rates or how the change would affect existing property owners.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential involves the FDIC and a group of private-equity firms led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three metro Phoenix properties purchased by ST Residential in June had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., a holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion in residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, Hundley said in an interview in July.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Jan. 5, 2011 12:00 AM
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Chicago-based ST Residential bought 44 Monroe out of foreclosure in June and opened a sales office inside the building in November, hoping to sell its remaining 196 units at prices starting just under $200,000.
The company has been unable to sell any of the units as condos, according to a spokesman for ST Residential.
Only 14 units sold originally when the project was built in 2006. Company spokesman Greg Sexton said those buyers will retain ownership of their condo units and could offer them for sale to ST Residential or retain ownership until the building's owners decide to convert 44 Monroe back to a condo project.
"This is a big win for the current residents," Sexton said, adding that the change from an almost-empty condo tower to a busy apartment property would be good for existing residents and the downtown area.
Commercial real-estate analyst Bob Kammrath of Kammrath & Associates in Mesa said ST Residential is following a recent trend in which multifamily properties originally marketed as luxury-condo communities have gone rental.
Condo-to-apartment conversions hinder the ability of existing unit owners to sell their properties, Kammrath said, but could keep the project viable until the downtown housing market recovers.
"I'm sure that's the hope," he said. "The problem is, the rental market stinks, too."
Tighter lending standards and the sudden affordability of single-family homes in the Valley have hit condo investors hard, Kammrath said.
Converting to apartments offers some advantages to property owners, such as recurring revenue and the ability to adjust prices as demand waxes and wanes.
And ST Residential would have the choice to resume condo sales if and when it decides the market can accommodate them.
The median resale price for a condo in Phoenix dropped to under $60,000 in November, according to Jay Butler, an Arizona State University housing expert.
A year earlier, the median condo price had been about $88,000, according to Butler, of ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.
ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said his company will continue to monitor the local housing market and could potentially resume condo sales.
"We remain believers in the potential of the downtown Phoenix market, and we know that 44 Monroe will be a part of the recovery when it occurs," Hundley said.
ST Residential purchased two other local condo projects in June that were in foreclosure: Safari Drive in Scottsdale and 3rd Avenue Palms in downtown Phoenix.
Those properties continue to attract prospective condo buyers and will not be available for lease, Hundley said.
A revamped leasing center is expected to open at 44 Monroe in January.
The company did not provide any details about lease rates or how the change would affect existing property owners.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential involves the FDIC and a group of private-equity firms led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three metro Phoenix properties purchased by ST Residential in June had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., a holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion in residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, Hundley said in an interview in July.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Jan. 5, 2011 12:00 AM
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Citing weak demand for upscale condominiums, the owner of high-rise condo property 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix has decided to convert the project to apartments.
Chicago-based ST Residential bought 44 Monroe out of foreclosure in June and opened a sales office inside the building in November, hoping to sell its remaining 196 units at prices starting just under $200,000.
The company has been unable to sell any of the units as condos, according to a spokesman for ST Residential.
Only 14 units sold originally when the project was built in 2006. Company spokesman Greg Sexton said those buyers will retain ownership of their condo units and could offer them for sale to ST Residential or retain ownership until the building's owners decide to convert 44 Monroe back to a condo project.
"This is a big win for the current residents," Sexton said, adding that the change from an almost-empty condo tower to a busy apartment property would be good for existing residents and the downtown area.
Commercial real-estate analyst Bob Kammrath of Kammrath & Associates in Mesa said ST Residential is following a recent trend in which multifamily properties originally marketed as luxury-condo communities have gone rental.
Condo-to-apartment conversions hinder the ability of existing unit owners to sell their properties, Kammrath said, but could keep the project viable until the downtown housing market recovers.
"I'm sure that's the hope," he said. "The problem is, the rental market stinks, too."
Tighter lending standards and the sudden affordability of single-family homes in the Valley have hit condo investors hard, Kammrath said.
Converting to apartments offers some advantages to property owners, such as recurring revenue and the ability to adjust prices as demand waxes and wanes.
And ST Residential would have the choice to resume condo sales if and when it decides the market can accommodate them.
The median resale price for a condo in Phoenix dropped to under $60,000 in November, according to Jay Butler, an Arizona State University housing expert.
A year earlier, the median condo price had been about $88,000, according to Butler, of ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.
ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said his company will continue to monitor the local housing market and could potentially resume condo sales.
"We remain believers in the potential of the downtown Phoenix market, and we know that 44 Monroe will be a part of the recovery when it occurs," Hundley said.
ST Residential purchased two other local condo projects in June that were in foreclosure: Safari Drive in Scottsdale and 3rd Avenue Palms in downtown Phoenix.
Those properties continue to attract prospective condo buyers and will not be available for lease, Hundley said.
A revamped leasing center is expected to open at 44 Monroe in January.
The company did not provide any details about lease rates or how the change would affect existing property owners.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential involves the FDIC and a group of private-equity firms led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three metro Phoenix properties purchased by ST Residential in June had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., a holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion in residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, Hundley said in an interview in July.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Jan. 5, 2011 12:00 AM
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Chicago-based ST Residential bought 44 Monroe out of foreclosure in June and opened a sales office inside the building in November, hoping to sell its remaining 196 units at prices starting just under $200,000.
The company has been unable to sell any of the units as condos, according to a spokesman for ST Residential.
Only 14 units sold originally when the project was built in 2006. Company spokesman Greg Sexton said those buyers will retain ownership of their condo units and could offer them for sale to ST Residential or retain ownership until the building's owners decide to convert 44 Monroe back to a condo project.
"This is a big win for the current residents," Sexton said, adding that the change from an almost-empty condo tower to a busy apartment property would be good for existing residents and the downtown area.
Commercial real-estate analyst Bob Kammrath of Kammrath & Associates in Mesa said ST Residential is following a recent trend in which multifamily properties originally marketed as luxury-condo communities have gone rental.
Condo-to-apartment conversions hinder the ability of existing unit owners to sell their properties, Kammrath said, but could keep the project viable until the downtown housing market recovers.
"I'm sure that's the hope," he said. "The problem is, the rental market stinks, too."
Tighter lending standards and the sudden affordability of single-family homes in the Valley have hit condo investors hard, Kammrath said.
Converting to apartments offers some advantages to property owners, such as recurring revenue and the ability to adjust prices as demand waxes and wanes.
And ST Residential would have the choice to resume condo sales if and when it decides the market can accommodate them.
The median resale price for a condo in Phoenix dropped to under $60,000 in November, according to Jay Butler, an Arizona State University housing expert.
A year earlier, the median condo price had been about $88,000, according to Butler, of ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.
ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said his company will continue to monitor the local housing market and could potentially resume condo sales.
"We remain believers in the potential of the downtown Phoenix market, and we know that 44 Monroe will be a part of the recovery when it occurs," Hundley said.
ST Residential purchased two other local condo projects in June that were in foreclosure: Safari Drive in Scottsdale and 3rd Avenue Palms in downtown Phoenix.
Those properties continue to attract prospective condo buyers and will not be available for lease, Hundley said.
A revamped leasing center is expected to open at 44 Monroe in January.
The company did not provide any details about lease rates or how the change would affect existing property owners.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential involves the FDIC and a group of private-equity firms led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three metro Phoenix properties purchased by ST Residential in June had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., a holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion in residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, Hundley said in an interview in July.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Jan. 5, 2011 12:00 AM
Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
Three Phoenix-area condo projects that had been shut down and repossessed by their lender are expected to reopen for new sales in November, thanks in large part to the federal government.
The projects are 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix, 3rd Avenue Palms in Phoenix and Safari Drive Scottsdale, near Scottsdale Fashion Square mall.
The properties are undergoing renovations and awaiting Arizona Department of Real Estate approval to reopen their sales offices, according to the new owner, Chicago-based ST Residential.
Safari Drive will have 89 units available for sale beginning at $249,500. 44 Monroe will have 196 units available starting at $197,500, while 3rd Avenue Palms will have 74 units available starting at $80,000, a company news release said.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential also involves a group of private-equity firms, led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three properties had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., the holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion worth of residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said in an interview Thursday.
Hundley said about 30 percent of the assets are owned outright by ST Residential, and the rest are being financed with "favorable lending terms" by the FDIC.
The result is that ST Residential has cash and time, something Hundley said that most condo project owners lack.
"While most companies are trying to cut costs and save money, we're investing in these properties," he said.
Two of the projects, 44 Monroe and Safari Drive, began construction in 2006, Hundley said. Third Avenue Palms was a condo-conversion project initiated in 2005 on an apartment complex that was built in 1999.
In all three cases, the original developers slammed into a wall when the condo market plummeted in 2007. Only 3rd Avenue Palms had sold a significant amount, about half of the project's 155 units.
The other two projects had sold just over a dozen units each when their sales offices were shut down about a year ago, said Mike Messenger of Geoffrey H. Edmunds Realty, the Scottsdale company hired to handle sales and marketing for all three properties.
Edmunds also will set prices for the new units and help manage the homeowners associations.
"These are projects that we're bringing back to life, so to speak," Messenger said.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Oct. 22, 2010 12:00 AM
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
The projects are 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix, 3rd Avenue Palms in Phoenix and Safari Drive Scottsdale, near Scottsdale Fashion Square mall.
The properties are undergoing renovations and awaiting Arizona Department of Real Estate approval to reopen their sales offices, according to the new owner, Chicago-based ST Residential.
Safari Drive will have 89 units available for sale beginning at $249,500. 44 Monroe will have 196 units available starting at $197,500, while 3rd Avenue Palms will have 74 units available starting at $80,000, a company news release said.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential also involves a group of private-equity firms, led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three properties had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., the holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion worth of residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said in an interview Thursday.
Hundley said about 30 percent of the assets are owned outright by ST Residential, and the rest are being financed with "favorable lending terms" by the FDIC.
The result is that ST Residential has cash and time, something Hundley said that most condo project owners lack.
"While most companies are trying to cut costs and save money, we're investing in these properties," he said.
Two of the projects, 44 Monroe and Safari Drive, began construction in 2006, Hundley said. Third Avenue Palms was a condo-conversion project initiated in 2005 on an apartment complex that was built in 1999.
In all three cases, the original developers slammed into a wall when the condo market plummeted in 2007. Only 3rd Avenue Palms had sold a significant amount, about half of the project's 155 units.
The other two projects had sold just over a dozen units each when their sales offices were shut down about a year ago, said Mike Messenger of Geoffrey H. Edmunds Realty, the Scottsdale company hired to handle sales and marketing for all three properties.
Edmunds also will set prices for the new units and help manage the homeowners associations.
"These are projects that we're bringing back to life, so to speak," Messenger said.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Oct. 22, 2010 12:00 AM
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
Three Phoenix-area condo projects that had been shut down and repossessed by their lender are expected to reopen for new sales in November, thanks in large part to the federal government.
The projects are 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix, 3rd Avenue Palms in Phoenix and Safari Drive Scottsdale, near Scottsdale Fashion Square mall.
The properties are undergoing renovations and awaiting Arizona Department of Real Estate approval to reopen their sales offices, according to the new owner, Chicago-based ST Residential.
Safari Drive will have 89 units available for sale beginning at $249,500. 44 Monroe will have 196 units available starting at $197,500, while 3rd Avenue Palms will have 74 units available starting at $80,000, a company news release said.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential also involves a group of private-equity firms, led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three properties had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., the holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion worth of residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said in an interview Thursday.
Hundley said about 30 percent of the assets are owned outright by ST Residential, and the rest are being financed with "favorable lending terms" by the FDIC.
The result is that ST Residential has cash and time, something Hundley said that most condo project owners lack.
"While most companies are trying to cut costs and save money, we're investing in these properties," he said.
Two of the projects, 44 Monroe and Safari Drive, began construction in 2006, Hundley said. Third Avenue Palms was a condo-conversion project initiated in 2005 on an apartment complex that was built in 1999.
In all three cases, the original developers slammed into a wall when the condo market plummeted in 2007. Only 3rd Avenue Palms had sold a significant amount, about half of the project's 155 units.
The other two projects had sold just over a dozen units each when their sales offices were shut down about a year ago, said Mike Messenger of Geoffrey H. Edmunds Realty, the Scottsdale company hired to handle sales and marketing for all three properties.
Edmunds also will set prices for the new units and help manage the homeowners associations.
"These are projects that we're bringing back to life, so to speak," Messenger said.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Oct. 22, 2010 12:00 AM
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
The projects are 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix, 3rd Avenue Palms in Phoenix and Safari Drive Scottsdale, near Scottsdale Fashion Square mall.
The properties are undergoing renovations and awaiting Arizona Department of Real Estate approval to reopen their sales offices, according to the new owner, Chicago-based ST Residential.
Safari Drive will have 89 units available for sale beginning at $249,500. 44 Monroe will have 196 units available starting at $197,500, while 3rd Avenue Palms will have 74 units available starting at $80,000, a company news release said.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential also involves a group of private-equity firms, led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three properties had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., the holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion worth of residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said in an interview Thursday.
Hundley said about 30 percent of the assets are owned outright by ST Residential, and the rest are being financed with "favorable lending terms" by the FDIC.
The result is that ST Residential has cash and time, something Hundley said that most condo project owners lack.
"While most companies are trying to cut costs and save money, we're investing in these properties," he said.
Two of the projects, 44 Monroe and Safari Drive, began construction in 2006, Hundley said. Third Avenue Palms was a condo-conversion project initiated in 2005 on an apartment complex that was built in 1999.
In all three cases, the original developers slammed into a wall when the condo market plummeted in 2007. Only 3rd Avenue Palms had sold a significant amount, about half of the project's 155 units.
The other two projects had sold just over a dozen units each when their sales offices were shut down about a year ago, said Mike Messenger of Geoffrey H. Edmunds Realty, the Scottsdale company hired to handle sales and marketing for all three properties.
Edmunds also will set prices for the new units and help manage the homeowners associations.
"These are projects that we're bringing back to life, so to speak," Messenger said.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Oct. 22, 2010 12:00 AM
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
Three Phoenix-area condo projects that had been shut down and repossessed by their lender are expected to reopen for new sales in November, thanks in large part to the federal government.
The projects are 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix, 3rd Avenue Palms in Phoenix and Safari Drive Scottsdale, near Scottsdale Fashion Square mall.
The properties are undergoing renovations and awaiting Arizona Department of Real Estate approval to reopen their sales offices, according to the new owner, Chicago-based ST Residential.
Safari Drive will have 89 units available for sale beginning at $249,500. 44 Monroe will have 196 units available starting at $197,500, while 3rd Avenue Palms will have 74 units available starting at $80,000, a company news release said.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential also involves a group of private-equity firms, led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three properties had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., the holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion worth of residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said in an interview Thursday.
Hundley said about 30 percent of the assets are owned outright by ST Residential, and the rest are being financed with "favorable lending terms" by the FDIC.
The result is that ST Residential has cash and time, something Hundley said that most condo project owners lack.
"While most companies are trying to cut costs and save money, we're investing in these properties," he said.
Two of the projects, 44 Monroe and Safari Drive, began construction in 2006, Hundley said. Third Avenue Palms was a condo-conversion project initiated in 2005 on an apartment complex that was built in 1999.
In all three cases, the original developers slammed into a wall when the condo market plummeted in 2007. Only 3rd Avenue Palms had sold a significant amount, about half of the project's 155 units.
The other two projects had sold just over a dozen units each when their sales offices were shut down about a year ago, said Mike Messenger of Geoffrey H. Edmunds Realty, the Scottsdale company hired to handle sales and marketing for all three properties.
Edmunds also will set prices for the new units and help manage the homeowners associations.
"These are projects that we're bringing back to life, so to speak," Messenger said.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Oct. 22, 2010 12:00 AM
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
The projects are 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix, 3rd Avenue Palms in Phoenix and Safari Drive Scottsdale, near Scottsdale Fashion Square mall.
The properties are undergoing renovations and awaiting Arizona Department of Real Estate approval to reopen their sales offices, according to the new owner, Chicago-based ST Residential.
Safari Drive will have 89 units available for sale beginning at $249,500. 44 Monroe will have 196 units available starting at $197,500, while 3rd Avenue Palms will have 74 units available starting at $80,000, a company news release said.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential also involves a group of private-equity firms, led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three properties had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., the holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion worth of residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said in an interview Thursday.
Hundley said about 30 percent of the assets are owned outright by ST Residential, and the rest are being financed with "favorable lending terms" by the FDIC.
The result is that ST Residential has cash and time, something Hundley said that most condo project owners lack.
"While most companies are trying to cut costs and save money, we're investing in these properties," he said.
Two of the projects, 44 Monroe and Safari Drive, began construction in 2006, Hundley said. Third Avenue Palms was a condo-conversion project initiated in 2005 on an apartment complex that was built in 1999.
In all three cases, the original developers slammed into a wall when the condo market plummeted in 2007. Only 3rd Avenue Palms had sold a significant amount, about half of the project's 155 units.
The other two projects had sold just over a dozen units each when their sales offices were shut down about a year ago, said Mike Messenger of Geoffrey H. Edmunds Realty, the Scottsdale company hired to handle sales and marketing for all three properties.
Edmunds also will set prices for the new units and help manage the homeowners associations.
"These are projects that we're bringing back to life, so to speak," Messenger said.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Oct. 22, 2010 12:00 AM
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
Three Phoenix-area condo projects that had been shut down and repossessed by their lender are expected to reopen for new sales in November, thanks in large part to the federal government.
The projects are 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix, 3rd Avenue Palms in Phoenix and Safari Drive Scottsdale, near Scottsdale Fashion Square mall.
The properties are undergoing renovations and awaiting Arizona Department of Real Estate approval to reopen their sales offices, according to the new owner, Chicago-based ST Residential.
Safari Drive will have 89 units available for sale beginning at $249,500. 44 Monroe will have 196 units available starting at $197,500, while 3rd Avenue Palms will have 74 units available starting at $80,000, a company news release said.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential also involves a group of private-equity firms, led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three properties had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., the holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion worth of residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said in an interview Thursday.
Hundley said about 30 percent of the assets are owned outright by ST Residential, and the rest are being financed with "favorable lending terms" by the FDIC.
The result is that ST Residential has cash and time, something Hundley said that most condo project owners lack.
"While most companies are trying to cut costs and save money, we're investing in these properties," he said.
Two of the projects, 44 Monroe and Safari Drive, began construction in 2006, Hundley said. Third Avenue Palms was a condo-conversion project initiated in 2005 on an apartment complex that was built in 1999.
In all three cases, the original developers slammed into a wall when the condo market plummeted in 2007. Only 3rd Avenue Palms had sold a significant amount, about half of the project's 155 units.
The other two projects had sold just over a dozen units each when their sales offices were shut down about a year ago, said Mike Messenger of Geoffrey H. Edmunds Realty, the Scottsdale company hired to handle sales and marketing for all three properties.
Edmunds also will set prices for the new units and help manage the homeowners associations.
"These are projects that we're bringing back to life, so to speak," Messenger said.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Oct. 22, 2010 12:00 AM
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
The projects are 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix, 3rd Avenue Palms in Phoenix and Safari Drive Scottsdale, near Scottsdale Fashion Square mall.
The properties are undergoing renovations and awaiting Arizona Department of Real Estate approval to reopen their sales offices, according to the new owner, Chicago-based ST Residential.
Safari Drive will have 89 units available for sale beginning at $249,500. 44 Monroe will have 196 units available starting at $197,500, while 3rd Avenue Palms will have 74 units available starting at $80,000, a company news release said.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential also involves a group of private-equity firms, led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three properties had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., the holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion worth of residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said in an interview Thursday.
Hundley said about 30 percent of the assets are owned outright by ST Residential, and the rest are being financed with "favorable lending terms" by the FDIC.
The result is that ST Residential has cash and time, something Hundley said that most condo project owners lack.
"While most companies are trying to cut costs and save money, we're investing in these properties," he said.
Two of the projects, 44 Monroe and Safari Drive, began construction in 2006, Hundley said. Third Avenue Palms was a condo-conversion project initiated in 2005 on an apartment complex that was built in 1999.
In all three cases, the original developers slammed into a wall when the condo market plummeted in 2007. Only 3rd Avenue Palms had sold a significant amount, about half of the project's 155 units.
The other two projects had sold just over a dozen units each when their sales offices were shut down about a year ago, said Mike Messenger of Geoffrey H. Edmunds Realty, the Scottsdale company hired to handle sales and marketing for all three properties.
Edmunds also will set prices for the new units and help manage the homeowners associations.
"These are projects that we're bringing back to life, so to speak," Messenger said.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Oct. 22, 2010 12:00 AM
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
Three Phoenix-area condo projects that had been shut down and repossessed by their lender are expected to reopen for new sales in November, thanks in large part to the federal government.
The projects are 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix, 3rd Avenue Palms in Phoenix and Safari Drive Scottsdale, near Scottsdale Fashion Square mall.
The properties are undergoing renovations and awaiting Arizona Department of Real Estate approval to reopen their sales offices, according to the new owner, Chicago-based ST Residential.
Safari Drive will have 89 units available for sale beginning at $249,500. 44 Monroe will have 196 units available starting at $197,500, while 3rd Avenue Palms will have 74 units available starting at $80,000, a company news release said.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential also involves a group of private-equity firms, led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three properties had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., the holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion worth of residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said in an interview Thursday.
Hundley said about 30 percent of the assets are owned outright by ST Residential, and the rest are being financed with "favorable lending terms" by the FDIC.
The result is that ST Residential has cash and time, something Hundley said that most condo project owners lack.
"While most companies are trying to cut costs and save money, we're investing in these properties," he said.
Two of the projects, 44 Monroe and Safari Drive, began construction in 2006, Hundley said. Third Avenue Palms was a condo-conversion project initiated in 2005 on an apartment complex that was built in 1999.
In all three cases, the original developers slammed into a wall when the condo market plummeted in 2007. Only 3rd Avenue Palms had sold a significant amount, about half of the project's 155 units.
The other two projects had sold just over a dozen units each when their sales offices were shut down about a year ago, said Mike Messenger of Geoffrey H. Edmunds Realty, the Scottsdale company hired to handle sales and marketing for all three properties.
Edmunds also will set prices for the new units and help manage the homeowners associations.
"These are projects that we're bringing back to life, so to speak," Messenger said.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Oct. 22, 2010 12:00 AM
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
The projects are 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix, 3rd Avenue Palms in Phoenix and Safari Drive Scottsdale, near Scottsdale Fashion Square mall.
The properties are undergoing renovations and awaiting Arizona Department of Real Estate approval to reopen their sales offices, according to the new owner, Chicago-based ST Residential.
Safari Drive will have 89 units available for sale beginning at $249,500. 44 Monroe will have 196 units available starting at $197,500, while 3rd Avenue Palms will have 74 units available starting at $80,000, a company news release said.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential also involves a group of private-equity firms, led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three properties had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., the holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion worth of residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said in an interview Thursday.
Hundley said about 30 percent of the assets are owned outright by ST Residential, and the rest are being financed with "favorable lending terms" by the FDIC.
The result is that ST Residential has cash and time, something Hundley said that most condo project owners lack.
"While most companies are trying to cut costs and save money, we're investing in these properties," he said.
Two of the projects, 44 Monroe and Safari Drive, began construction in 2006, Hundley said. Third Avenue Palms was a condo-conversion project initiated in 2005 on an apartment complex that was built in 1999.
In all three cases, the original developers slammed into a wall when the condo market plummeted in 2007. Only 3rd Avenue Palms had sold a significant amount, about half of the project's 155 units.
The other two projects had sold just over a dozen units each when their sales offices were shut down about a year ago, said Mike Messenger of Geoffrey H. Edmunds Realty, the Scottsdale company hired to handle sales and marketing for all three properties.
Edmunds also will set prices for the new units and help manage the homeowners associations.
"These are projects that we're bringing back to life, so to speak," Messenger said.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Oct. 22, 2010 12:00 AM
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
Three Phoenix-area condo projects that had been shut down and repossessed by their lender are expected to reopen for new sales in November, thanks in large part to the federal government.
The projects are 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix, 3rd Avenue Palms in Phoenix and Safari Drive Scottsdale, near Scottsdale Fashion Square mall.
The properties are undergoing renovations and awaiting Arizona Department of Real Estate approval to reopen their sales offices, according to the new owner, Chicago-based ST Residential.
Safari Drive will have 89 units available for sale beginning at $249,500. 44 Monroe will have 196 units available starting at $197,500, while 3rd Avenue Palms will have 74 units available starting at $80,000, a company news release said.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential also involves a group of private-equity firms, led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three properties had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., the holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion worth of residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said in an interview Thursday.
Hundley said about 30 percent of the assets are owned outright by ST Residential, and the rest are being financed with "favorable lending terms" by the FDIC.
The result is that ST Residential has cash and time, something Hundley said that most condo project owners lack.
"While most companies are trying to cut costs and save money, we're investing in these properties," he said.
Two of the projects, 44 Monroe and Safari Drive, began construction in 2006, Hundley said. Third Avenue Palms was a condo-conversion project initiated in 2005 on an apartment complex that was built in 1999.
In all three cases, the original developers slammed into a wall when the condo market plummeted in 2007. Only 3rd Avenue Palms had sold a significant amount, about half of the project's 155 units.
The other two projects had sold just over a dozen units each when their sales offices were shut down about a year ago, said Mike Messenger of Geoffrey H. Edmunds Realty, the Scottsdale company hired to handle sales and marketing for all three properties.
Edmunds also will set prices for the new units and help manage the homeowners associations.
"These are projects that we're bringing back to life, so to speak," Messenger said.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Oct. 22, 2010 12:00 AM
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
The projects are 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix, 3rd Avenue Palms in Phoenix and Safari Drive Scottsdale, near Scottsdale Fashion Square mall.
The properties are undergoing renovations and awaiting Arizona Department of Real Estate approval to reopen their sales offices, according to the new owner, Chicago-based ST Residential.
Safari Drive will have 89 units available for sale beginning at $249,500. 44 Monroe will have 196 units available starting at $197,500, while 3rd Avenue Palms will have 74 units available starting at $80,000, a company news release said.
ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential also involves a group of private-equity firms, led by Starwood Capital Group.
All three properties had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., the holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.
Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion worth of residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said in an interview Thursday.
Hundley said about 30 percent of the assets are owned outright by ST Residential, and the rest are being financed with "favorable lending terms" by the FDIC.
The result is that ST Residential has cash and time, something Hundley said that most condo project owners lack.
"While most companies are trying to cut costs and save money, we're investing in these properties," he said.
Two of the projects, 44 Monroe and Safari Drive, began construction in 2006, Hundley said. Third Avenue Palms was a condo-conversion project initiated in 2005 on an apartment complex that was built in 1999.
In all three cases, the original developers slammed into a wall when the condo market plummeted in 2007. Only 3rd Avenue Palms had sold a significant amount, about half of the project's 155 units.
The other two projects had sold just over a dozen units each when their sales offices were shut down about a year ago, said Mike Messenger of Geoffrey H. Edmunds Realty, the Scottsdale company hired to handle sales and marketing for all three properties.
Edmunds also will set prices for the new units and help manage the homeowners associations.
"These are projects that we're bringing back to life, so to speak," Messenger said.
by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Oct. 22, 2010 12:00 AM
Phoenix-area condo projects to reopen next month
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