Coldwell Takes Over Harrison Condo Sales
Back in July, we reported on the launch of a website aimed to help sell condos at The Harrison (www.harrisonsquareliving.com).
At that time, Martin Goldstine Knapke was the company responsible for selling the luxury condos that are to be part of the Harrison Square project. However, the website now bears the logo of Coldwell Banker.
Indiana’s News Center is reporting this as a “new marketing plan”, with the website being developed by local firm One Lucky Guitar.
This is not simply a new marketing push. From what we have heard, only 12 units were sold under Martin and supposedly 25 sales are needed to advance the project.
Whether Martin dropped the ball or took the brunt of a weakening economy, the fact remains that The Harrison is behind schedule and will likely not meet its contractual deadline for completion of June 1, 2009.
The first season of baseball at Harrison Square may not see any condo dwellers peeking out from their balconies onto the field of play, since the Single A baseball season is over in August.
Now it is Coldwell’s turn to step up to the plate. We will see if they can bring The Harrison home.
Maybe they need to really consider making at least some of the units high-end apartments instead of condos. They might get some more takers. On the flipside, it’ll be nice to see the ballpark from Jefferson all of next season.
Steve,
There will still be some kind of structure blocking the view from Jefferson since the condos will be under construction during next season. It’s just that they won’t be completely finished by the contractual deadline and thus people might not be living there during the 09 season.
OK.Obviously, I’d much rather see it be done than not next season. First impressions mean a lot, and if there isn’t any retail or good restaurant/sports bar,or whatever on the Harrison’s first floor for fans to go to before or after the game they’ll likely get right in their car and head home; and, I fear, may be be less likely to come back for future visits if there isn’t more life to downtown. The key is to get people staying downtown more, wandering over to the Pub or the Landing, etc.
I walked around today on my lunch hour. I told a couple of construction workers on break that it’d looked good and they were making amazing progress. Their comment: “yeah, but will anybody come?” It’s a concern. Obviously, the overall state of the economy is another huge key. Hopefully, One Lucky Guitar’s got a helluva website planned. They’re very good, so…
August 27, 2008: Still not one shovel full of dirt turned for ANY privately-financed part of this Boondoggle! The part that the taxpayers of our city are paying for is going great and will be done on time. Remember - the “back-up” in case things don’t go as “dreamed up” by our Redevelopment Department, it’s Commissioners and our past city mayor is covered by Fort Wayne’s general property taxes - the exact same way that the airport authority “backed-up” the bonds used to build the aircraft hangers and the aprons at Fort Wayne International for the now defunct Kitty Hawk Airfreight Company. Per recent action, the next year levy for the airport is going up to twice what it was this year to enable Fort Wayne to make the payments on those bonds. (Thats $3.6 million more next year!) Here we go - SAME OLD-SAME OLD STUFF!!
What happened to all the folks who filled up the Harrison rooms during the HS preview sessions, many of whom were “interested” in purchasing a condo? They all backed out? Here’s an idea though…maybe people are waiting to see what kind of tenants will occupy the first floor. If they include things that people would want in order for them to move downtown, then that would obviously make the condos much more appealing. I’m wondering if we’re going to hear anything about tenants soon…because the sooner the better!
Worst case though, since no dirt has even been moved on construction of the place, I would assume it is not too late for modifications to design? Shoot, just build a smaller complex, say 40 condos instead of 60. Remove a floor. Do something. But I really hope the project gets built one way or another…or else those windows in the wall in left field are going to look really stupid.
The excuse by the developer and the city is “the economy”. Even if the national economy was booming, the fact remains that there is no strong demand in Fort Wayne for small but very expensive condos downtown. If there was, then private developers would have already built similar condo buildings to tap into the demand. That’s what capitalism and the free market is all about. If you could afford a $150,000 to $350,000 condo, would you want a noisy bar beneath your residence? Or a restaurant with all its glorious scents wafting up to your condo? Or the lights blaring in from the ballpark? Apparently the market is saying “no way”. Wouldn’t you prefer, say, a nice quiet place like Covington Creek, with ponds, pools, trees, less crime than downtown, green grass and trees, etc., and which has been a proven success for many years, thus the market has said “yes” to that development. The old real estate adage still rings true — location, location, location. By the way, what’s the status of the retail portion of HS??? And what about the hotel??? The naysayers of this development were right. Where are all the Yuppies from YLNI who so vociferously supported this project? Why doesn’t Graham Richard and Mark Becker and Sammy Talarico buy up some of the condos as an “investment”, or for their own personal residences, to personally support and back up what they touted? Walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Thanks democrats, other politicians, and self-serving business people who have and will benefit from this boondoggle (construction company’s, sub-contractors, insurance salesmen, nearby property owners), thanks for the wise use of our taxpayer’s money. This dream may work in Atlanta, but we ain’t no Atlanta, weez juss a small midwest rustbelt town. Hey, didn’t the developers promise to build this mixed-use retail/condo project regardless of slow sales??? Why didn’t the bright lights on the city payroll think about requiring the developer to put up the condos/retail building FIRST before the stadium was built to make sure the taxpayers weren’t going to be taken to the cleaners?. Putting up the condo building first is the only way to prove the developer has the cash and/or loan funds and is willing to take the risk. No HS mixed-use retail/condo building, then no stadium. Duh. But no, our bright lights were adamant — quit being negative, shut up, support economic development, “build it and they will come”, and the developer/Harball Capital did one heckuva great sales job on our “leaders” — they are getting a new stadium for next to nothing.
The 3 stages the public goes through during progressive change:
1) They claim the idea is stupid and will never work.
2) They become angry…very angry in some cases, with the progress and process of change.
3) When the change turns out to be positive, they claim the whole idea was theirs and wonder why it took so long to happen.
Alec,
That’s what liberals (socialists) always say when they spend taxpayers money as if they are entitled. “Progressive change” is a buzz phrase for “tax and spend” on public projects the majority of taxpayers/voters had reservations about. Taxpayers had reservations because the private sector spoke loud and clear of what made economic sense. Ah, Liberals, some genuinely have good intentions but let good intentions override good judgment, and some Liberals pander to the ignorant. Alec, please go buy one of the condos, in fact, buy several condos, and while you are at it, move your business (or start a business) into the retail part of the HS by leasing space. Get all your progressive friends to buy some condos (with their own money of course, not taxpayers). That way you can PERSONALLY make HS a success instead of just lecturing. Conservatives (meaning believers in capitalism, free markets, true democracy, limited government intrusion) use private capital for progressive change, and if they fail, its their loss, not the taxpayers, and if they succeed, “progressive” liberals complain about all that money they made (economic class envy) and want to tax it away and thereby discourage future private investment, risk-taking, starting a business, expanding a business, and unfortunately reduce employment, something liberals claim they want to see expanded. When public financed projects fail, liberals don’t care, it wasn’t their own personal funds, it was “the government’s funds” (i.e. taxpayers) and they blame the economy or the President or whatever as the excuse for failure, when they should blame themselves for not letting free markets do their natural thing. If private investors are not putting funds into a market, it means something. Go vote for Obama, he’s your man, he wants to increase the capital gains taxes “on the rich” (you know, the risk takers, the capitalists, the successful business owners who create the jobs for “working people”) even though it will actually decrease government tax revenues (when the capital gains tax was cut, government “revenue” actually increased due to the increase in investment activity from the reduced tax burden.
The 4 stages liberals go through during forced “progressive change”:
1. They arrogantly feel they are entitled to use taxpayers/voters money and that the public is stupid, and taxpayers/voters have no right to express their opinions in opposition. Liberals think the government is smarter than the private sector.
2. Liberals (socialists) become very angry, sometimes very angry, when they are questioned as to their judgment.
3. When the progressive change (pubicly financed project) turns out to be a negative or failure, they blame it on other factors besides their poor judgment in not listening to the private sector, and then they turn their attentions to other ways to spend taxpayers money on “progressive” projects. Midtowne Crossing, FW Int’l Airport/Kitty Hawk, HS, etc.
4. Liberals pretend the naked Emperor has clothes on. They are offended when honest people say, “Hey, the Emperor has no clothes!!!” And they get VERY angry!
Happy Trails :)
I think Tom Smith hit the nail on the head with his comments on the news tonight. If more condos are to be sold, the price MUST be lowered. Obviously the 150-300,000 range isn’t working.
Pat,
My “3 stages of change” comment was merely based on my observation of the phenomenon in many different cities, on many different types of projects (some privately initiated). I’m not pushing a liberal(Socialist) agenda as you contend. I was hoping to initiate a discussion or even healthy debate, not an attack on my assumed personal politics.
That said, I do appreciate your passion for this subject and I would agree with some of your contentions. However, your faith in the private sector and free markets is, in my opinion, misguided. We’ve seen the result of the private sector’s work in the community and it looks like sprawl, bad architecture, short-sighted planning, neighborhoods without sidewalks, Walgreens stores directly across the street from CVS stores, and a neglected downtown.
I would agree that the private sector is more fiscally cautious when it considers new development than the government is, but when the end result is consistently a poor product I fail to see an overall benefit. The developers get rich, and thats a good thing, but at the expense of a quality of life that we do not even know we are missing.
I see the ideal scenario being a public-private partnership. On the public (government) side of the equation you should get a stream-lined permitting process, design guidelines based on socially responsive architecture, access to competent planning professionals, and a wide-angled view of the house or business within the block within the neighborhood within the city within the the county within the region, and you get the point. On the private side of the equation you should get a healthy amount of pragmatism, fiscal responsibility, professionals in touch with the ebb and flow of local and regional markets, and a willingness to help CREATE new markets. Someone had to CREATE a market for big box stores, someone had to CREATE a market for fast food, and I believe we need to CREATE a market for mixed-use development not just downtown, but throughout the city.
As for Harrison Square specifically, I’m not here to defend the city or how the project was financed. I have concerns with that myself. I am, however, excited about the project and for its potential as a catalyst for further downtown revitalization. I dont think it is some kind of “miracle” development that will make everything fairy tale all right, but I personally think it is a step in the right direction.
The comment was made - “Alec, please go buy one of the condos, in fact, buy several condos, and while you are at it, move your business (or start a business) into the retail part of the HS by leasing space. Get all your progressive friends to buy some condos (with their own money of course, not taxpayers). That way you can PERSONALLY make HS a success instead of just lecturing.”
I dont think being a fan of a project necessitates my total immersion into it, and I was not lecturing anybody (I think you have played that role splendidly). I will patronize the restaurants and retail shops. I will go to Wizard’s games, and I will play with my kids in the new city park. Thats how I show my support. If they build it I will come.
By the way, I don’t have any problem being labeled “progressive’. That to me is not an insult, and it is not a “buzzword” for anything other than it’s own definition which is “Promoting or favoring progress toward better conditions or new policies, ideas, or methods”. Most of my friends , however, are redneck Iowa farm boys who I am sure would take offense to your labeling them “progressive” :)