Market Desires Dictating Harrison Changes
The Harrison, the condo and retail component of the Harrison Square project, is changing.
As a direct result of feedback received from potential condominium buyers, the residential aspect of the project is being redesigned. The retail portion of the development remains unchanged.
Jim Irwin of Barry Real Estate cites a “confident expectation” that the new version of The Harrison will be three stories instead of four and will include a lesser overall quantity of units of increased square footage.
Irwin explains the change as being a reaction to interested buyers who have repeatedly provided feedback that the units and balconies are too small and that the per square foot cost of the units is too high.
The new plan is expected to include less than half the previous amount of units because of a significant desire for larger units.
The units would range from about 1280 to 1750 square feet and would include larger balconies and lower per square foot prices, with prices for unfurnished units ranging from $220k to $320k.
Parking in the underground garage will change from a per-bedroom basis to a system of two parking spots per unit.
The eventual outcome for The Harrison is currently in flux. Floorplans, square footage and prices are all subject to change as Barry Real Estate and Coldwell Banker Roth Wehrly Graber continue to hear from interested buyers.
Despite the situation with The Harrison, Irwin stated that the left field wall and concourse, which are shared between The Harrison and the ballpark, will be completed in time for the 2009 baseball season at Parkview Field.
An update on the project is expected to be presented before the Fort Wayne Common Council sometime in November. It will be interesting to see what shape the project has taken by that time.
Common council review “sometime in November”? How can the city do it’s 2009 budget with this hanging over it’s head? As I recall, the stadium management agreement for the boondoggle ballpark contained a clause that allowed the city to void the contract in case they could not get financing. How come the agreement with Barry on The Harrison didn’t include this same language? When taxpayers are funding, it better be right, but when private dollars are on the line, anything goes?
Jim needs to check his math when he says, “that the per square foot cost of the units is too high.”
The smallest condo in the old design, The Jefferson, is 730 sqft and a starting price of 150k finished. Which comes out to be about $204 per sqft. In the new design the smallest condo is 1287 with a finished price of 309k. Which comes out to be about $240 per sqft.
As a Harrison Square supporter, this is truly disappointing.
They could have done a multitude of things to lure buyers, such as lower the prices and recouping costs on the retail leases. How about even announcing the retail? Instead, they have effectively written off any “young professional” prospective buyers.
Also, I would love to see their construction estimates. I am not sure how the previous design stacks up to a total of ~$20M. Especially when the city set up a very sweet land deal. Which also brings up a terrible mistake the city made in their contract writing. This development should have never been tied to a minimum dollar amount spent, instead it should have been tied to a minimum number of units. The saying goes, “Retail follows rooftops” and 60 new units may have sparked some interest, but 26 won’t even generate a buzz.
Another question: 26 condos averaging an unfinished price $287k, equaling $7.5M. Barry is saying that their construction costs are going to cost them a minimum of $14.5M. You are telling me that Barry is going to take a $7M hit up front. That is quite a bit more than I thought they would have to make in retail.
Well said pyp. I agree that there are a number of things they could have done to help lure buyers. Another thing I’ve said before on this blog is that they should consider making at least some of the units high-end apartments rather than condos. What is so wrong with that Barry?
Many posters have wondered why young professionals haven’t stepped up to purchase condos – well…duh, they’ve priced them too high. I’d guess that the high interest in downtown living that some studies have supposedly shown is coming from people making in the neighborhood of $40-80K. No way they’re going to be able to afford these expensive condos.
So, now we wait for November…
Uggghhh, looks like FW’s first major downtown condo project ever is not going to be affordable for the vast majority of residets. Disappointing to say the least. I thought the goal was to try to make downtown appealing to people (with the ballpark, retail) so that they would move there. Well, you’ve got to build a complex that is a little cheaper than minimum $287K/condo! Hopefully someone else steps up the the plate within the next couple years and we see another complex somewhere else.
Midtowne Crossing was put together 18 years ago.
Urban mixed-use with retail and over 100 residential units…
Midtowne slipped my mind. Guess I should have said “FW’s first major condo project in nearly 20 years”. I still would like to see another complex added somewhere downtown. Maybe find a happy medium between midtown pricing (I saw some listings on their website for around $55,000/condo) and The Harrison.
PYP,
The only way to make new homes affordable is to mass produce them. A entire neighborhood filled with identical homes is cranked out. This sort of development is only profitable when there is a housing shortage.
We do not have a housing shortage in Fort Wayne. So any new residential construction will have to be pretty fancy to sell at all. Fancy means expensive. When they were talking about young professionals, they were putting more emphasis on “professional” than they were on “young”. They were not talking about you and me.
I do not believe Barry now deserves the 30mm tax abatement the city gave them. The should now only get the abatement if they build all three buildings instead of just the one.
It is quite obvious Barry did not do adequate market research for the project.
Just say no to Barry’s abatement for lack of honesty and inability to follow through.
Robert,
I fully reject your notion of the only residential construction that will sell is upscale housing. The reason Fort Wayne’s real estate market is so stagnant, other than the real estate bubble bursting and credit crisis, is that Fort Wayne’s housing market is chalked full of houses that are practically new and nearly identical in location: farm land that has been clear cut and (where you are correct) identical homes that vary in Flavor A-E are thrown on the land.
What it lacks is uniqueness. Uniqueness, in which The Harrison provides in location and number of developments like this. But lets be honest, one of the reasons Fort Wayne is so attractive is the cost of living. The majority of people here do not make east coast wages and do not want (can’t afford) east coast housing costs. These prices would practically marry people to their mortgages and not afford them any of the luxuries that come with living in a low cost of living area. I fully believe if these condos were priced from 100k – 250k, they would be practically sold out with the homeowner residing in the unit.
PYP,
There are a lot of quality, pre-existing starter homes in Fort Wayne. I bought a 2BR house near Rudisell for 30K. You cannot build a new home for less than that price. So there is no new starter home construction in FW because it is not profitable. It won’t sell, because there are cheaper alternatives.
We both agree that the market is stagnant. But the cookie-cutter houses aren’t the reason for that, because homeowners can and do redecorate after moving in. The reason for the bad housing market in Fort Wayne is slow population growth.