The Seattle Condo Blog | Seattle Condos and Lofts

The Enso Condominium in South Lake Union is close to selling out with 11 homes remaining. Enso and the Gallery Condominium are on track to become the first downtown area new construction high-rise luxury towers to close out since Mosler Lofts back in 2009, which is a milestone considering the battered Seattle’s condo market over the past few years.

• One bedroom homes are now priced from $400,000 to $430,000
• Two bedroom homes are now priced from $620,000 to $695,000
• Penthouse suites are now priced from $980,000 to $1,295,000

Special offer for our readers – purchase an Enso Condo through us by July 31, 2011 and we’ll give you $7,500 back (subject to your lender approval, if financing).

View NWMLS listed Enso condos for sale

Sample Pricing of select homes:

Images courtesy of Enso Condominium

A few notable land use bulletins came up recently which may be of interest to folks, including the resurrection of the Cameo project, a 27-story Belltown apartment tower and two new apartment developments in South Lake Union.

1527 15th Avenue (Capitol Hill)

The Cameo development on Capitol Hill is back on the table after a 3-year hiatus. The project was originally proposed as a sister condo development to the Braeburn across the street at 15th & Pine St. The current proposal, similar in design to the original, is a 6-story building with 56 residential units including 2 live/work units and retail space. The project is owned and being developed by HAL Real Estate Investments, whose residential portfolio includes both apartment and condominium buildings.

Design Review Board Meeting for the Cameo
     Date:   Wednesday, April 20, 2011
     Time:   8:00 pm
     Location:   Seattle University, Alumni Relations & Admissions Building, 824 12th Ave
     Design Proposal download (10 mb PDF); view bulletin

Rendering courtesy of Studio Meng Strazzara

2625 3rd Ave (Belltown) Note: Address changed to 225 Cedar Street

An early design guidance review meeting has been scheduled for the proposed 310-unit apartment building at 2625 3rd Ave 225 Cedar St, the adjacent property northeast of the Seattle Heights Condominium building. Interestingly, this project keeps growing from its initial 17-stories on the parcel where the American Lung Association building stood, to 20-stories, then 26-stories and now 27-stories, that when all phases are completed will encompass the whole 3rd Avenue half of the block.

I’ve heard there’s been strong opposition to the size of the project from residents at Seattle Heights. The project is being developed by Paragon Real Estate. Alto, an apartment tower currently under construction, is located across 3rd Avenue from this site.

Design Review Board Meeting for 2625 3rd Ave
     Date:   Tuesday, April 12, 2011
     Time:   5:30 pm
     Location:   Seattle City Hall, Boards and Commission Room L280
     Design Proposal from February download (15 mb PDF); view bulletin

Rendering courtesy of Hewitt Architects

Joseph Arnold Lofts (Belltown)

A design review board meeting as been scheduled for the Joseph Arnold Lofts apartment development in Belltown. To be developed by the Schuster Group who built Mosler Lofts, The Joseph Arnold Lofts is planned for the corner of Elliott Avenue and Cedar Way with the Bellora Condo on the northwest and The Klee Lofts to the northeast. When built, the 13-story 132 unit building will be within 20 feet of the Bellora’s southerly facade (as close as 10 feet in earlier designs) and an alley width from The Klee.

Update: 4/11. Per the DPD the meeting has been cancelled. See notice
Design Review Board Meeting for Joseph Arnold Lofts
     Date:   Tuesday, April 26, 2011
     Time:   5:30 PM
     Location:   Seattle City Hall
     View bulletin

Rendering courtesy of Via Architecture

975 John Street (South Lake Union)

Rollin Street Flats may soon get a new neighbor. A land use application (see bulletin) has been filed for an adjacent parcel located Northeast of Rollin Street, which is owned by Investco Properties. The application is for a 7-story, 145 unit residential building with 72 parking spaces. Investco’s residential arm develops and manages apartment buildings.

Vulcan has left the door open to re-convert Rollin Street Flats back to condominiums when the condo market rebounds.

420 Pontius (South Lake Union / Cascade)

Vulcan Real Estate is proposing a massive residential development that’ll encompass an entire block in the SLU/Cascade neighborhood, bounded by Pontius, Republican, Yale and Harrison. The proposed development will incorporate the historic landmark Supply Laundry Building with 7-story buildings, up to 320 residential units, approximately 10,000 square feet of retail space and parking for 360 vehicles (per the design proposal document).

The Laundry Block site is part of Vulcan’s vision to redevelop the South Lake Union area into desirable urban village attracting new businesses and residents. The Laundry Block is located 4 blocks east of Amazon’s new campus and 2 blocks north of REI.

Design Review Board Meeting for 420 Pontius / Laundry Block
     Date:   Wednesday, April 20, 2011
     Time:   6:30 PM and 8:00 pm
     Location:   Queen Anne Community Center, 1901 1st Avenue West, Room 3
     Design Proposal from October 2010 download (9 mb PDF)
     Report from the October 2010 meeting; view bulletin

Rendering courtesy of Runberg Architecture Group

When I first read the headline of the promo piece, my first impression was that I thought this a bit odd. Why would Vulcan run a rent to own program at Enso, its upscale South Lake Union condo development, which is over 70% sold? Then I read further.

This unique rent to own program is specifically geared towards Vulcan’s tenants who rent at one of their South Lake Union properties – Alley24, Rolling Street Flats, Borealis or Alcyone.

Renters can accrue a $1500 credit for every six months completed on their lease, up to a maximum of $10,000. The credit would be applied towards closing costs of a condo purchase at Enso. This is pretty good program that Vulcan is offering. They’re rewarding current tenants who are interested in owning their own home for their rental longevity while also encouraging condo sales at Enso.

Click image to download/view the PDF:

Posted updated.

Veer Lofts is aiming to close out their last five remaining homes and have extended the $8,000 buyer credit to entice potential buyers. To be eligible for the $8,000 credit, contracts need to written by August 31st, with closing no later than October 15, 2010 .Veer is FHA approved. www.veerlofts.com

View current MLS listings at Veer Lofts

The Veer Lofts development in South Lake Union is down to its last nine homes! As an incentive to closing out the building, Veer Lofts is offering an $8,000 buyer bonus credit for purchases made by July 30th, 2010 and closed by September 15th, 2010. Veer is also FHA approved.

Of the nine available, six are two-story full-lofts, two are flexi-lofts and one is a single-level flat.

The 99-unit building was developed by Vulcan Real Estate whose other residential properties in the South Lake Union area include Enso, the 2200 and Rollin Street.

Adapted from a press release.

Welcome mats will soon roll out for homebuyers at Enso, Vulcan’s highly anticipated new LEED Gold certified condominium project in downtown Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood. Enso buyers began closing on their new homes today, and will start moving into Enso tomorrow and through early next year.

During one of the most difficult real estate markets in history, Enso has continued to attract growing interest from a range of buyers, with 55 percent of the 135 homes now sold. A total of 75 sales contracts have been signed with both new buyers and existing buyers in the last six months alone, translating into a robust 13 sales per month. The South Lake Union Discovery Center has also seen a nearly 60 percent increase in condo-related traffic in November compared to last year.

Enso has also received Fannie Mae approval, a critical step in allowing buyers to obtain loans and close on their new home purchases. Most lenders also typically require a project to have at least 51 percent of owner-occupied homes for buyers to obtain financing. By successfully achieving a strong enough level of pre-sales at Enso before allowing buyers to close, Vulcan has been able to preserve the project’s ability to attract new buyers seeking assurance they can close in a timely manner and avoid the prospect of auctioning its remaining condo inventory at a diminished value.

As part of Vulcan’s novel sales strategy in response to a declining real estate market, it significantly reduced condominium prices in order to attract both new buyers and retain existing buyers – helping them preserve equity in their homes from the outset. As the first condominium project in Seattle to revise Purchase and Sales agreements with new reduced pricing for existing buyers on a large scale prior to closing, many of Enso’s pre-sale buyers have decided to re-commit to the project and close on their homes. Pricing for Enso homes ranges from the low $300,000s to over $1 million.

“We saw many buyers from other projects who decided to walk away from their earnest money because they could not obtain financing or did not want to purchase a property for more than it was now valued,” said Ada M. Healey, vice president of real estate at Vulcan Inc. “We understood how critical it was to go back to our pre-sale buyers – who bought at the height of the market – and proactively lower prices to 2009 levels. We carefully monitored market conditions to ensure our homes were priced to sell. We took a long term outlook and wanted to do what was best for our buyers, the neighborhood and ultimately, our project.”

View available Enso condos for sale.

Received information today that Enso Condominium is expecting to begin closings and move-ins before the end of the year. According to a buyer update, Enso buyers will be receiving closing notices within the next 15-25 days. This is great news for Enso buyers who’ve been waiting and waiting to close. It was previously indicated that Enso/Vulcan was holding off closings until they could close more than 50% of the units.

Veer Lofts, located in Seattle’s South Lake Union district, has reduced prices and is offering a limited time $8,000 seller credit on any purchases before December 1, 2009. It is timed with the November 30th expiration of the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit. For purchases that close by November 30th, buyers will effectively receive $16,000 in savings ($8,000 seller credit and $8,000 tax credit).

Veer Lofts offer three styles of home layouts: flats, full 16′ two-level lofts and a hybrid flexi-loft layout. Flats start from $259,500, Flexi’s from $282,500 and the full-lofts from $379,500.

Website: www.veerlofts.com

It was a busy day for condo related news:

2201 Westlake (office building / Enso Condominium) receives LEED Gold Certification

Adapted from press release.

Characterized by its innovative environmental and sustainable features, the 2201 Westlake development in South Lake Union now represents Seattle’s first mixed-use and high-rise residential project to earn prestigious LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Developed by Vulcan Real Estate, 2201 Westlake was designed and constructed from the ground up using sustainable development practices. As a LEED Gold-certified project, 2201 Westlake exemplifies sustainable innovations that promote energy and water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, eco-friendly materials selection and alternative transit options as part of a healthier workplace and living environment.

The project’s sustainable features include proximity to public transit, bicycle storage, underfloor heating and cooling systems, use of recycled and rapidly renewable materials, low VOC paint and carpeting, drought tolerant landscaping, the recycling and salvaging of construction waste, plumbing systems that reduce portable water by 35% and an exterior glass curtain wall with low solar heat gain properties.

The Great Hole of Seattle (1 Hotel & Residences) to be filled

Full article from the Seattle Times: Starwood luxury hotel site becomes a parking lot

The pit, on Second Avenue between Pine and Stewart streets, was excavated in mid-2007 for the 1 Hotel & Residences, a proposed 23-story luxury tower. But work on the $200-million hotel and condo project stopped that fall, and the developer later acknowledged it couldn’t get construction financing.

A spokesman for the site’s owner, Connecticut-based Starwood Capital Group, said Monday that the hole should take eight to 10 weeks to fill. A Starwood affiliate applied last week for a city permit to develop a temporary parking lot on the property.

Eleven Eleven East Pike bulk sales

Full article from the Daily Journal of Commerce (subscription required): Kundig-designed lofts: Justen tries bulk sales

The Justen Co. is trying the bulk sales strategy to sell a third of the units at a new condominium project on Capitol Hill, Eleven Eleven East Pike. The project has 27 lofts designed by Seattle-based architect Tom Kundig of Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects, ranging in size from 600 to 1,150 square feet.

Nine units are in the first release. They are between 612 and 793 square feet and are priced between $255,000 and $379,000 in the bulk program. That’s 20 to 25 percent lower than the initial list pricing, according to Dean Jones, president and CEO of Realogics, which is marketing the project.

Under the bulk sales approach, buyers get a volume discount depending on the percentage of homes that are sold within each release. Buyers can join the bulk sale with a refundable deposit of $500 through the end of the month. Units must close by Nov. 30.

Related:
Enso Condo website
Eleven Eleven Condo website

Enso Grand Opening

The Enso Condominium, Vulcan’s newest development in the SLU Gateway district, is hosting its Grand Opening celebration this weekend at 820 Blanchard Street (Denny & Westlake).

Buyers and condo enthusiasts will have an opportunity to tour model homes and enter to win a $500 gift certificate at Whole Foods.

The grand opening runs this weekend, August 15-16, from 11 AM to 5 PM. Parking is available at the Discovery Center, located just north of Denny.