New Haven Independent

Posted by: Esbe | March 12, 2007 12:30 PM

This is good news. The city is greatly harmed by the kind of "buy and hold" strategy described here, where commercial landlords let buildings decay while hoping for some larger development plan to come along and make them rich. Ironically, of course, the very decay they allow makes the development that much less likely. I hope that the new owner doesn't turn out to be a "buy and hold" guy himself -- in the short run at least please repair the facades of the existing structures, which are greatly dragging down the neighborhood.

Posted by: Esbe | March 12, 2007 12:39 PM

Oh -- and one more comment on a broader point: the claim that New Haven can't support "luxury condos" because we don't have that kind of employment. Most of the market for those condos doesn't work in New Haven. The New Haven / Stamford metro area has 2,000,000 inhabitants and is one of the richest metro areas in the country (check it out on census.gov). Some fraction of those 2,000,000 want to live in an lively, intellectual urban environment that is cheaper than Manhattan but less sterile than Stamford. We see this already -- a large fraction of renters at CentrePoint, etc., are "reverse commuters", leaving the city for work and then returning in the evening for restaurants, clubs, theater, etc. That is the largest part of the market for these condos. Many millions of smart, unsubsidized private dollars are betting that the market for even more apartments exists. If they are wrong, then its their loss -- the apartments will simply sell for whatever the market rate turns out to be.

Posted by: charlie | March 12, 2007 3:52 PM

I agree with Esbe. And I think there is a market for the expensive units, albeit a smaller one. If you look at rents in some of the luxury apartment buildings in the area, they are comparable with what you might purchase in one of the half-million dollar units. Million-dollar units, I'm not so sure of. There are certainly million dollar houses in the East Rock neighborhood but those are much larger than these condos and come with parking plus a very nice-sized yard. I think the condos in question will eventually get that expensive, but it may be another five or ten years. In the meantime Esbe is correct to point out that $400-500K units are certainly reasonable given current interest rates (especially if the units have a comparable square footage to a $400K single-family house in the area, which many do).

Posted by: charlie | March 12, 2007 4:49 PM

I also agree that if the new developer wants to make some money, all he has to do is fix up a couple of the facades there. Just start with New Haven Variety. The effect will be like turning on a money spigot into that part of downtown (i.e., an even larger one that the one going on right now) because everyone in the city, and beyond, will want to live in that area. It's one of the most intact 19th and early 20th century mixed use commercial districts in the entire Northeast.

Posted by: B | March 12, 2007 10:35 PM

Excellent to see this property turning over to a trusted local developer. It's not every day the sale of one property effects 4 different streets.

Posted by: TrueBlueCT | March 13, 2007 1:48 AM

I'd like to see one Condo Tower succeed, (College Square), before ground was broken on the next. (i.e. the Shartenburg plan.) The fact is that both of these projects are incredibly ambitious, and if one were to objectively look at the actual absorption rates of much more modest condo projects, like the Sage Arts complex, or the Johnson-Simmons building, well, it might suggest caution.

What New Haven cannot afford is another bursting of the condo bubble, akin to what we witnessed in the early 90's after the late 80's speculative market.

"Discretion is the better part of valor..."

Posted by: Clark Pearlman | March 14, 2007 10:44 AM

I think it's great for the city to finally have those properties owned by such an experienced and respected business man like Paul. Alex will do a great job managing the property, and I am excited about the future of that area.

Posted by: andy ross | March 15, 2007 12:47 AM

I do not support more luxury housing. Speaking as a resident and a professional in the field I do not see this city ready to support all we have planned. Even Stamford is suffering. I should know I own a real Estate company there and own two of my own luxury condo units that have not risen in value anywhere near what they were expected to.
Why? Too many on the market and a slow down in demand. I still say we should pick projects that first give people a place to work and a reason to come into the city. Provide plenty of affordable and easy access parking and more retail attractions and commercial office space.