Ah but if you were say a couple with one little one - think of how much you would save on parochial school fees by virtue of the address. That's the key to this project - not upscale single life - but decent new construction for $50K - $100K less than you would pay for even a pretty hurtin' fixer upper in the Sadie Alexander catchment district.

Where do you live that you get all that?

Want high condo fees? Check out the Garden Courts. $850 a month for a 2 bedroom? Sure you get a pool, heat and hw, but that's about it. And being old, they're just going to keep assessing up as they need to repair things. Further, the time it takes them to do the fixes seems like forever.

At least this property will have to taxes for 10 years which is a nice plus.

I cant get over the GCV condo fees. When I 1st saw them I thought it was a typo. This isnt Manhattan

I get that in CityView. No abatement, but taxes are $900 a year for my 1br.

It's really annoying/upsetting too. I went and looked at one and am ready to buy it but I can't afford both a morgage and that kind of condo fee with the knowledge that it's just going to go up from this point. Right now they have a $130/month assessment on the apt I was looking at. I asked when it would be over and they said not for 13-15 years. All that implies is that they're not being run very well because I can't imagie that it really costs them $24k (way underestimating here) per building to redo the elevators. If it does, like I said, I don't know what it costs, what about all the extra money they're supposed to put away for expenses like this?

Ahhh, I've seen some of their listings... very expensive to buy but reasonable monthly fees...

Yep, these are the new condos. Tom Lussenhop is the developer. We were interested in one of the larger (3 bedroom) condos, of which there are four units that each span the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th floors of the new building going up.

The info states that these particular units are "2000 square feet", but that's including the unfinished basement, which isn't accessable from the actual living area (you have to go around back). It's really 1869 sq ft minus the basement = 1579 sq ft. If you don't count the 49 ft sq entrance hall and stairs, it's really a 1530 sq ft unit.

As far as the cost, we were quoted $395K for a unit facing Osage, and $405K for a unit facing the parking lot in back (those are slightly bigger). The parking space was quoted at $20K. So basically that's $415-$425 for 1530 sq ft plus parking plus a 290 ft sq unfinished basement that you can access from around back. (Unfinished meaning they hadn't even planned to put wallboard on the basement walls.) We didn't get the condo fees in writing, but were orally quoted $150 a month. That's $1800 a year, but you get a 10 year tax abatement, so it's like you replace property taxes with condo fees.

We decided not to buy, basically because we thought we could spend less for an existing property and still stay in the Penn Alexander catchment area. Since we were interested early, we were invited to suggest modifications before they bought the actual doors, appliances, etc., but in the end we just didn't feel the cost was worth it. For example, we wanted wooden crown molding on the main floor of the unit (the 2nd floor of the building), which is where the kitchen, dining room, and living room are, and we were quoted $1800 just for that. I guess if I like crown molding so much I'd be happier in an old house anyway.

There are still 3B 2Bath homes you can get in the catchment area for around the starter prices they are asking for these condos. I think there are at least 2 on the 500 block of Melville. Not big Victorians but good starter homes for families.

__________________
I went to the territory to renew my supply of stories.

Elbow Room
----James Alan McPherson

Just to clarify, one of the houses is 1.1 baths (a toilet in the basement). Having seen the inside all I can say is WOW, it needs a LOT of work!

The other is a duplex I can't comment on.

But you're right, there are still houses in the catchment for around the prices of the condos!

Hey - just to clarify any confusion. Sometimes I throw around approximate numbers. I am anything but the authoritative real-estate voice of God. My point was rather that just as the quote from Penn indicated - these condo's high price stems from a combination of their location in catchment area and the fact that theya re new construction which appeals to many folks (not me particularly). Feel free to correct my vague real estate quotes at any time.

I could imagine. That house is right behind me. Thing is, having been through a couple of contractor cycles the work really isn't that daunting to do in most cases. Especially if you have contractor reccomendations.

And come spring, someone will buy it.

Edited to add: Another house on that block just went under agreement. I don't think it was on the market a week.

__________________
I went to the territory to renew my supply of stories.

Elbow Room
----James Alan McPherson

Article in this week's Universty City Review about a second larger condo development that Wally posted about previously about at 4200 Pine. The Horace Trumbauer-designed mansion will be divided into up to 33 units. It had orginally been built for Charles Eisenlohr, owner of the Congo Cigar empire, and had at one point been the headquarters for the American College of Physicians who added on to the original structure. The developer is the Rodin Group.
http://www.philly1.com/story2031605.html