vibrant downtown tampa condos
Back in 2004, the Towers of Channelside took reservations on all 257 condo units. In August 2007, they had sold 4 of 5 retail spaces in the towers, and began closing on the condos.
Alas, by January of this year, they had only closed on 89 units, and filed for bankruptcy protection.
Tampa I Am visited on a recent home tour. He’s fairly impressed with Towers of Channelside, until he hears about all the costs:
seemed a little small, and left little room for any storage, the balconies and views were amazing. I’m not sure though that the views and wrap around balconies, large pool area, and location in the new urban residential area downtown warrant prices of over 1/2 million $$, with monthly HOA fees running around $500/month, but that’s just me.
Last month, the Trib reported that there are “about 150-200″ people living at theToC. That number means nothing.
Reporter Ben Montgomery of the St. Pete Times did a piece on a single guy living at the Towers. Montgomery’s fantastic writing gives us the impression that some dude named Johnny F lives in there all alone with a stuffed Buffalo head and his girlfriend visits once in a while.
But I’m irritated at what this article and all the others DON’T tell us. How many total sold? How many are available for sale right now? How many are being rented? Why aren’t people moving in? How much is the current asking price for these condos? How much did the ones sold pay for? How much are similar properties?
Realtors, developers, and flippers don’t want us to know these numbers, because they all feel that they have to sell a dream, instead of selling the reality. They all need to just suck it up, accept the “risk” part of the equation that they signed up for. If these condos are all they are cracked up to be, you should have no problem selling them for what they are worth.
Loading ...
April 28th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
The latest so-called “boom” was a total scam, and just like in the Florida building boom of the 1920s, the Press were willing participants.
April 28th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
the ’scam’ was localized. property in the northeast and midwest is still appreciating.
April 28th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
I was watching MSNBC about a month ago and an expert real estate investor was talking about various markets, etc. The gist of one remark was that one of the worst markets in the country was Florida (excluding Miami) which experienced a huge condo boom and now no one lives in them. Sounds like Tampa to me…
April 28th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
There have been 84 units sold so far..
April 28th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
That Miami comment is accurate. Right up to the point where it’s not.
Worst-Selling Markets in 2008
1. Miami
3. Orlando
4. Tampa
http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/15/homes-sales-worst-forbeslife-cx_mw_0415realestate_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=20000
April 28th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Wow… I’m not sure if that should make me feel better or worse. I think her point was that Florida is bad, but an investment isn’t as bad if it’s in Miami then other parts of Florida.
April 29th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
And my point was that, according to Forbes, it’s worse than Tampa or Orlando. It’s bad everywhere in Florida.
April 29th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Tommy-your last paragraph really sums things up…what we also noticed in ToC tour was the common areas were so “blah” and lacked anything when comared to much less expensive palces like Skypoint..which INCLUDES a state of the art fitness center.
April 30th, 2008 at 12:19 am
I’ll buy a unit at ToC, for 15 cent on the dolla! Soon there will be vultures flying around the tops of those buildings, and in the lobbies too.