44 W Monroe - Page 57

Leo the Dog · #**1121** Posted **Dec 31, 2010, 6:53 AM**

Many of us have been saying this for how many years now?! Good news, finally starting to head in the right direction.

DT needs more rentals and less 300k+ condos for sale.

PHX31 · #**1122** Posted **Jan 5, 2011, 4:08 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HooverDam

I actually think that little strip of Monroe has a good deal of potential. With Seamus McCaffreys and the Hotel San Carlos' Ghost Lounge anchoring the area, Id love to see more bars/nightlife there. There's that available spot where the underground bar "Monroes" once was, the US Bank tower has space for rent fronting Monroe, 44 Monroe has retail/restaurant space, plus if the Hotel Monroe ever happened down the line it could be another anchor.

I was at Ghost bar/lounge for New years and it was a lot of fun.

My friends and I always talk about the undergound "Monroes" and how awesome of a place it was (sans the dickhead bartender(s)). I'd love it if something could go in it's place.

Rentals at 44 Monroe will be great.

Vicelord John · #**1123** Posted **Jan 5, 2011, 4:29 AM**

Monroe's was awesome!!!!

HooverDam · #**1124** Posted **Jan 5, 2011, 4:33 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHX31

I was at Ghost bar/lounge for New years and it was a lot of fun.

My friends and I always talk about the undergound "Monroes" and how awesome of a place it was (sans the dickhead bartender(s)). I'd love it if something could go in it's place.

Rentals at 44 Monroe will be great.

My plan: Step 1 Win lottery. Step 2. Buy Monroes. Step 3. Open a small underground comedy club there.

I need to start playing the lottery.

PHX31 · #**1125** Posted **Jan 5, 2011, 4:41 AM**

/\ It's up to $330 mil, right?

That is probably the coolest spot downtown for any type of bar/club/lounge. Was there a problem with the space that made "Monroes" close? Could it turn into something someday? The City seems to eff up everything that's cool about Phoenix, they probably closed it down for some reason and made it unoccupiable.

HooverDam · #**1126** Posted **Jan 5, 2011, 4:57 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHX31

/\ It's up to $330 mil, right?

That is probably the coolest spot downtown for any type of bar/club/lounge. Was there a problem with the space that made "Monroes" close? Could it turn into something someday? The City seems to eff up everything that's cool about Phoenix, they probably closed it down for some reason and made it unoccupiable.

The gal (Ashley Pirouznia) who runs the Open Mic Comedy at the Ghost Lounge on Fridays and Saturdays is dating a guy who is (or was pre crash) a real estate flipper. I guess he looked into that space and said that there's some major fire code issues. I guess there needs to have additional stairs or a way out of the basement and the construction to ever do that would be extremely costly.

HX_Guy · #**1127** Posted **Jan 5, 2011, 5:28 AM**

Another article on 44 Monroe...looks like a leasing center should be open in January. I'm definitely interested in what their lease rates will be.

Quote:

Downtown Phoenix condos to be converted into apartments

Condo plans for 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix fall apart; new owner decides to convert units into apartments

15 comments by J. Craig Anderson - Jan. 4, 2011 05:43 PM
The Arizona Republic

Citing weak demand for upscale condominiums, the owner of high-rise condo property 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix has decided to convert the project to apartments.

Chicago-based ST Residential bought 44 Monroe out of foreclosure in June and opened a sales office inside the building in November, hoping to sell its remaining 196 units at prices starting just under $200,000.

The company has been unable to sell any of the units as condos, according to a spokesman for ST Residential.

Only 14 units sold originally when the project was built in 2006. Company spokesman Greg Sexton said those buyers will retain ownership of their condo units and could offer them for sale to ST Residential or retain ownership until the building's owners decide to convert 44 Monroe back to a condo project.

"This is a big win for the current residents," Sexton said, adding that the change from an almost-empty condo tower to a busy apartment property would be good for existing residents and the downtown area.

Commercial real-estate analyst Bob Kammrath of Kammrath & Associates in Mesa said ST Residential is following a recent trend in which multifamily properties originally marketed as luxury-condo communities have gone rental.

Condo-to-apartment conversions hinder the ability of existing unit owners to sell their properties, Kammrath said, but could keep the project viable until the downtown housing market recovers.

"I'm sure that's the hope," he said. "The problem is, the rental market stinks, too."

Tighter lending standards and the sudden affordability of single-family homes in the Valley have hit condo investors hard, Kammrath said.

Converting to apartments offers some advantages to property owners, such as recurring revenue and the ability to adjust prices as demand waxes and wanes.

And ST Residential would have the choice to resume condo sales if and when it decides the market can accommodate them.

The median resale price for a condo in Phoenix dropped to under $60,000 in November, according to Jay Butler, an Arizona State University housing expert.

A year earlier, the median condo price had been about $88,000, according to Butler, of ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.

ST Residential CEO Wade Hundley said his company will continue to monitor the local housing market and could potentially resume condo sales.

"We remain believers in the potential of the downtown Phoenix market, and we know that 44 Monroe will be a part of the recovery when it occurs," Hundley said.

ST Residential purchased two other local condo projects in June that were in foreclosure: Safari Drive in Scottsdale and 3rd Avenue Palms in downtown Phoenix.

Those properties continue to attract prospective condo buyers and will not be available for lease, Hundley said.

A revamped leasing center is expected to open at 44 Monroe in January.

The company did not provide any details about lease rates or how the change would affect existing property owners.

ST Residential is an investment and debt-resolution firm that is 60 percent owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Unlike the Resolution Trust Corp., which the federal government formed to dispose of failed lender-owned assets two decades ago following the savings-and-loan crisis, ST Residential involves the FDIC and a group of private-equity firms led by Starwood Capital Group.

All three metro Phoenix properties purchased by ST Residential in June had been owned by Corus Bankshares Inc., a holding company whose bank was taken over by regulators in September 2009.

Corus, based in Chicago, sought protection from creditors in June, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

At the same time, ST Residential was formed for the sole purpose of buying $4.5 billion in residential real-estate assets that Corus had repossessed, Hundley said in an interview in July.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/re...#ixzz1A8TgOTO0

Don B. · #**1128** Posted **Jan 5, 2011, 2:44 PM**

^ Interesting.

Kind of proves my point about the CC&Rs or existing homeowners being legally irrelevant in these types of situations. Yes, the pre-existing home buyers are hosed, but they are hosed anyway because of the shitty housing market here. If there's no demand for the units, then how does one measure the damages? Exactly...there are no quantifiable damages to their "values," which are in the toilet anyway. Sure, one could try to argue that converting the building to rentals somehow further damages their investment (especially on a go-forward basis), but that's going to remain a question of proof for the trier of fact, and given just how dismal the local condo market is, good luck finding an appraiser to testify with a straight face on this issue. And, why would you want to potentially throw good money after bad in this situation? Attorneys don't work on these sorts of cases on contigency, so you are looking at fronting $10,000 to $20,000 in a retainer just to get the lawsuit filed, with no guarantee of success whatsoever.

--don

Vicelord John · #**1129** Posted **Jan 5, 2011, 3:45 PM**

Do they still pay hoa fees?

Don B. · #**1130** Posted **Jan 5, 2011, 5:00 PM**

^ Yes, they would likely have to pay HOA fees as well. The status of the unit (rental versus owner-occupied) is immaterial to the HOA fees and assessments. Those would survive, in all likelihood.

--don

combusean · #**1131** Posted **Jan 6, 2011, 5:59 PM**

If I were in 44 Monroe, the last thing I would want to do is sue the new owners of the building. The building should fill itself relatively quickly and become its own address--nothing like it exists anywhere. Being able to own one of the few units should carry its own premium if the new owners intend to keep it for the long term and actually reinvest in it.

If most of the vacant lots to the northwest and southeast of downtown were filled with apartments of a variety of heights, Downtown would start approaching a national-scale neighborhood.

PHX31 · #**1132** Posted **Jan 6, 2011, 8:54 PM**

I've never heard of an HOA fee at an apartment/rental place. Wouldn't the owners just set the rental rates a bit higher than a place that requires less maintenance rather than have their tennants pay rent and HOA separately?

Don B. · #**1133** Posted **Jan 6, 2011, 10:39 PM**

^ It's normally included in the rent for renters. Where I live, for example, rents run from about $575 to $625 per month, and the utilities are included. Each condo is individually owned, though, and the HOA fees to the owners (which include all utilities) are about $300 per month.

I suppose it is legally possible that the rent and HOA fees could be separate, but like you, I've never heard of that being the practice.

--don

HX_Guy · #**1134** Posted **Jan 19, 2011, 5:55 PM**

44 Monroe has updated their website...no prices on apartments yet but they have some fantastic pictures...

dtnphx · #**1135** Posted **Jan 19, 2011, 7:03 PM**

Talk about trick photography, Phoenix looks really dense and urban!

Vicelord John · #**1136** Posted **Jan 19, 2011, 7:22 PM**

Nothing trick about it.

dtnphx · #**1137** Posted **Jan 19, 2011, 8:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vicelord John

Nothing trick about it.

Yes, of course. We're known as the NYC of the west.

phoenixheadphones · #**1138** Posted **Jan 19, 2011, 8:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by dtnphx

Yes, of course. We're known as the NYC of the west.

Well of course we're not NYC, but that really is the skyline and those look like accurate city views from 44 Monroe. Not sure the sun really comes shining in as magically as it does in the first picture, but you know...

dtnphx · #**1139** Posted **Jan 19, 2011, 8:55 PM**

I was just joking - it's just that they look so inviting! There are few vistas in Phoenix that look that good. One has to imagine that if you looked down from those balconies you would see many emply lots. I'm glad they are marketing the apartments again, it's a good sign.

phoenixheadphones · #**1140** Posted **Jan 19, 2011, 9:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by dtnphx

I was just joking - it's just that they look so inviting! There are few vistas in Phoenix that look that good. One has to imagine that if you looked down from those balconies you would see many emply lots. I'm glad they are marketing the apartments again, it's a good sign.

Ah i get you. They do look really good, but the Phoenix skyline is looking less and less whimpy, so i guess its not too surprising that there are some really good angles. Plus i think that second shot from Civic Space is one of the best views of the city.