Looking for info on High Rises in Dallas

[dfwcre8tive]

Originally Posted by rosscountry

Lucy Crowe's condo development rocks!

One Arts Plaza? Not really near the West End, but I agree: it's a great development in the heart of the Arts District. There are also new apartments opening right next door (The Arts, by Jefferson: http://www.theartsapts.com/).

[loratliff]

TurtleCreek880 gave the best information out of anyone on the thread.

I live in the Renaissance, which is by far going to be your most budget-friendly option. Nice building, nice people, love the location. Not 1,000+ units though, as TurtleCreek880 said - 600 units.

[ATLHRLGUY]

Is the Mandarin still planned for the victory park/uptown area?

[Dallas native]

Originally Posted by ATLHRLGUY

Is the Mandarin still planned for the victory park/uptown area?

No, that project was put on hold last year before the financial meltdown. I'm sure it's completely cancelled by now. All of the signage was removed.

[ATLHRLGUY]

That's too bad, but I'm not surprised, they had one planned for the midtown area here in Atlanta, even though the project is not "officially" dead but it might as well be. I hope the project in the future will get the green light. I really enjoy that area, whenever I go back home I feel like a tourist discovering new development down there, can't wait to see the new performing arts center.

[majorovingian]

After looking around some The Metropolitian sounds promising... what is their HOA like?

[Holly In Dallas]

Bottom line is what your budget then you can work into what building fits your needs and requirements.

[TurtleCreek80]

I would nix the Metropolitan from your list. Article in today's Morning News says the 4-year-old project is only 50% sold and now the unsold units are being converted into rental units. Run!!!

This is what happened to that high rise on Travis and Knox. Know someone who has had his unit for sale for 2 years with no bites. It's great for renters to take advantage of a nicer building, but not a safe investment for owners. Stick with the older, proven prime properties on Turtle Creek or Northwest Hwy/ Preston Center if you may need to re-sell in the next 5-10 years. No telling how long some of these half-sold projects (Palomar, Metropolitan, Travis) will be an owner's nightmare.

[hsw]

Don't know any city (incl NYC or Chic or SF) where communal towers/housing age well or do well as an "investment", even after 5-10yrs....combination of weak build quality when new; poor aging of high-maintenance amenities like fancy gyms, media rms, etc; turnover of residents to a socio-economically "weaker" crowd as bldg ages

Often smartest approach is to rent a unit in a desirable new condo tower for a few yrs (from a stable investor landlord; chk their risk of foreclosure) and then move on to next new housing that makes sense vs one's finances/lifestyle preferences....perhaps next latest/greatest condo tower or a new, bespoke-designed/built house in PrestonHollow or HP (know many who did the upscale communal living thing and now want nothing more than at least 2 acres btwn them and their neighbors' "issues", noises, bad taste, etc etc)

Many, perhaps most, condo towers (or houses) built in Bubble (or pre-Bubble) have dubious quality construction....and wonders of communal living manifest when overleveraged "owners" foreclose or rent out to lowest bidder

[Dallas native]

Originally Posted by hsw

Don't know any city (incl NYC or Chic or SF) where communal towers/housing age well or do well as an "investment", even after 5-10yrs....

Are you serious? NYC is a perfect example of a city in which highrise condos have historically been a good investment. I bought my 1BR in Midtown Manhattan in 1997 for $177,000 and sold it in 2002 for $410,000. That's an average rate of appreciation of 18% per year. It's now worth about $750,000 and I really regret having sold it. As far as buildings not aging well, the same could be said for single family homes. As long as the building is well maintained by the Homeowner's Association, it will be fine. I suspect that investing in highrise condos in Chicago or SFO has also been very lucrative for many people.

I will agree that it's different in a city like Dallas, where there are so many other affordable types of housing competing with the highrise condos. Additionally, there have been too many luxury highrise condos built in central Dallas over the last several years and the value of those properties has decreased much more sharply than single family home values during the recession.