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Construction of a 43-story hotel and condominium tower near Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh has been stalled as developers scramble to find financing
newsobserver.com | Lending pullback stalls Soleil tower (http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/1144214.html - broken link)
I never much understood this project... maybe in CA or FL people would be willing to pay $1 million for a luxury condo next to a mall located next to a highway away from the main downtown/business area. But was Raleigh really the market for these?
According to the article, <12 condos have sold for >$800,000 since 2001. They wanted to sell ~50 for ~$1 million. Financing is harder to get now and buyers are more cautious and selective in what they buy. Even those that can afford this probably won't want to set a precedent and enter into risky ventures that may not resell in a few years... much like has happened to condos in South Florida and DC metro areas.
From experience with hotel financing, the developers are going to have a hard time getting a lender on their end as well. Very few are offering money to develop such projects. Most that were lending on condotels are out of business or are seriously reviewing every detail and asking for huge pre-sales, concessions and fees. The risk involved in this project with all the delays that already happened will put many off.
Well, that was interesting. My two favorite lines in the article were both near the end.
The understatement of the year: "On top of that, the site is in a flood-prone area, which requires more sophisticated engineering than projects on higher ground."
Crabtree? Flood prone? Y'think? Crabtree Creek - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
And the final line: "'In the end,' their statement said, 'the project will be better.'"
Yeah, because it is shore nuff going to be something ELSE.
they were talking about this being stalled on raleighskyline.com awhile back. i saw the mall when i visited, and i saw some apts across the street. didnt appeal to me. really cant see the point of expensive condos right there, in a big huge tower. downtown is barely able to justify that, let alone the suburbs... :-\
Construction of a 43-story hotel and condominium tower near Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh has been stalled as developers scramble to find financing
newsobserver.com | Lending pullback stalls Soleil tower (http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/1144214.html - broken link)
I'm glad. Doesn't make any sense to begin with. Look at University Tower in Durham off of 15/501. Nice building, but just doesn't fit in. Would have really added to DT Durham's skyline, yet there it sits in all it's suburban, shopping district glory. And the Soleil tower will look even more out of place considering it's height. The word pretentious comes to mind.
Location, Location, Location........well maybe not, not, not! Being one that marvels at tall cranes performing their task of lifting and dropping things in an organized manor I was so hoping to see one tower high above the Crab Tree Creek. But the three by North Hills will have to suffice I suppose until they decide to build or not to build, that is truly the financial question at hand for the Soleil Tower.
Given current economic forecast for the economy and economic growth in general maybe just maybe financial institutions are dismantling their growth cranes and are settling to have things grow from the ground up from a solid foundation instead of on the sinking mud flats of a flood zone. One can only hope!
I heard from a reliable source that this project is going to be back up and running.
Completely agree though, wrong place, wrong time.
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