Modern Townhomes Olmos Park (best neighborhood, apartment, neighborhood)

Those might work right on or just off McCullough, but I think you're right, they're too big and too unlike the existing housing stock to work farther inside the city.

[ShaneSA]

There is a group of new townhomes at the corner of South Alamo and Guenther in King William. I do not know the asking price. They were built in the last 3 years, thay are not brand new, but the newest you will find in King William.
Alot of people bought them as rentals and becasue of the cost, the rents were too high. Now they are selling them, not a good investment as a rental, but a good investment to live in.
check em out.

[Inside the Loop]

Don't know if this thread is dead or not but their are 4 Modern townhome units on Joliet St. just around the corner from Cambridge Elementary off of Broadway in Alamo Heights. They are great quality and very high grade finishes but were not well received by the marketplace. They have been completed for at least a year if not longer and have only sold two and I think the developer lives in one of the two.

The Med Style townhomes at Sunset & New Braunfels across from the Oak Park HEB were all sold prior to completion.

Would love to see something in Olmos Park. Alamo Hts has units coming up all over the place but very bad locations. I don't think that frontage on Austin Hwy. is very apealing.

[googie2525]

Originally Posted by Inside the Loop

Don't know if this thread is dead or not but their are 4 Modern townhome units on Joliet St. just around the corner from Cambridge Elementary off of Broadway in Alamo Heights. They are great quality and very high grade finishes but were not well received by the marketplace. They have been completed for at least a year if not longer and have only sold two and I think the developer lives in one of the two.

The Med Style townhomes at Sunset & New Braunfels across from the Oak Park HEB were all sold prior to completion.

Would love to see something in Olmos Park. Alamo Hts has units coming up all over the place but very bad locations. I don't think that frontage on Austin Hwy. is very apealing.

That's it, Joliet Street! I knew they were somewhere off of Paterson in the Cambridge area, but couldn't recall in my previous post. Yeah, those Mods are VERY nice, not cheapo flips, but definately not well-recieved like you said. I think though it has more to do with the way they're situated on the lot than the style though - long and narrow, almost hidden away, I just found the layout odd and kinda off-putting - just my 2 cents, as I've noticed a few Modish abodes springing up over there (a few on Patterson), or planning on doing so - most noticably a very cool upcoming Mod on Acacia (I only saw the architectural rendering, it looks amazing, like a Dwell-meets-Mid-Century-Modern vibe)...And yuck, those Meds across from the Oak Park HEB, I was SHOCKED they sold so quickly, horrible location IMO, and such a high $$$ - I'm just waiting for a car to plow into them at some point, as that corner is notorious for its numerous car wrecks.

[wCat]

I was going to mention that I thought Googie was talking about those Loft-look moderns on Joliet. My son almost wrecked the car when he saw those! He reads Dwell all the time and is "designing" his on "pad"!

I honestly think this type of construction doesn't belong in the middle of a very traditional neighborhood. I think the Joliet place would be selling like hotcakes in the King William area, or even near newer construction on Broadway. It just calls for a residential/commercial mix community.

I think the appeal is to a younger but established market (not a huge market here).....or executive or artsy types with money. Linda Pace (who just passed away) was right on the money (as usual) when she converted the Tobin building into the Camp Street Lofts! Lot's of empty nester AH/TH/OP "retired but not tired" bought into them....and they invested a great deal in them. Some moved OUT of Patterson Place to live there! Now that's breaking out of the money mold! Great for couples with no kids or grown kids.....or just singles. I would LOVE to see this become a niche market somewhere in town.....but you need to define who is in that "niche" first. The money is in the Tri-cities, but the draw there is the school district.....more family oriented. I don't see this type of construction fitting in that area.

And total YUCK on the Tuscan "whatever" on the corner of Sunset and N. New Braunfels. Nothing like squeezing every little inch out of a piece of land.
It's only four units.....very high priced. I can't imagine parking in the tiny gate when they are all occupied! They may be new, but not "modern".
They remind me of the Hacienda up on Broadway.....another very high priced townhouse type community with that sort of Spanish, but "not quite" look. But not really Tuscany either. My daughter (studying design) calls it the "Monterrey-Jack" cheese place.....because of the faux stucco paint job. I couldn't have said it better. OK.....Googie...your blabbering is catching!

Hah, we call stuff like that the Macaroni Grill school of design.

I have to agree about attempting to place modern architecture in the midst of the established tricity neighborhoods. They don't work. It would be odd to see a very aggresively modern home on the same street as 60 year old Craftsmens. I'm a big believer in new construction fitting in to the community, which is part of the reason I am such a strong proponent of aggressive anti-teardown rules. In Olmos Park, they built an enormous Macaroni Grill-style fake Tuscan...thing in between a Thornton rock home and a brick New Orleans inspired home. Not only does it stick out because of its architecture, it takes up nearly the entire lot, and is inches from the setback lines. One of the great things about OP is that even the smaller homes have good-sized lawns with old trees and established landscaping, so to see a home that looks like it was airlifted from a zero lot line development in Champions in the midst of homes set well back from the street is plain odd.

This doesn't mean that well-designed modern doesn't have a place in the tricities. I think it does, much like Googie said, closer to the commercial areas. I think that the area in Olmos Park, for example, between McCullough and Shook would be a good place, especially as the McCullough strip rejuvenates further. However, it remains to be seen if people can shake the "must have ugly Tuscan stucco monstrosity" mindset enough to take them seriously.

[Coldplay1144]

What is everyones take on my townhomes being 2100-2400 Sq Ft...To small? Or just right? 3 bedroom/ 2.5 Bath...Three Story present a problem?

[wCat]

Originally Posted by Coldplay1144

What is everyones take on my townhomes being 2100-2400 Sq Ft...To small? Or just right? 3 bedroom/ 2.5 Bath...Three Story present a problem?

Having recently moved from a 3 story townhouse, and looking for a ground floor condo, I found that groundfloor or elevator access is HIGHLY sought after in the tri-cities area. Did you say what you're asking price would be? The size sounds comfortable, but if you can price in an elevator for each unit you would greatlly broaden your market to include younger retirees that might be looking to downsize and simplifiy upkeep.....and wanting to buy a place to stay in long term.

Just my pov!

[Coldplay1144]

Yes they are $550,000-$650,000....Good pricepoint for Olmos?

[hello13685]

Yes, Coldplay, I agree completely with wCat. If you want to build something that would have huge demand, you should tap the senior market. This is because it is completely untapped in San Antonio. Many retirees who would potentially want to move here can not, because they do not have extended families that are here to care for them. They want few or no stairs. They want a very small yard that does not require upkeep. SA is the only city of its size that has not tapped this market, and I assume it's because it's largely Hispanic, and Hispanics tend to watch over their aging relatives more than "whites" tend to so the need has not been as present. Yes, there are a few of these crackerbox retirement communities outside of 1604. I'd shoot myself in the head before moving out there. I think that many retirees would want the relative vivaciousness of the AH area, and you could make a bundle in the process.