Help with choosing Condo in Midtown--Spire Vs Viewpoint Vs The Plaza (Ideal: rental, house)

[kranjan]

Dear All,

I am starting at Georgia Tech in July and would like to buy a condo near the school. I have heard from lot of folks that mid-town area is best place to live near campus.

Me and my wife are both are in early 30s (<32) and no kids. We are planning to buy 2bd/2ba condo. I have looked at Spire and Viewpoint during my house hunting trip and found both to be very similar.

Recently I have seen some openings at The plaza midtown also. Ideally, I would have liked to buy at 1010 midtown, however its seems about $100k more than spire or others for the similar floor plan or views.

Any help from the folks who might be living or lived at Spire/viewpoint/The plaza will be appreciated. I am right now interested in unit 2614 and 1902 at Spire.

[George Chong]

Spire and Viewpoint were built by the same builder - novare group so that is why the floorplans are similar. Did you like the amenities better at one building than the other? Sprie was built prior to Viewpoint.

Did you like the floorplans at Plaza Midtown?

[kranjan]

I like the amenities as Spire. They have just remodeled their clubhouse. I was not able to check out the Plaza Midtown. However, looking at the listings, it looks good. I was trying to get the floor plans for the Plaza but its not so easy to find out. For spire I was just able to google it and find the floor plans.

[ATLTJL]

The reason you are finding Spire and Viewpoint so similar is because they were developed by the same company, Novare.

I haven't lived at any of these properties, but I can tell you a couple of things I do know....

Viewpoint was originally planned as a 2, possibly 3 tower project. I believe the land is still owned by the company and zoned for that purpose, so in the next 5 or 10 years, you may see one or two more towers go up. If they do this, they may just give them access to your pool and weight room, etc. making things more crowded. I have also heard if you buy in Viewpoint and don't get a parking space on the first couple of floors, you will spend a good portion of your day driving up and down parking deck ramps, which I hear many residents do quite recklessly.

I haven't really heard anything bad about Spire.

Plaza Midtown, I think has better floorplans. It also has something neither Spire or Viewpoint have: simple elevator access to a grocery store. I think that's awesome! There's also a lot of thriving retail on the ground floor of Plaza Midtown. The downside is the buildings aren't as tall, so you probably can't get quite as nice a view as you can in Spire or Viewpoint, and you are not directly on Peachtree.

I would tend to put Plaza Midtown and Spire above Viewpoint, but I haven't been in Viewpoint, so it may have some features I'm not aware of. Between Plaza Midtown and Spire, it's really personal taste. I happen to think the floorplans at Plaza Midtown are a little better and would love instant access to Publix, but I understand the allure of being right on Peachtree.

Of course, I agree with you that 1010 Midtown is the best of all!

Congratulations on being 32 and being able to afford a 2-bedroom unit in one of these buildings. I hope you like the area and aren't just buying to be close to GA Tech.....because if you decide to move after your program, all of these buildings have rental caps, I think at 25%, so you'll have to sell the unit to get out of it. And it's hard to break even after just a couple of years.

Good luck!

[kranjan]

Thanks a lot for your in-depth analysis of the building. I am joining Georgia Tech as a faculty and hope to be there at the condo for atleast 5 years. Yes, I have heard that the Spire has a very strict rental policy. I really thinks its a great idea as it keeps a very good check on the people living there.

Regarding Viewpoint, I was not very happy to see how the new Skyhouse was blocking the views. Also, as you had mentioned it looks like there will be another tall building in that complex.

[jsvh]

I lived in Viewpoint and looked at Spire and the Plaza. I was quite happy with my choice. Viewpoint was the newest. I think Plaza was a little more expensive at the time so I did not look at it as closely.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Viewpoint was originally planned as a 2, possibly 3 tower project. I believe the land is still owned by the company and zoned for that purpose, so in the next 5 or 10 years, you may see one or two more towers go up. If they do this, they may just give them access to your pool and weight room, etc. making things more crowded.

Skyhouse south was built in place of the other planned Viewpoint condo towers. Skyhouse has its own pool and fitness center.