apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Ha - Hilarious that you guys chose to profile one of the most widely known recent condo developments in the Bay Area - not widely known because of all the green frou-frou, but because its the poster child for how to fuck up royally on marketing and sales.

The developers on this project completely overshot the market on their target prices and even in the middle of the boom, no one wanted to buy. So the units sat and sat and sat and sat. Eventually they started cutting prices, but it was too late - the project got the stigma of unmarketable - buyers stayed away assuming they would keep cutting prices, the brokers pulled out, the preferred lenders pulled out and the developers wound up pulling most of the units off the market and turning them into rentals.

Turns out, even with the green elements, Bay Area buyers still won't overpay to live in the East Bay on the Oakland border.

That $475,000.00 price tag is a deal compared to something comparable her in Seattle....

Transitional? True. The Komatsu Factory Forklift Outlet is across from this place.

Um...according to the website, there is only one unit still available. Why are some people such negative wise-asses?

Unit #
Size
Price
SF*

312 (sold) 1 BR / 1 BA Office Nook $475,000 969
314 (sold) 1 BR / 1 BA Office Nook $475,000 969
111 (sold)
1 BR / 1 BA Flat Plus
$475,000
936

115 (sold)
1 BR / 1 BA Flat
$495,000
834

121 (sold)
1 BR / 1.5 BA Mezzanine
$625,000
1530

122 (sold) 1 BR / 1.5 BA Mezzanine $625,000 1530
123
2 BR / 2 BA
$749,000
1568

131 (sold)
1 BR / 1.5 BA Loft
$549,000
1043

224 (sold)
1 BR / 1.5 BA Mezzanine
$599,000
1700

423 (sold)
1 BR / 1.5 BA Mezzanine
$549,000
1530

431 (sold)
1 BR / 1.5 BA Loft
$499,000
1120

432 (sold)
1 BR / 1.5 BA Loft
$499,000
1091

433 (sold)
1 BR / 1.5 BA Loft
$499,000
1090

221 (sold) 1 BR / 1.5 BA Mezzanine $635,000 1530
321 (sold) 1 BR / 1.5 BA Mezzanine $680,000 1620
331 (sold) 2 BR / 2 BA Loft Office/Den $1,050,000 2100

I'm not being a negative wiseass. I'm in the bay area real estate development business. I know this project. I know the preferred lender who pulled out. I know the original marketing team that was shaking their heads at how badly the developer misjudged the market.

You'll also note, if you can do math, that the project is a 62 unit project. Your list from their website is for only 16 units. They're not gonna show a big long list of unsold product - they need to make the appearance that there is demand for their units.

I also happen to know that they moved like only 11 units in the first six months when it opened in late 2005. I also happen to know that they cut prices $100,000 on some units - that's just unheard of, unless you really screwed up, which they did.

Finally, using the hand dandy interwebs, I've run a quick title check (did I mention I'm in real estate) and lo and behold, but a whole mess of units are still owned by Greencity Lofts LLC, the original developer.

But thanks for thinking I'm just being a negative wiseass.

I have to agree with Dave that these aren't all they're cracked up to be--especially given the neighborhood. I live right around the corner, and I can attest to the fact that most condo buyers aren't going to want to live in a spot where trucks are set on fire in front of their homes (as happened with me back in April) and people regularly relieve themselves on the front steps.

These received a GreenPoint Rating of 82, which isn't bad, but isn't necessarily great, either. And for the price? You're hardly getting any space. I toured these as part of a green home tour in the Bay Area and you get minimal privacy and minimal living space. And I'm all for small space living, but you're not getting a lot for your dollar.