A deep-pocketed real estate firm has bought a majority stake in one of central Phoenix‘s new condominium projects.
Crescent Resources of Charlotte, N.C., invested in Portland Place and plans to step up the pace of construction on the first phase of the 231-unit condominium project at Portland Street and Second Avenue.
The firm plans to work with Portland Group LLC, the original developer, to finish the project.
Construction started last year. Previous plans called for the first phase to be done this fall, but work started late.
Some were concerned the project would fall victim to the Valley’s condo glut. Then Crescent Resources invested an undisclosed amount a few weeks ago.
Now, Portland Place’s first mid-rise building, with 42 flats, four two-story condos and eight brownstones, is expected to be completed next year. It’s the first of three buildings planned at Portland Place.
"We have been involved in a number of projects in downtown areas in the midst of a renaissance," said Larry Throneburg, president of Rim Chaparral Pines Real Estate Services, a division of Crescent. "We understand these kind of projects."
Almost 8,000 condos and lofts are planned or under construction across metropolitan Phoenix. That’s more than what went up in the Valley in the past decade.
Real estate analysts say less than 20 percent of all the planned high-rise residential projects will be built.
At Portland Place, 39 homes in the first phase have sold so far. Prices started at $319,000 and went up to $1.2 million.
Tim Sprague, principal of the Portland Group, said Crescent is a great company to work with and is undergoing a big expansion in the West.
Crescent is developing a condo hotel in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and a 190-unit condo tower in Austin.
It has also built upscale condos in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and Charlotte.
In Arizona, Crescent’s development experience includes the Rim Golf Club and Chaparral Pines in Payson.
Catherine Reagor
The Arizona Republic
