Ask Buzz Gosnell if the Valley will have too many $1 million urban condominiums and he’ll tell you a lot of developers are all talk. "What you’re seeing is a lot of the projects announced are not necessarily being built," said Gosnell, president of Woodbine Southwest, developer of Kierland.
"Only projects with good real estate will go forward and be viable."
Gosnell was on hand Tuesday to announce construction of the second phase of the Plaza Lofts at Kierland Commons on the Scottsdale-Phoenix border. After selling 30 units the first time around, Woodbine will build six stories on top of a three-story parking garage for another 54 lofts, including five penthouses as large as 3,900 square feet.
"I keep hearing about the supposed slowdown in the economy," Gosnell said. "I don’t see any slowdown." The lofts are scheduled to be completed in fall 2007.
Sales for the second phase began in March and there are already signed contracts on more than half of the planned units, said Trudy Hammond, director of sales. The first 30 lofts, which are over retail shops that make up the "Main Street" of Kierland, were sold out before construction in February 2003. Residents began moving in last summer. Recent resales of the homes have fetched as much as $1,000 a square foot, Hammond said.
Eight lofts on the ground floor will range from 1,100 to 1,600 square feet. Prices start in the $700,000s. Forty-one lofts ranging from 1,200 to 1,800 square feet will go between the fourth and eighth floor with the penthouses above. The penthouses have yet to be released for sale, Hammond said.
The lofts are popular because of high-end dining and shopping and nearby amenities that include offices, a resort, spa and golf course and the Scottsdale Airport.
By John Yantis
Tribune
