Scottsdale Arizona Real Estate Blog
Artesia Update –
Artesia by Starpointe is just about sold out. If you’ve been considering a purchase, you can’t wait any longer! Only one 1-bedroom floor plan remains, and pricing starts at $214,900. Call The Holm Group today at 480-206-4265 to discuss further.
by Dianna M. Náñez – Jan. 13, 2010 10:03 AM
The Arizona Republic
Downtown Tempe
Stakeholders still hold hope that the empty Centerpoint high-rises will be a boon for Mill Avenue.
That’s if the 22- and 30-story towers ever are finished.
An April foreclosure auction date set last week may pave the way for a second life for the condos that were stalled in bankruptcy and other legal proceedings. Vic Linoff, a longtime downtown Tempe business owner, said the best-case scenario is that an investor with solid financial backing will purchase the towers and reopen them as a mixed development that includes affordable condos and apartments.
That would be a stark change from the initial plans for the condos. Tempe Land Co. LLC, had hoped to open the first tower of condos in late 2008. Ken Losch, a principal developer for the project, had planned Centerpoint as high-end condos with starting prices of $300,000. The development was to include an estimated 375 condos in two towers near Maple and Sixth streets. The project was to include an upscale retail plaza, fine dining and a winery.
But the development stalled when Tempe Land’s lender, Mortgages Ltd., went bankrupt in 2008 after the suicide of Chief Executive Officer Scott Coles.
Even before the financial unraveling, many Tempe residents and business owners thought the condos were unrealistic.
“Ken went out on a limb to try and create a high-end district in Tempe,” Linoff said. “A university town is not where you normally find high end – Scottsdale or 32nd Street and Camelback (Road) that would be the perfect place for that (type of project).”
Still, Linoff said he hopes that a new investor would realize the potential for people to want to live in downtown Tempe. Tempe officials also hope that a new investor would complete the project within a year.
The foreclosure was welcome news for Tempe officials, said Chris Salomone, Tempe’s Community Development manager.
“I think it’s an opportunity to see an end to this prolonged process of bankruptcy and litigation,” he said. “We’re optimistic the project will get finished. There is a time frame now at least.”
The sooner that time frame comes to a close, the better for downtown Tempe’s economic recovery, Linoff said.
“There’s a lot of good things happening downtown,” Linoff said. “But certainly vacant buildings and incomplete projects don’t help the image of downtown.”
