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Condo prices

While the asking prices for condominiums at The Harrison are considered by many to be higher than most housing in Fort Wayne (they range from $149,000 to $359,000), critics are wrong to argue the costs are equal to luxury housing in larger cities.

One example is the W Atlanta Downtown Hotel & Residences, a 28-story hotel/condominium project being constructed by Barry Real Estate. Prices for one of the 76 condominiums range from $400,000 to $4 million, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. The Atlanta condominiums range in size from 862 square feet to 2,761 square feet, meaning they are similar in size to Fort Wayne’s smallest units, but the $4 million Atlanta condominium will understandably get a bit of space.

The Chronicle also reported construction is well under way for the project, which is part of a larger $1.95 billion development by Barry, and about 20 percent of the condominiums have been reserved. You must be a subscriber to the Chronicle to read the entire article, but here is the free section.

Condominium cost

When Harrison Square was announced, part of the project included a $14.5 million condominium/retail building. Yet when The Harrison applied for its tax abatement, it listed a cost of $20.3 million.

The change was simply the difference between an estimate and reality, according to Jim Irwin, project manager for Barry Real Estate, which is building the luxury condominiums.

Irwin said as the company began to put together its budget, it was clear it would take more than $14.5 million to do what they wanted.

“To do the type of luxury product that we want and need to do for the market, it’s a $20 million price tag,” he said.

Greg Leatherman, executive director of development, said the increased price is a good thing because it is additional private investment in the $130 million project. He added that additional investments in the hotel and Harrison building make Harrison Square a $130 million project versus a $120 million, as previously reported.

Condo numbers game

The actual number of condominiums sold from The Harrison project seems to depend on who you ask. Greg Leatherman previously told me it was nine, but Jim Irwin, project manager with Barry Real Estate, recently told another news outlet it was only four or five.

Leatherman cleared up the discrepancy with an apology, saying he was told the wrong number. As of Friday, five people have completed deals to buy a condominium. He said there are more than nine people in the pipeline to buy the units as soon as some engineering work is done, but it wasn’t accurate to classify them as closed deals. Leatherman said he expected the number of sold condominiums to be closer to 20 in a few weeks.

Condo update

Mayor Tom Henry and developers of The Harrison condominium building will provide an update on the project Tuesday morning. It is expected to include a tour of the mock condominium that will be used to help sell the units to potential residents of the complex. I’ll be providing more coverage on the event in Wednesday’s paper.

Mock condo almost complete

People looking to move downtown to The Harrison condominiums should soon have the ability to touch what an actual unit feels like. Jim Irwin, project manager with Barry Real Estate, said a mock condominium should be ready for viewing next week at Martin Goldstine Knapke, the company selling the condos.

He said the company hasn’t really ratcheted up its sales pitch for the units, mostly because the mock condo isn’t open.

“If you were buying a condominium, you would want to see cabinet tops and everything,” he said.

The company got several people to put a refundable $1,000 deposit on the units, but the tougher challenge will be to convert those into sales.