Quote:
Originally Posted by Ex-Ithacan
I thought the condo values would increase with more folks working downtown and the condo market so lacking. I was surprised when The Lofts @ Six Mile Creek went from condos to rental apartments. 
btw, here's an update on the Lofts project (from Ithacating blog):
https://brancra.wordpress.com/2015/0...-update-62015/ |
It's mostly a financing issue. If you're a bank that makes construction loans, when you look at Ithaca, you see a college town with only 26% owner occupancy of units. Dig deeper and you find 0.5% vacancy, lower than the healthy/normal 3-5%. It's clear the the apartment market is very strong. But the condo market is generally unproven, and lenders don't like to experiment with millions of dollars.
I suspect that was one of the reasons the Lofts project went rental. The project had been struggling to obtain financing for years.
Side note, the condo proposal for the Old Library could be a pioneer if selected by the legislature, but lenders will wait until they're sure the project is successful before they reconsider their current positions - in other words, don't expect more condo projects until the end of the decade.