My significant other is busy today and I am bored. It's either this or drink and I'm trying to cut down. Hotel 1 peaked my interest when it was announced. There was some wait as it took them time to develop the project and many changes have been announced to the original plan. Furthermore, it seems that they will halt construction over the holidays due to traffic rules although I have not heard the same excuse from other downtown developers.
I commend the development of an environmentally conscious hotel brand although I get the feeling that it's just a new scheme developers have embraced to sell their ware. Don't get me wrong, I'm as capitalist as they get but I wonder how much this hotel will advance the cause of environmental responsibility. In any case, the new hotel and condo will be in an enviable location close to shopping, restaurants and Pike's Market. People have expressed concern about the shadiness of the Pine/Pike-2nd/3rd area. I am of the opinion that it will quickly become "the" neighborhood downtown with the construction of this project, 1521 and the Four Seasons. My concern is more about their view. It is fine now but there can be significant development on both the west and south adjacent blocks.
I was impressed with the trim and finish of all the units. There are high end touches, fixtures and appliances all around. As you may be aware, the lower private residences composed of mostly smaller units now have been converted to more city-suites starting around $450k. City-suites are the only rooms the hotel has to rent as there are no exclusive hotel rooms. This is both a plus and a minus. It might help with income if you plan on renting out your unit regularly. However, you have to give the hotel a certain number of nights for free to use for their "promotions" and the hotel always gets their cut (i.e. management fees) first. Potential buyers fear that the income from renting out their units will not cover their cost even under the best circumstances and I think they are right. The home owner dues are just north of a dollar per sq ft and everyone has to pay including city-suite owners. You should know that you cannot personalize the city-suites in any way. That means no pictures, photos; not even a towel or a pillow. You do not get parking with a city-suite and cannot buy one.
The residence condos are above the city-suites starting at over a million for a 1300sq ft unit. You do get parking under the building with guest parking in the adjacent parking structure that the developer is also refurbishing. You do not get a free membership at the main gym however and must pay for this separately. Overall, buying an actual condo in this building might be OK. I expected more for the high HOD they charge and you can definitely get more sq ft per dollar at most other condos in the area. I would stay away from the city-suites like the plague. Of course, city-suites are the most popular. Go figure. Maybe it is people trying to get in cheap at a top tier condo hoping the rental will cover their cost. Maybe I'm a monkey and this blog is a figment of your imagination. You decide. I actually like the look of the building overall and think it is a good fusion of the modern and traditional. It's certainly better than screwing on a modern glass structure on top of a plain brown building. I'm getting cranky; maybe I need that drink after all. Here are the scores; I follow the Zagat format.
Location: 26
Building/unit quality: 28
Amenities: 27
Cost: +$450k city-suites, +$1 million condos
http://www.1residences.com/
Update: Hotel 1 is in redesign due to most buyers of city-suites backing out before putting down a deposit. They will have traditional hotel rooms instead. Maybe people do listen to sound advice.
I commend the development of an environmentally conscious hotel brand although I get the feeling that it's just a new scheme developers have embraced to sell their ware. Don't get me wrong, I'm as capitalist as they get but I wonder how much this hotel will advance the cause of environmental responsibility. In any case, the new hotel and condo will be in an enviable location close to shopping, restaurants and Pike's Market. People have expressed concern about the shadiness of the Pine/Pike-2nd/3rd area. I am of the opinion that it will quickly become "the" neighborhood downtown with the construction of this project, 1521 and the Four Seasons. My concern is more about their view. It is fine now but there can be significant development on both the west and south adjacent blocks.
I was impressed with the trim and finish of all the units. There are high end touches, fixtures and appliances all around. As you may be aware, the lower private residences composed of mostly smaller units now have been converted to more city-suites starting around $450k. City-suites are the only rooms the hotel has to rent as there are no exclusive hotel rooms. This is both a plus and a minus. It might help with income if you plan on renting out your unit regularly. However, you have to give the hotel a certain number of nights for free to use for their "promotions" and the hotel always gets their cut (i.e. management fees) first. Potential buyers fear that the income from renting out their units will not cover their cost even under the best circumstances and I think they are right. The home owner dues are just north of a dollar per sq ft and everyone has to pay including city-suite owners. You should know that you cannot personalize the city-suites in any way. That means no pictures, photos; not even a towel or a pillow. You do not get parking with a city-suite and cannot buy one.
The residence condos are above the city-suites starting at over a million for a 1300sq ft unit. You do get parking under the building with guest parking in the adjacent parking structure that the developer is also refurbishing. You do not get a free membership at the main gym however and must pay for this separately. Overall, buying an actual condo in this building might be OK. I expected more for the high HOD they charge and you can definitely get more sq ft per dollar at most other condos in the area. I would stay away from the city-suites like the plague. Of course, city-suites are the most popular. Go figure. Maybe it is people trying to get in cheap at a top tier condo hoping the rental will cover their cost. Maybe I'm a monkey and this blog is a figment of your imagination. You decide. I actually like the look of the building overall and think it is a good fusion of the modern and traditional. It's certainly better than screwing on a modern glass structure on top of a plain brown building. I'm getting cranky; maybe I need that drink after all. Here are the scores; I follow the Zagat format.
Location: 26
Building/unit quality: 28
Amenities: 27
Cost: +$450k city-suites, +$1 million condos
http://www.1residences.com/
Update: Hotel 1 is in redesign due to most buyers of city-suites backing out before putting down a deposit. They will have traditional hotel rooms instead. Maybe people do listen to sound advice.
Update 2: Hotel 1 has been shelved due to the market. It is currently represented by a literal hole in the ground.
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