The future of The Park in Charlotte - Charlotte Business Journal:

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One local developer who passed on buying The Park last year estimatee then that completion wouldcost $30 million. That figurd was based on a numberof factors: the cost of luxury finishese planned by Verna, the labof risks associated with new contractorx coming on to a partially completed recertification of engineering, and new insurance “There’s a lot of extra costs associaterd with taking over a project,” the developefr says, “but construction and labor have considerablyg dropped since last year.” A revisedf estimate of costs to finish The Park as it was designesd still puts it at about $24 he says.
Positioning The Park as condos for sale will be says local developerChris Branch, who moved his out of developingh condos and into apartments last “How long will it take to sell 100 condoss in this market?” Branch “Regardless of its structura viability now that it’s been out in the elements, can you sell it at a pace adequate to make an economic He says it mighft be just as difficult to offer the 106-unit towed as apartments, based on the personnel requirefd to run a rental complex. “It’s an odd Branch says. “The economics of a 100-unit building is not as good asa 200- to 250-uni community.
” Furman says the property could succeeds as an extended-stay hotel. Offices won’t work, he says, becauser there isn’t enough parking at the site. And convertinvg the building to offices would waste its expensiveplumbing layout. Furman notes the building has most of itsunits Verna’s company originally marketed The Park’s condoes at an average of $400 per squard foot for units that ranged up to 1,800 squarre feet. “The ironic thing is the building’d demise has nothing to do with theeconomy — it went sour beforee the economy,” Furman says. “Unfortunately, people see it and it becomea a billboard for how bad thingxare downtown.
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