Update, 9/23: Ivy Lofts PR director Jared Anthony tells Swamplot that another even newer design is in the works following an architect switchup — more info here.
Is this the new look planned for the Ivy Lofts? A fresh LoopNet listing is now using the top rendering (and another view from the back) to advertise retail space on the yet-unbroken ground at 2604 Leeland St. The images show a building with roughly the same J-shaped double tower proportions seen in the original Ivy Lofts renderings, but with a smoother, gently curved facade and some vertical green striping.
Novel Creative Development VP Wen Pin Tsai did tell Paul Takahashi back in July that there were major condo-hotel-hybridization-related changes being hashed out for the planned highrise after the initial buy-up went more slowly than planned: the 550 units got attention from only 68 buyers — most of whom were actually investors looking to lease out the condos to that same coveted young professional set that wasn’t signing up to purchase them.
Most of the renderings and details up on the Ivy Lofts’ marketing webpage were taken down some time in the wake of the missed June groundbreaking date, and not many new ones been posted yet — but a new floor plan is included with the retail leasing info, showing distinct condo and hotel lobbies:Â
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The condo lobby appears to face Leeland St., while the hotel lobby faces Nagle to the west; a 20,099-sq.-ft. section of retail space faces Live Oak St., with another 6,339 sq. ft. on the corner between the lobby entrances:
The stripped-down main sales page for the development also now advertises only 5 unit floorplans, starting at $200,000; the pre-changeup floorplan roster had the New York, Barcelona, Paris, London, and Houston models all priced out around $199,500 or above, leaving only the tiny Tokyo units down in the neighborhood of $159,000.
Here’s the close-up on the taller tower:
- 2604 Leeland
- Exclusive: Houston’s First Major Micro-Unit Condo Project Shifts Direction [HBJ]
- Previously on Swamplot:  Playing Dress Up with the Tiny Floorplans of the Ivy Lofts Condos; Climbing Around the Enormous Nooks of the Proposed Ivy Lofts Highrise; Those Not Sold on the Ivy Lofts Tiny Condo Concept Can Buy 2 Tokyos and Stick Them Together; A Mini-Preview of Houston’s Tiniest Condos, Coming Soon to a Former Grocery Store in East Downtown
Images: LoopNet (renderings), Powers Brown Architecture (floorplan)
A Contel! (see Wikipedia)
Seems like a great way to get every dollar out of the asset, as long as Owners are not subsidizing the retail operation with their fees…
I’m sure Houston can provide a friendly, hands-off environment for this sort of murky business model ;-)
Better looking, IMO. Still probably not viable for that area. If closer to downtown or at least a rail stop, then maybe…just maybe… they’ll sell 72 of those units to actual residents. #suitelifeofadultzachandcody
With dismal pre-sales (68 buyers for the 550 units advertised), this has “flop” written all over it. My personal forecast: Empty lot stays empty.
This might fly if there were an abundance of hot air inflating the big end of a bubble. But in a deflating bubble in danger of a big bang I would think investors and residents would be looking for something with less of a fantasy quotient.
Maybe Houston isn’t the kind of place you can sell micro units. These guys might want to start looking for real estate in Boston, San Francisco, or Seattle.
No market for a highrise develpoment on this lot. The developers should put up a ticky-tacky mid-rise Houston Wrap and call it a day.