Building reasonably spec’d and priced units with access to transit would be a breath of fresh air. Considering the upsides, I wonder why we don’t hear about it happening anywhere in the US. Housing seems to have mirrored the trend in automobile sales; the average purchase price for a new vehicle in 2019 was ~$34k, while the US median personal income was $40k. The average person has to shop used, and carmakers end up catering only to luxury buyers. Seems to be the same with new homes.
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I wonder what their strategy is if the parking spaces remain unsold?
I doubt that will happen, because there seem to be only 32 parking spots for 43 units. I think as more units sold, they started flagging some studio/1bdrms as being offered for sale only without a parking spot. The last studio unit that sold at 190k was marketed that way.
Also, do we know the construction type of the building?
I am not certain, but I want to say this is probably stick-built. Center Studio’s earlier condo projects in Durham were, and that is probably part of the reason they are the only ones offering anything significantly under 400k.
What I’d like to see is a building with all small studios and terrific common area resources like a full kitchen, game room, event room, etc. for residents to share.
This is the other project with studio units that just broke ground. It’s being developed by Scott Harmon of Center Studio Architecture (who’s designed and developed the majority of condos in Durham over the last decade), but he looks to have teamed with Cline Design for the design this time around, which makes me think they’re modeling it after the apartment complexes that Cline churns out around the Triangle. I think a development of this size is much more likely to have amenities – it probably doesn’t make as much sense for >50 units. They haven’t announced those kinds of details yet, but I’m keeping my eyes peeled.
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A lesson I have definitely learned is that it’s much more financially feasible to have amenities when you can spread out the cost of running them over a greater number of owners. If you want a boutique sized building with all the bells and whistles, be prepared to open a vein for HOA dues. Also the developer has to divvy up the space/costs of those amenities among all of the buyers. If you had 100 micro-unit @400ft2, you could theoretically provide 10,000 ft2 of shared indoor amenities and price the units as if they were 500ft2 to cover the costs of the shared resources. If done correctly, I think that a resident can enjoy a lifestyle that lives much larger than just their small private space. It could work well for both early in career singles and late in life singles as well.
Also, If I were building small studios, I’d build in murphy beds and drawer storage to make the space more convertible and livable.
Thanks for the link to the next project. I love watching these things.
***So, @elevatoroperator I replied before clicking the link and clicking on it gives me a security warning. That link is not safe.
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Oops. Hadn’t visited it recently. Well, there’s not much info at the link anyway. The project is 614 Rigsbee Ave and has 176 units with a healthy amount of ground-floor retail. Laid out very similarly to a typical apartment block. Harmon has explicitly stated that they’re targeting the people who have been “left out” of Durham’s revitalization, so I’m assuming that explains some of the missing elements with cost implications, like balconies.
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Perhaps they just have an expired SSL certificate.
Good points all around on the micro Urban living bang for the buck.
Have any of you seen the new Stephenson Condo project. 20 boutique style condos starting build in 2021. Not sure on exact pricing or room sizes. Small(ish) overall square footage and starting in the high $300’s.
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Just saw these pop up today. Could be interesting.
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I think @mike has these mentioned over in the Cameron Village thread previously but it looks like they’re now named and updated video renderings for luxzury bona fides
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Looks like a nice project, but high $300s for condos starting at 639 ft2 is hard to swallow. At some point, these prices have to start influencing existing condo resale prices downtown. I mean, my God, that’s $600 a foot. 
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Stop. Just stop. Your math has got to be wrong!
(breaks out the calculator)
Ok, they did beat out the Lynde for stupidest price for a tinycondo downtown. Damn!
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And it’s not even downtown… 
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All in all, the floor plans are better than The Lynde. Also, most of the units in the project are actually quite sizable and very livable…but at what cost!!!
It’s like these projects are being marketed only to a price point, not to a $/ft2. The only condo listed on fmrealty.com is the smallest entry price one, and it’s listed at $390,000. That’s a whopping $610.33 a foot!!!
I can’t imagine that this cost/ft will transfer through the rest of the project since many units are much larger. If it did transfer 1:1, that would mean that their 2 bedroom (plan 2E) would list for $836,760. There’s just no way in hell those will sell for that price.
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Look at fmrealty again. More added.
This just went up for sale. For square foot comparisons.
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Found 6 on Zillow as well. Looks like the larger units are in the low to high 400s a foot.
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Way less expensive per square foot. It’s a head scratcher though to me why anyone needs 4 bathrooms for 2 bedrooms. That’s a lot of poopin!
Also, I don’t understand the no upper cabinet trend in kitchens.
All in all, it’s clearly a better value.
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That’s a lot of traps to dry up.
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2 full . 2 halfs. Misleading a little. But could advertise 3 bedrooms instead of 2. Lower level could be a bedroom also.
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that makes a lot more sense!