A new project in the Dominican Republic has been announced that will combine a resort and eco-friendly residences. Terrazas de Coson is located in the rolling hills of Samana, next to the popular beach town of Las Terrenas. European developers Valman are seeking to create an "eco-chic" resort that includes 72 "Villa Estates" spread across 370 acres of land. The villas are available in three designs and range up to 12,000 square feet. All homes will run on solar energy and will be built with natural, eco-friendly materials. As currently planned, each estate will have views of the ocean and surrounding mountains and multiple infinity pools as well as waterfalls and streams that wind throughout the residences.
The property will also include a five-star boutique hotel with 28 bungalows accessed by a tram-like railway. Each bungalow will have its own plunge pool, and the complex will host additional infinity pools and water features throughout. Planned amenities include indoor and outdoor bars, a tennis club, a private beach club and spa, and several restaurants, including a five-star eatery headed by Chef Christophe Leroy.
Prices for villas start at $1.7 million up to $3 million and completion is scheduled for 2010.
Another huge condo tower is in trouble. We are back in Vancouver, this time for a look at the Jameson House a 37-story glass tower designed by Foster + Partners that would have condos priced between $500,000 and $5.3-million. Developer Tony Pappajohn recently told his contractors he was stopping construction because one of his key lenders had backed out of the $180-million project because of fears regarding the current market conditions. Pappajohn has been looking for a new lender to help save the project. Now a deep hole remains on the site and Pappajohn has to figure out what to tell the people who have put down deposits 105 of the 144 condos. He is quoted in the Globe and Mail as calling the situation a "market failure" rather than a project failure and certainly the news bears this out. After all, it was only last month that work stopped on another big Vancouver project, the planned Ritz-Carlton tower.
It is to be perhaps Chicago's most recognizable landmark, but first Santiago Calatrava's planned Chicago Spire has to get off the ground. The building of the dramatic swirl of a building is currently stalled out. Construction has stopped and the architect, Calatrava, has filed a lien against Shelbourne Development Group Inc,. the Irish developer of the 2,000-foot condominium tower, for $11.3 million.Perkins+Will, the Spire's architect of record, is also seeking nearly $4.85 million from Shelbourne. And the hits keep coming, Architectural Record also reports that New York-based Thornton Tomasetti, which worked with Calatrava on the project's structural engineering, has filed its own lien for $1.3 million. A spokeswoman for Shelbourne president Garrett Kelleher, says the developer is working to resolve the payment issue. The reason for the problem, it's the new old refrain of "the credit crunch" or as Kim Metcalfe, Kelleher's spokeswoman puts it: "We're waiting for the banks to start acting like banks again."
As we mentioned earlier this year, about 30 percent of the tower's 1,200 condominiums are sold, including the penthouse,which was originally priced at $40 million and bought by Beanie Babies magnate Ty Warner. I'd be very surprised if this project didn't get completed but I do think it's another one that will be majorly delayed.
For a couple of years, I've thought of Donald Trump's Trump Ocean Resort on the Baja Mexico coast as a sign that the northern part of the Baja peninsula was becoming a more upscale destination. It seems I may have spoken too soon. Now the three-tower destination resort many never even get off the ground. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the developers of the Trump Ocean Resort in Baja California have lost their financing for the project and it may be some time before a new lender can be found.
Those who bought into the project put 30 percent down on units that ranged in price from studios in the mid-$300,000s to $2.5 million for a penthouse may not be able to pull out their money. The towers were supposed to be ready for occupancy by the end of this year but those who bought in have now been told the completion date is slated for 2012. Angry buyers are considering filing a class-action lawsuit for breach of contract. The Trump Organization is a licensor of the project and not the developer but the Trump brand name was an assurance for those who invested their money in the potential development.
Just about every article I've checked out regarding the announcement of a new $285 million hotel and condo building planned for Midtown Atlanta has expressed a bit of concern over the timing. Condo crisis? What condo crisis, Tivoli Properties is set to build a 53-story building with a Mandarin Oriental Hotel and 71 condos with prices ranging from $1.8 million to $15 million. The Atlanta Journal-Constititution quotes Scott Leventhal, Tivoli's CEO and president, as saying that "now is a great time to be in the planning stage." And indeed he may be right. The condo is set to begin construction next year and finish in late 2011, that is of course if they manage to secure financing and have enough presales to go forward. The project would need to be about half-sold in order to begin building. The first 30 buyers to reserve condominiums will receive $75 a square foot discounts which would work out to six figure discounts because the average condo size is over 2,500 square feet. So far 19 buyers have made reservations.
The saga of the Yellowstone Club has come to a sad place, the land of Chapter 11. The club in Montana's Gallatin Mountains first opened in 1999 as an ultra-elite enclave for the rich and powerful. Bill Gates, Dan Quayle and Jack Kemp were among the members as well as a whole host of titans of industry. The Club featured private homes, a ski hill, golf course and an elaborate club house. The property was also supposed to be host to what would have been the U.S.'s most expensive house at the time, a $155 million deluxe vacation retreat which was never built.
But things started to go sour when the Club's billionaire founders, Tim and Edra Blixseth divorced. At first it was an amicable and miraculously lawyer-free split. But things turned sour and the pair worked through a messy divorce that ended with Edra Blixseth as the club's majority owner and chief executive. This summer saw the end of a lawsuit between bicycle racing champ Greg LeMond and the battling Blixseths resulting in a $39.5 million settlement.
A couple of months ago the club announced an expansion plan with the Discovery Land Company that would have brought 450 more houses and condos, a luxury spa, golf clubhouse, baseball field and more ski runs to the 13,400-acre development. Those plans are now on hold. The club has said it has been unable to reach agreements with its creditors and bondholders but plans to regroup and continue onward with business as usual, opening for ski season with the usual 600 or so employees.
Need more proof that Istanbul is becoming one of the most cosopolitan cities in Europe? Check out the Istanbul Sapphire, the 261-meter skyscraper that will be the tallest residential building in Europe once it is completed in late 2009. The skyscraper has been under construction for three years and recently reached full height. It will have 64 floors and offer 174 private residences. The total cost of the project is currently $200 million and around 40 percent of the whole project has been sold. The tower is also home to a shopping center, fitness center and spa, restaurants and includes vertical gardens and a viewing terrace.
Even though the economy is grim, big malls are opening around the world. I recently mentioned the opening of the Westfield Mall in London and now the Dubai Mall has officially opened boasting the largest number of retailers in the world. As I mentioned earlier this year, the mall boasts an aquarium and an ice rink in addition to rows and rows of stores -- an astounding 1200 stores, in fact. The mall is hosting a series of high profile events including fashion shows and performances to celebrate the opening. The mall is seen as a destination and has an adjoining 5-star hotel, The Address, Dubai Mall. So far only half the stores are open but eventually it will be home to some of the world's most famous retail chains. The developers of Dubai Mall have predicted 30 million visitors in the first year a number that some fear is a bit optimistic given the current economic picture. Check out the gallery below for some scenes from opening day including the amazing aquarium.
If there's anything I've learned it's that you don't bet against the Trumpster, he usually get what he wants. And yet I thought he was going to be out of luck when it came to claiming a slice of Scotland to build a golf course. After a long struggle, however, Trump has been granted approval for his planned £1 billion golf resort in Aberdeenshire from the Scottish government. Environmentalists have been fighting the development because it impinges on protected sand dunes. Last November, the project was rejected by a local council committee but Trump was in Scotland earlier this year to fight for his development. Since then the project has been reviewed by the Scottish government and it has been deemed that there is a large enough economic and social benefit to justify the construction. Trump still has to gather capital and all the land necessary, things that have been proven to be easily surmountable obstacles for him in the past.
The latest architectural project to be shelved due to the economic crisis is the planned U2 Tower in Dublin, Ireland. The tower which has been in the planning stages for several years, was to have been the tallest building in Ireland. The Dublin Docklands Development Authority has said they are still committed to the project and are just putting it on hold until monetary conditions improve. The tower was supposed to have a recording studio for U2 at the top of the building as well as 180 apartments priced at over one million euros each, a price that now seems unreasonable as Ireland faces recession.
Well it was nearly a year behind the schedule we wrote about when it was first announced in 2006 but the SouthShore Condominiums in Newport, Kentucky is finally open.The KY Post reports that sixty percent of the 65 luxury units on 17 floors have already sold. The SouthShore is one of many condo projects rising in this area of the Ohio River. Each unit has a river view from the living room and master bedroom with with floor-to-ceiling glass. Building amenities include an exercise area, putting green, swimming pool, hot tub and sun deck and the Shore Club has a bar, cooking area, fireplaces and big-screen TVs. There will also be a 100-slip marina out in front. Prices for units still available range from $300,000 to $3 million.
Waldorf=Astoria Hotel has announced their latest project, a Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Residences in Philadelphia. The $420-million development will be 58 stories and will include a 175-room hotel and 136 private residences starting at $1 million each. The property will also be home to a spa, conference room, a boutique shop and a restaurant. The granite and glass tower is to be designed by Cope Linder Architects of Philadelphia and the most desirable units will be the eight custom Bi-Level penthouses with internal private elevators, grand staircases and some of the highest walkout terraces in the city.
Some are wondering if there are enough buyers for all the condo projects being built in Philadelphia. While Philadelphia does have less construction than other large cities it also has a large inventory of condos for sale and plenty of projects currently underway which will push more units into a crowded marketplace. Perhaps by the time these condos are ready in 2012, the condo market will be a bit warmer.
The battle for the world's tallest building is already a fiercely contested one. How else can you get in the record books? How about picking another category? Developers Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) are working on Capital Gate, a building that will enter Guinness Book of Records as the "World's most inclined tower." The building leans at an angle of 18 degrees, a small amount perhaps but compare that the the most famous askew building, the leaning Tower of Pisa which leans less than four degrees. Creating a building with a lean like this is no easy feat, it requires extra steel reinforcements to compensate for the gravitational, wind and seismic pressures caused by the tilt of the building. The tower is part of a $2.2 billion business and residential project.
More interesting real estate news out of Vancouver, the Hotel Georgia, a Vancouver landmark that first opened in 1927, is now home to luxury residences and an updated hotel. The main hotel will be renovated and the Private Residences at Hotel Georgia will be a 48-floor tower with 156 condo units. It will be th third tallest building in Vancouver when completed. The 160-room boutique hotel is going to be completed in 2010 and the team is trying to get it done before the Vancouver Winter Olympics in February of that year.
Condo owners will share the hotel's amenities including a restaurant from David Hawksworth, one of Vancouver's most acclaimed chefs, a roof garden, a spa and fitness center, wine cellar and a round-the-clock concierge service. The condo tower will also have eight floors of office space that will include a theater room and meeting room for residents.
No matter the economy or state of the world, New Yorkers like their luxury, and one of the finest recent examples of upscale living is Chelsea's The Caledonia. Expertly built and managed by The Related Companies, this new hybrid building (includes condo owners and renters), which overlooks the High Line, already is sold out in its ownership division. As of a few weeks ago, however, rentals were still available. Sizes range from studio to three-bedroom, and some of the 190 units have terraces.
I thought I had a nice apartment until I saw the lobby, let alone the units! Eco-friendly bamboo floors and cabinetry, top-end appliances, large windows, key fob entry, spa-like bathrooms, and the Holy Grail of the NYC dweller -- a washer and dryer in each unit -- make me want to sell my place and move right in. And if I lived in a Related building now, I could easily do that, as Related makes it easy to transfer to another company unit within NYC, or even in another city.
