A downtown condo craze

A downtown condo craze Four years ago, Pensacola developer Sonny Granger announced he was going to build a high-rise condominium in downtown Tallahassee. The cheers were muted. Sure, Tallahassee officials had talked for years about bringing residents back downtown. But apartments costing several hundred thousand dollars? High-rise buildings? No way, said the cynics. Tallahassee isn’t …

The Disappearing Las Vegas Condos

The Disappearing Las Vegas Condos Three weeks ago, Eli Verdnikov, an engineer in Los Gatos, Calif., received a letter saying that the apartment building he planned to retire to — Icon Las Vegas — would not be built. In the envelope was a check for $73,672.81, the 10 percent deposit Mr. Verdnikov had paid, plus …

Prices right for reluctant waterfront sellers in Riviera Beach (South Florida)

Prices right for reluctant waterfront sellers in Riviera Beach (South Florida) For years, a few residents in a Riviera Beach waterfront neighborhood have railed against the city on national television, in newspapers and during countless City Council meetings. Then along came Wayne Huizenga Jr. with visions of a mega-yacht building business where the homes stand. …

Manatee’s mobile home parks may be next to go (Florida)

Manatee’s mobile home parks may be next to go (Florida) Spend a few hours at Windmill Manor mobile home park with Jan McMeans and you’ll meet an entire neighborhood. “That’s my girlfriend’s house over there,” said McMeans, as the 66-year-old pulled her golf cart over to say hello to the seventh person in a five-minute …

Creative financing helped fuel commercial real estate boom

Creative financing helped fuel commercial real estate boom The dominant story in real estate the last two years has been cash — fabulous amounts of cash in furious pursuit of real estate. One chapter that emerged from that story was the evolution in the way lenders financed those deals, including their willingness to provide higher …