44 MONROE ONLY 5% OCCUPIED

I wrote last month about the very difficult problems facing downtown Phoenix condominium developments - mentioning that 44 Monroe had very few, if any, sales.  The Business Journal profiles a couple today who live in 44 Monroe.  They note their absence of neighbors.  The article notes that only 5% of the condominiums have been sold and hints that developer Grace Communities is working to stave off foreclosure of the property.  The sales agent for the condominium puts on a happy face and indicates they are seeing more people who are "real buyers", and notes one sold just last week.  However, that puts the numbers at only 10 sold out of 196 - a very long ways to go in such a distressed time for condo sales.

As I noted last month, Corus Bank - the lender on 44 Monroe - is set to be taken over by the FDIC and have its assets sold within the next month.  What remains to be seen is what the group that buys the note on 44 Monroe does with the property.  Will they foreclose on the remaining units and sell them to a third party in bulk at a discounted price or allow the developer to continue attempting to sell units (note this assumes that the developer isn't pumping additional money into the property to cover its debt service)? One thing is for sure - the people who already purchased units have lost a lot of the value in their condo (as the couple profiled acknowledges).  It's a sad story for an ambitious project that will hopefully someday be full of residents seeking the downtown lifestyle.