What is the price per square foot for high rise residential in peer cities?

$230/ft is cheaper than anything else for sale downtown. Most things are going for $250 and up. I think that, and the fact there is such a small amount of for sale housing in downtown and midtown is the reason these are selling for that. But to pay that and not even have covered parking? Ehhh, no thanks.

What is the price per square foot for high rise residential in peer cities?

In most reasonably large urban centers, high rise construction cost averages run from about $160 per foot in a city like OKC to $225 or more in cities like Chicago, NYC. That is basic cost and may not include fit-out. Doesn't include marketing costs, commissions, profits, etc. Of course, high rise condo's in NYC sell from $1,250 per foot to $4,000 ft, or more, location and amenities dependent. Condo's in the Austonian, in Austin, are for sale from $850,000 to $2.5 Million. That's why developer's money goes to those projects before they invest in OKC.

From the Journal Record:

Tuned in to downtown housing demand: Committee approves condos near Civic Center Music Hall

By: Molly M. Fleming The Journal Record February 20, 2015

OKLAHOMA CITY – A project offering homes for sale rather than rent was approved by a city committee, but one real estate analyst said it will barely make a dent in the demand.

The Downtown Design Review Committee pushed forward plans for The Civic, a 46,474-square-foot condominium development at 627 Couch Dr., facing the Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall.

The three-story building will have 34 units, ranging from lofts to two bedrooms. It will have an adjoining 12,938-square-foot parking lot. It is being built on land owned by the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority. Ron and Jason Bradshaw were the only developers to respond to OCURA’s request for proposals on the property, which were accepted in mid-January.

Butzer Gardner Architects Project Manager Aaron Pilat presented the condos during Thursday’s DDRC meeting.

“We’re excited about this project,” he said. “We think it will be a block-defining building.”

He emphasized how the project was created to enhance walkability in the area. The committee did not have any major questions about the project. The city’s planning staff did ask the committee to approve it and recommend a variance because the parking lot will be covered in decomposed granite, rather than hard-surfaced pavement as required by city ordinance.

“Provided that the proposed decomposed granite material is properly engineered and installed to create a stable and flat surface to accommodate a parked motor vehicle and is continuously maintained in that condition, staff can support the inclusion of this element in the project design,” planning staff said in their report.

Bradshaw said during the meeting he plans to start construction once half the units have been purchased. To date, he’s sold 13. The prices range from $177,000 to $366,000. Given the purchase rate, he said construction will likely start in June.

It’s been nearly nine years since a condominium project was developed on the Central Business District’s west side. In 2006, Gardner Tanenbaum Group CEO Richard Tanenbaum converted The Montgomery into condos, which are now leasing as apartments. The former Montgomery Ward department store building is three blocks southeast of The Civic site.

Price Edwards and Co. Multifamily Specialist David Dirkschneider said he expects The Civic to help meet the growing for-sale housing demand.

“If there were ever a time it would work, it would be now,” he said. “There’s such a demand for housing downtown. In the past, it was before there were as many amenities as there are now. There’s so much more going on downtown. I don’t think there’s any question it will survive.”

He said the price point is realistic for the area because a mortgage payment would be similar to downtown rents.

But The Civic is only 34 units, and downtown needs more, he said.

“I’ve done a lot of research on the housing and there is a demand,” he said. “As long as jobs keep coming down there, there’s going to be continued demand. Even if there were no new jobs added downtown, we are still two to three years behind the demand.”

So 4 more to go, and then we've got more dirt moving. Good deal.

$230/ft is cheaper than anything else for sale downtown. Most things are going for $250 and up. I think that, and the fact there is such a small amount of for sale housing in downtown and midtown is the reason these are selling for that. But to pay that and not even have covered parking? Ehhh, no thanks.

If you can get $230/sf then you can build high-rise housing, which then expands the market for downtown living because the views are a major added amenity that nobody else can offer.

Looks like they have broken ground on these. Also, there's only 15 out of 34 still for sale, so it looks like they hit their halfway point recently.

Construction fence but no activity or equipment:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic092415.jpg

Construction will start here in about two weeks.

Sweet!

About time. Was driving through here the other day and wondered what the hold up was.

They have pre-sold 19 of the 34 units.

That's pretty darn strong.

This project recently received approval for a pretty significant change in the exterior, balconies and windows:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic121015.jpg

Is that steel siding?

That's quite the change, but I kind of like it. It appears they decided against the cream colored brick from earlier renderings.

That's quite the change, but I kind of like it. It appears they decided against the cream colored brick from earlier renderings.

I don't think so. The picture Pete just shared is the north elevation whereas the renderings above are the south elevation. In the picture Pete just shared, you see the cream brick remains on the west (and ostensibly the north) elevation. I don't think we have seen renderings of the north elevation on this forum.

I really like the change a lot. Wasn't a fan of the other exterior.

Did Sid move back? That looks like him walking down the street.

^I almost posted the same thing!

They have broken ground on this project:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic121315.jpg

This project recently received approval for a pretty significant change in the exterior, balconies and windows:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic121015.jpg

Love the new design independent of anything else, but the only drawback is that it doesn't match as well with the beige-ness of the civic district...

^^^^^
It's more neighborhood-sensitive than you might think. That side faces The Haven (former Sycamore Square), which is largely constructed of dark gray-brown brick. If you look at it from that perspective, it actually helps tie dissimilar architectural styles together.

Sid (unfortunately for us) still lives in Seattle, but agree that it looks very much like him.

Yeah, I was of course joking...

^^^^^
It's more neighborhood-sensitive than you might think. That side faces The Haven (former Sycamore Square), which is largely constructed of dark gray-brown brick. If you look at it from that perspective, it actually helps tie dissimilar architectural styles together.

Sycamore has an architectural style?

Civic Center WPA-style > Sycamore Haven

Now that's just from a city planning perspective. From a developer's perspective I wouldn't doubt that buyers wanted to see this change, and would rather live in a typical modern condo than a unique WPA-inspired beige box.

On the balance I'm lukewarm, just pointing out where these differences could have arisen. I think Bradshaw is very talented in knowing what the high-end housing consumer wants out of downtown living.

Is the south elevation still the same or also changed?

Never did I suggest Sycamore was a good example of anything. I just pointed out that the Civic seems to be attempting to by architecturally sympathetic to neighbors across the street in both directions.

Did Sid move back? That looks like him walking down the street.

Lol. I miss Sid and his family. What great life they all brought to this city! Really, good, peeps.

Sid and his family are THE best.

I just found out yesterday that a former co-worker of mine is buying here. She said that she and her husband are expecting there's to be ready to move in by late summer.

Love the new design independent of anything else, but the only drawback is that it doesn't match as well with the beige-ness of the civic district...

That was my thought. Would normally be fine with the dark brick. But with a name like Civic, you'd think part of the tie-in would be the exterior matching. I mean I guess it will match some to the new jail...LOL

Will it not have beige brick on the south elevation anymore? That's what the renderings show.

South elevation will be alternating beige (to somewhat match the Civic Center and other buildings in the area) and dark brick. See the article at the top of the page.

The North elevation -- which does not face those beige structures -- will be dark brick.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic030616.jpg

Didn't get any pictures, but I drove by today and structure is going up!

I'm pretty excited a out these because I think they're going to make the Civic Center so much more appealing, which is important when you're going to an artistic event.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic050716a.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic060916.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic072016.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic081216a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic081216b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic081216c.jpg

Took these this evening:
https://s15.postimg.org/ac5lyh3u3/IMG_7284.jpg

https://s12.postimg.org/3m475fsnx/IMG_7286.jpg

https://s13.postimg.org/bpdtflwl3/IMG_7292.jpg

Those windows are great! I really like this development. I would consider moving here if it wasn't for lack of protected parking.

Such a great little infill development.

Thanks KayneMo!

Looking really sharp.

These are so much better than The Hill.

These are so much better than The Hill.

Lol okay

These are so much better than The Hill.

These are different than The Hill, not better.

The first two photos are from the north side.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic103016a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic103016b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic103016c.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic103016d.jpg

Sharper than expected. Pleasantly surprised and will take a new look with fresh eyes at these.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic112016a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic112016b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic112016c.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic112016d.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic112016e.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic112016f.jpg

Love this project.

The MLS shows 29 of 40 sold.

These look very nice and urban. Well done

I was interested to see how these units hit the downtown residential market. Someone is already trying to rent a 780 sq ft unit out for $1200/month. Considering there is only 5 of these left for sale right now, it will be very interesting to see where rental rates stack up in this area. Investors could really make some money in this emerging area near Film Row.

Looking back at all the complaining about the pricing back in 2014 (on page 2 of this thread) is amazing...considering how quickly things are jumping over $300/sf downtown, and knowing what we know now about all that's coming to that side of downtown.. to think just how fast downtown is growing is something else.

I just ran some basic math that I do for my rental properties before I buy them. I try to get a best case return of at least 8% on cash deals. If that rental above is 1200 a month time 12, minus ~1200 for taxes, minus ~1200 for insurance, minus ~$2640/year in HOA, and divide all that by the purchase price of ~$185,000 you get a best case scenario of 5% (reality probably 2-3%) return on a cash deal. Plus it looks like you'd have to buy a washer and dryer. So I would probably pass as buying for a rental but they do look really nice.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/civic020417.jpg

Anyone on this board live here?

It looks like most of the one-bedroom units are sold, and only a few of the larger units remain. I have noticed an increase in social media push for these lately.

According to the county assessor, most of these are going from $230-260 per sq. ft.

Several of the units are still owned by the developer Ron Bradshaw and he's hired a realtor and PR firm to help him market them.

Follow Dwell and Company on Insta. They've been having tons of open houses the last couple months. They have 3-4 different floor plans for you to look at.

Anyone on this board live here?

It looks like most of the one-bedroom units are sold, and only a few of the larger units remain. I have noticed an increase in social media push for these lately.

According to the county assessor, most of these are going from $230-260 per sq. ft.

The Realtor is Jennifer Kragh at Dwell & Co., go here for the listings. (http://www.dwellandco.com/index.php?agentcodes=175882#rslt)
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/thecivicokc)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/thecivicokc/)