The Vue

[kermit]

This top was cheap - they took advantage of a sale on garage doors at Lowes.

The west side of the crown was lit tonight. From 77 it looked way too bright (at dusk). The uplights reflecting off the garage doors reminded me of a florescent light fixture missing the diffuser. I hope they are still adjusting.

[Urbanity]

The west side of the crown was lit tonight. From 77 it looked way too bright (at dusk). The uplights reflecting off the garage doors reminded me of a florescent light fixture missing the diffuser. I hope they are still adjusting.

I tried taking some pics. My camera is not the best and coupled with the rest of the building being pitch black at the moment - the pictures are not the best though one gets an idea of the lit "crown"

[nonillogical]

i think it looks better at night...1st pic makes it look really bright but it looks decent in the last one.

[aceboogie]

This top was cheap - they took advantage of a sale on garage doors at Lowes.

That is too funny. Lol.

[QC-NC]

Spyshot of the Vue's new look:

[NCMike1990]

I think the crane is supposed be coming down sometime this month.

[Urbanity]

i think it looks better at night...1st pic makes it look really bright but it looks decent in the last one.

In reality it is sort of a mix of the two. The lighting is as white as seen in my first pic and in QC_NC's pic. Yet the brightness level is sort of closer to my second and third pics.

Related side note: I was walking the dog this morning (full daylight) and I could see the one side of the top was still lit up which to me indicates that this just a rough test with plain lights to get a feel of the crown being illuminated.. Hopefully the finally lighting will be a little more sophisticated.

Hopefully...

Edited March 5, 2010 by Urbanity

[Urbanity]

On the way back from Costco this morning when I spied a sign on the VUE. Phone Number for sales... 6-8 stories in height. Alrighty...

[SmellyCat]

On the way back from Costco this morning when I spied a sign on the VUE. Phone Number for sales... 6-8 stories in height. Alrighty...

Saw that too. For a split second I felt like I was driving around Miami...

[yorkconstruct]

Sounds like the same marketing technique they used for The Catalyst. Do i smell possible rentals in the near future??

[HopHead]

Sounds like the same marketing technique they used for The Catalyst. Do i smell possible rentals in the near future??

As it stands now, I would definitely say "no" to rentals. MCL was pretty emphatic in that it would not revert to rentals. They have 2 years to sell out the place to meet the terms of the loan. But, I never say "never" either...

[dubone]

230 South Tryon and Avenue both had large canvas billboards up to sell their condos. It does not indicate a switch to rental. It signals a need to sell unsold half of the building.

[Jeeper12]

It will be very interesting to see what strategy they adopt. If they were ready to close today I would expect them to offer existing contract holders 20-25% discounts in order to minimize their "walks". Savvy buyers will expect as much and it's a smart strategy for the developer. The cost of replacing those buyers is enormous measured a number of different ways. If they close most of their contracts and cut pricing on the balance to those same levels I think they'll maintain momentum and get the best financial outcome.

If it were 12-15 months ago they'd probably hold their pricing and hope to close even 50-60% of their buyers at the old inflated numbers. Then after a few months they'd cut their remaining prices 25-35% to clear the balance. But the world has changed and, again, I don't think that strategy will bear much fruit today (or 6 months from now). Even buyers intending to live there don't want to pay what most now understand to have been cycle peak pricing. If they risk it (and lose) then I think they'll be punished much more severely. Discounts may need to approach 50% or more if they lose most of their contracts and find themselves sitting on 85-90% of their inventory.

Edited March 9, 2010 by Jeeper12

[sleightofhand]

It will be very interesting to see what strategy they adopt. If they were ready to close today I would expect them to offer existing contract holders 20-25% discounts in order to minimize their "walks". Savvy buyers will expect as much and it's a smart strategy for the developer. The cost of replacing those buyers is enormous measured a number of different ways. If they close most of their contracts and cut pricing on the balance to those same levels I think they'll maintain momentum and get the best financial outcome.

If it were 12-15 months ago they'd probably hold their pricing and hope to close even 50-60% of their buyers at the old inflated numbers. Then after a few months they'd cut their remaining prices 25-35% to clear the balance. But the world has changed and, again, I don't think that strategy will bear much fruit today (or 6 months from now). Even buyers intending to live there don't want to pay what most now understand to have been cycle peak pricing. If they risk it (and lose) then I think they'll be punished much more severely. Discounts may need to approach 50% or more if they lose most of their contracts and find themselves sitting on 85-90% of their inventory.

I still have a contract on a unit at the Vue and I'm very interested to see what incentives are offered to contract holders to close on their units. I think we're still 6 months to a year away from completion and I can't imagine the housing market making a recovery by then. As far as the developer goes, I don't think the threat of a buyer losing their deposit will be enough to keep them around. Other than a reduction on the original price agreed upon I'm not sure what MCL can offer. I hope I'm wrong but in my opinion incentives won't matter because financing will kill a number of the deals anyway.

Edited March 10, 2010 by sleightofhand

[Jeeper12]

^ I agree. I assume deposits at the Vue are 5-10% but the market has moved down much more than that so why stubbornly defend a small amount of already lost capital ? Keep an eye on what's happening with the Vue in Orlando. Similar if nto related project that closed about half the bldg in '08 for approx. $350/sf then a few last year for about half of that, then nothing. Now the developer is bankrupt and all the remaining units are to be sold in bulk next week at an auction. The minimum bid is reported to be around $100/sf and at least one local expert was quoted as saying he didn't expect any bids to be much higher due to weak buyer demand. Obviously, a bulk buyer with that kind of basis can be very aggressive in how they price their units.

What the Orlando deal and others are showing is that there is significant risk assoc. w/ closing in a building that is still a long way from closing out all its units. Sometimes the pricing plate shifts (drops) early and sometimes it shifts late (last 15-25%) but it's almost unheard of now to see the pricing curve on a project not be inverted over time...which begs the question: Why risk buying into the front of the curve ? Some projects have wisely anticipated this buyer push back and used auctions at the beginning to reset the market and (re)establish new pricing that is sustainable. Obviously, these buyers, usually obtaining at least 30% discounts, face less risk of having their legs cut out from under them by the developer as the project closes out.

[Jeeper12]

I think we're still 6 months to a year away from completion and I can't imagine the housing market making a recovery by then.

No, if anything I think it will be worse. I expect Charlotte and other lagging markets to follow the trend that's accellerated in the larger markets. After waiting around for 1-2 yrs in places like Miami, Vegas and Atlanta, developers and their banks are finally capitulating to market forces and drastically reducing prices to increase sales. So I think it follows that while you may see a big increase in Charlotte condo sales over the next 6-12 months, it probably won't happen without big price cuts to stimulate demand, especially for developer owned condos. IMO this recovery will take several years not several months.

[Spartan]

I think the crane is supposed be coming down sometime this month.

The crane comes down the weekend of the 20th.

[QC-NC]

Im watching the crane come down right now...

Its pretty neat to watch the sequence of events for a crane to dismantle ITSELF (perhaps worth of Discovery Channel or something)

[QC-NC]

The removing "attachment" is at the top

(also: Apparently call 704.374.0089 for a good time?)

[krazeeboi]

How about they remove that horrendous top along with the crane.

[caterpillar2]

Im watching the crane come down right now...

Its pretty neat to watch the sequence of events for a crane to dismantle ITSELF (perhaps worth of Discovery Channel or something)

Except for the parking lot, this picture reminds me a bit of my old residence in Hampstead/Hampstead Heath (London). I still have a flat there. Guess Charlotte is filling in well.

[uptownboy]

Funny you say that. This reminds me of Place Vendôme in Paris. I still have eight flats there.

[SmellyCat]

Funny you say that. This reminds me of Place Vendôme in Paris. I still have eight flats there.

ONLY eight??

[caterpillar2]

Funny you say that. This reminds me of Place Vendôme in Paris. I still have eight flats there.

Do you want to do a flat swap? LOL!

[tozmervo]

yeah, I don't reckon any of those flats are available to poor, 20-something travelers lookin' to see France and use Paris as a home-base?