Building on Promise
JEAN TARBETT HARDIMAN
The Herald-Dispatch
September 3, 2007
HUNTINGTON -- Putting measures in place to draw residents downtown is a slow process that may take five to 10 years, many involved say. But progress is evident, said Lynn Clercx, a downtown resident who works with Prudential.
Real estate records show that between January and August 2006, 12 residential units were sold downtown. During the same months of 2007, 22 have been sold.
The St. James building at 10th Street and 4th Avenue is a leader in renovating older space in Huntington. It's selling one- and two-bedroom condos for prices that range from about $100,000 to well over $200,000.
In the first year and a half, 27 of its 53 custom-built units have been sold, making the building the biggest contributor so far to the city's efforts to make the downtown a thriving residential area.
"Everything has really picked up. In the first six months, we sold two, and everyone was sweating bullets," said W.G. Bunch, a Prudential Realtor working on the St. James units.
At that point, it didn't have its lobby completed, and the deck on the roof had not been finished.
"It was selling promises, which the Huntington area was sick of," Bunch said. "But we've sold 23 in the past year. ... It's been great. We're the only building I know of that has a doorman. People get confused. They say, 'I don't feel like I'm in Huntington.' "
The roughly 100-year-old, 12-story building was bought by Swiss Capital Group of Florida in 2005, and its sales office opened in 2006. The bottom five floors are commercial space, and the sixth floor and up are residences, complete with a library, fitness center, sauna and spa and rooftop garden.
The condos are unique in that buyers get to choose their own cabinetry, appliances, carpet, paint and amenities. They can knock down a wall if they want.
Bill and Glenda Lawman moved out of their home on Route 75 near Kenova and into a two-bedroom condo in the St. James in February. Their kids are grown, and they didn't need the extra space or the upkeep.
Before, it was quite a trek to the grocery store. Now, it's a five-minute drive.
"It's handy. It's close to Pullman Square and all the activities and Marshall," Glenda Lawman said.
"And it seemed like a good investment," Bill said.
They like to eat at Jim's and Applebee's. They take their dog, Moses, out for a walk three times a day.
And they felt comfortable as soon as they moved in, for a couple reasons, Glenda said. The first is that they got to make decisions about how their condo would look. They asked to knock out part of the wall and cabinetry that blocked their view from the kitchen into the living area -- which includes a window overlooking 4th Avenue, Pullman Square and the Ohio River. They selected their own colors for surfaces and flooring. They wanted closets that opened out from the middle rather than sliding back and forth. They were involved in the smallest details.
And they liked the fact that, after working with the Realtor, building manager and crew for a few months before moving in, they were surrounded by a lot of familiar faces, Glenda said.
"They were really willing to work with us, so from the time we got here, we felt at home," Glenda Lawman said.
Coming soon
Commodore Holding has sold three of the four units planned for the upper two stories of 9th Street Flats, said Nathan Randolph, a member of Commodore Holding and an architect with Edward Tucker Architects, which is designing Commodore's, Dr. Jospeh Touma's and the Love's Hardware building lofts.
The 9th Street Flats are located atop the old Keen Jewelers store, and the first floor will be leased retail/office space.
"We're framing the walls right now, so we're moving full steam ahead," Randolph said of the project. The lofts are custom-built with a minimum of two bedrooms. He described them as Soho- or Bohemian-style, with large windows, hardwood floors and exposed brick and duct work.
Two of the three lofts sold already are going to young professionals, both single. The third is going to a couple that lives in California and wanted a second home here, Randolph said.
Randolph stressed how exciting it is to see their projects and others moving forward. And he appreciates the help their group has gotten from Touma as a more experienced downtown property owner.
"Dr. Touma has had that image (of downtown lofts) for a while, and we appreciate his involvement," Randolph said. "We can't emphasize enough how it helps everyone. We don't see it as competition, we see it as investment. What's good for one is good for all."
Commodore is shooting for a November completion date, he said.
Gary Pommerenck is hoping to have some lofts completed next year atop Love's Hardware. He's been working with the Huntington-Ironton Empowerment Zone on efforts to increase the size of the city's historic district as a way of attaining those tax credits. Now, the district is about two times larger, and Love's is the only building on the north side of 3rd Avenue in that district, Pommerenck said.
"We're in the final stages of trying to get the financing arranged, which includes the tax credits," Gary Pommerenck said. "We started almost two years ago. It's a lot slower than what I thought it would take. When you're in business, it's hurry up and get it done, but when you start interfacing with the government and other entities, you see they have their own schedules."
The Love's building will have four two-bedroom lofts and three one-bedroom lofts.
"We have all those windows that we'll refinish, and it will really be light with an airy feel and a good view of downtown, Pullman Square and the river," Pommerenck said.
The outlook about downtown is wonderfully different than it was five or 10 years ago, he said.
"I think it's exciting -- any evening you come down and there's 500 people at Pullman Square and people are milling around," he said. "People want to come down when they see other people, and it makes them feel good. It's a neat atmosphere."
People are looking for positive things, and they want to be a part of it, he said.