July 22, 2006

FLASH: Remember "Elevation Chandler" moth-balled condo tower? Well, now this: "State is investigating high-rise developer"


We reported July 7 on the stupidest condo project ever attempted in America, the "Elevation Chandler" tower in the suburban Chandler Arizona. Construction on these $1 million plus condos stopped in April, the developer lied about having financing and now he's under investigation. Meanwhile, millions of dollars of liens have been filed against him by the subcontractors.

Meanwhile, can you imagine being one of the suckers who gave this developer money to reserve a unit? Think you'll ever see that money again? And I wonder what they'll do with the building -knock it down, or maybe make it offices one day?

This is going to happen all over the country as developments stop before they start (Ivana Trump) or stop mid-construction and become urban blight.

The developer of the stalled high-rise hotel project south of Chandler Fashion Center is being investigated by the state Department of Real Estate. The probe has to do with whether developer Jeff Cline violated state statutes by marketing the project's condominiums before he was granted a public report from the department.

It's in the investigations division," department spokeswoman Mary Utley said. "They're reviewing the whole matter." She declined to go into specifics, citing the investigation.

Cline has said he plans to put condos on the ninth and 10th floors of the hotel on the southwestern corner of Frye Road and Loop 101, where construction stopped in April at the eighth floor.

On Friday, Cline asked the city for an extension to pay for city permits that expire Monday. The permits, which would have cost $691,970, would allow electrical, heating and air-conditioning work to proceed. They were issued six months ago. Friday evening, the city had not decided whether to grant the request.

Before construction stopped, workers were operating under a permit to build the shell of the structure. That permit expires Sept. 24.

Also on Friday, Cline purchased an advertisement in The Chandler Republic that said he is preparing to resume construction by late summer on the eighth level of the hotel. Fine print at the bottom of the ad said, "Condominiums are proposed only and no warranty is given or implied that the improvement will be completed." Cline said that sentence does not imply that the condos may be scrapped.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just drove by there yesterday. Reminds me of the tower in downtown Bellevue WA that was left sitting half-built after the dot-com crash.

Anonymous said...

Should that boy cow have an udder?!

Anonymous said...

Wow!
The developer lied.
Imagine that.

The sad truth is that these liars run our country by way of the front door through our elected officials better know as local city councils, county councils, board of supervisors, etc. and by way of the back door through our unelected local government employees of agencies that give out building and development permits.

They rule
While
We watch
We fight
We lose
We cry
In the end
We pay

Anonymous said...

OK...a hotel, or offices, I can see that since the location is near the 101 & 202 loop freeways. But seriously, million dollar condos in the 'burbs of Phoenix when half-million dollar condos in Phoenix aren't even selling ?!? I bet the fools that put deposits on these condos had no intention of living there, but like the rest of the FB's, were planning to flip to the next greater fool. Just look at Orpheum, Portland Place, Tapestry, and the king of flippers, Optima Biltmore to see the future of these over-hyped buildings that no one wants to live in.

Rob Dawg said...

Should that boy cow have an udder?!

Well the idea of a condo tower in Chandler, AZ is about as useless as tits on a bull.

Anonymous said...

Interest article from the NYTimes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/business/23mortgage.html?ei=5094&en=48d3badc80108762&hp=&ex=1153627200&adxnnl=1&partner=homepage&adxnnlx=1153586813-ngF2Qet+z1yAGSlohNJ4/w

Anonymous said...

Are they kidding???

ALL the condo conversions that I know about in Scottsdale SOLD OUT BEFORE they even applied for the public report! What's the deal??

Anonymous said...

What happened to the Orpheum in downtown Phoenix?

I was living downdown in 1998 when the city? had just renovated it (as the theatre.)

Did some whacko chop it up into condos?????


SOMEONE PLEASE RESPOND. I'D LIKE TO KNOW. THANKS.

Anonymous said...

It's amazing how retarded bloggers (and responders) are. (present company excluded!) The ORPHEUM is still a theater. The ORPHEUM LOFTS is a condo project. http://www.acmeron.com/puhs/orpheum_theater_phoenix.htm

As to the comment on Scottsdale conversions being 'sold out', that is one of the biggest lies. Try selling one of those overpriced dumps right now. There is no 'aftermarket' for converted apartments because they keep bringing newer crap on the market. You would have to be very, very stupid to buy one of these now but we are not running out of idoits in Phoenix, only land!

Anonymous said...

So what is the downside of refinancing an ARM with an ARM?

It seems the only thing that may prevent this would be a depreciation of the property value. However it seems like another ARM as opposed to default would be in the banks interest and they would therefore appraise the property to allow for it.

Anonymous said...

FOLKS REMEMBER THE SONG
KNOW WHEN TO HOLD THEM AND WHEN T FOLD EM. WELL I FOLDED THEM IN JUNE 2004 AND WATCHED OTHER A-HOLES LOSE MONEY SINCE THEN. BUT THE MOST FUN IS WHEN I SOLD MY PHOENIX HOUSE AND WATCHED NEW BUYERS BUY THE SAME HOUSE FROM THE BUILDER 53K LESS THAN I SOLD IT FOR 10 DAYS LATER.
IT IS LIKE THEY LICKED MY BUTT HOLE

Anonymous said...

Orlando condos for everyone!!!

That article is true, however, it has no, zero, zip, nada, effect on the Rise and Fall of Orlando real estate values, and no one has ever been murdered in the Magic Kingdom.
Duh

Wendy said...

It's so true that the crooks own the country. And it would seem that the NAR owns the crooks.

http://victimordeal.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Phoenix has been notoriously bad for condos, with the exception of the higher end in the 24th/Camelback area.

All these apartment conversions are going to be up on the auction block soon.

Anyone who owns a condo in Arizona is a total fool.

Anonymous said...

Another monument to stupidity. Why Chandler allowed the construction without a LOC to back the completion is beyond me.

Out at the peak said...

Damn spam. You might want to enable verification again.

Anonymous said...

Here is the NYTimes article "Re-Refinancing, and Putting Off Mortgage Pain"

http://tinyurl.com/kothr

Anonymous said...

Those cities are NOTHING. Go check out downtown San Diego. Its crane city by the ballpark. Even if they finish those they will never sell.

My neighbor is in construction and a whole bunch of them have been let go from jobs downtown. He recently left Hard Rock Hotel/Condo <--- the dumbest hybrid type of housing ever concieved, whats next living on a cruise liner and calling it a condo?! Oh wait...

Anonymous said...

This is nothing new to the Phoenix area. Just drive up Scottsdale Road and see the Galleria that never really succeeded.

When Elevation was announced, I had to laugh and remember my sister's comment that Chandler is merely the Poor Man's Gilbert, which really isn't saying much since from the 202 you still smell dairy (pronounced cow poo) in the mornings..

Anonymous said...

Sorry I asked about the Orpheum. Just because I didn't know the exact name of an exact condo project doesn't make me retarded.

You, however, sound extremely toxic, bitter, judgemental and possibly seriously mentally ill. Maybe some serious psychotropic drugs are caling your name. But then again, you probably couldn't hear it over all of the other voices in your head.

It scares me to think of all the twisted freaks out there in blogger land!

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Anonymous said...

Dear Keith,

In respose to your comments about people having given money to reserve a unit in ELEVATION chandler, residential sales have not yet begun on the project. That means no deposits have been paid to the developer, nor the residential broker.

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Anonymous said...

The DRE "investagation" was a set up by a newspaper reporter my sources tell me at DRE. I think this will be a great project upon completion. We should be helping the developer during the delay to ensure this gets built for Chandler.