Is this the first sign that downtown Bellevue has reached its condo saturation point? Seattle Times: Bellevue condo project, European Tower, put on hold
The housing slowdown has claimed another local high-rise, high-end condo project.
The developer of 16-story European Tower, a downtown Bellevue project whose design features just one unit on each floor, said Wednesday that it won’t start construction until the market turns around.
Eugene Gershman, chief operating officer of Bellevue-based GIS International Group, attributed the delay to reticence among prospective buyers whose current homes are taking longer to sell.
He said buyers indicated that if construction started now, the tower might be finished sooner than they could close on their units.
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Buyers have reserved six of the project’s 16 units, he said.
The article also mentions some of the other projects around the Seattle area that have recently been “postponed.”
European Tower’s delay is the latest in a string of postponements. The Insignia Towers project in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood recently announced a delay, citing the market slowdown.
And earlier this year, work on the luxury 1 Hotel & Residences in downtown Seattle was postponed until at least late summer while developers redesign the project to make it more appealing to lenders.
Gershman said availability of financing was not a major reason for European Tower’s delay. But Dean Jones, of the Seattle marketing firm Realogics, said tight credit is taking its toll on a number of downtown Seattle and Bellevue condo projects.
“If they’re not under construction now, with a few exceptions, I would doubt we’ll see any break ground this year,” Jones said.
The question is, are enough projects holding off to keep the market from experiencing a severe oversupply in the next few years?
(Eric Pryne, Seattle Times, 05.22.2008)