Block Party will cover noteworthy real estate up for grabs on Capitol Hill, from the new and sparkling to the historic and charming. Mike Kent is an urban planner and writer who moved to Capitol Hill from NYC last year.
Meet The Sylvie.
Location: 300 Block of 14th Ave. E., between E. Thomas St. and E. Harrison St.
Unit Size and Mix: six three-bedrooms in duplexes at 1,478 sq. ft., and six three-bedrooms in triplexes at 1,615 sq. ft.
Price Range: $695,000 – $855,000 (two triplexes sold at $880,000, a third sale at $810,000 is pending)
Team: DB2 (developer), Studio Meng Strazzara (architect), Rick and Heidi Ward, Coldwell Banker/360 Modern (realtor)
The project: The site is divided into eastern and western halves, separated by a generously wide auto court. Three duplexes front 14th Avenue East, and two triplexes occupy the rear of the site. The exclusion of any front or rear yards resulted from zoning departures that sought to widen the central auto court. Unlike similar developments built around an auto court, rear townhouses are afforded narrow sightlines to the street between the front duplexes.
The Backstory: In September 2009, DB2 put its 12 shiny and new, ultra-green townhouses on the market with Windermere Real Estate handling sales. After eight months and only two completed deals (at $880,000 each), the available units were temporarily taken off the market, and the husband/wife realtor team of Rick and Heidi Ward were brought on to finish the job. Sales resumed last Friday, with remaining unit prices slashed by around 5 percent.
Heidi suggests that initially slow sales may stem from a variety of causes, including the down economy, an especially deliberate decision-making process on the part of homebuyers, and the perceived high cost of the units. She insists, however, that the high pricetag results from the incredible amount sustainable features, and that in the long run, lower energy costs will more than recoup the high upfront costs.
The Splash: The development team anticipates receiving LEED-Platinum and 5-Star Built Green certification. Green features include: low-flow, dual-flush toilets; compact fluorescent light bulbs; a tank-less hot water heating system in each unit; and the option for solar panels.
Luxury runs deep at the Sylvie. Expansive views from rooftop terraces at the Sylvie are impressive, especially from the western triplexes. Not surprisingly, the two completed sales and the one that is pending are each western units. Townhouses include either bamboo or oak floors, depending on the unit, and high-end kitchen appliances and finishes.
The Outlook: As demand increases for sustainably built homes, Heidi expects the units at the Sylvie to benefit. “The buyer is becoming more and more savvy, saying it may be more per square foot, but it’s really not when you look at energy savings and marketability.” In addition, she anticipates that some prospective buyers may consider acquiring a townhouse at the Sylvie as a long-term investment with the intent to flip the property when the market improves.
Heidi is pursuing an outside-the-box approach to move the remaining units. She is hoping to temporarily convert the model unit into gallery space for local artists to exhibit their work during a neighborhood art walk, similar to a technique used at the Olive 8 Downtown.
What say you Capitol Hill? Would you considering buying a property at the Sylvie? Is the 5 percent price reduction enough to move the remaining units? How do you weigh sustainability and long-term savings in energy costs versus a higher upfront purchase price? The floor is open. Discuss.
Visit the Sylvie online: http://www.thesylvie.com
We walk past these on a regular basis and have ever since the beginning of construction. I keep trying to see what anyone could see in the look of the outside. It’s just ugly. Also, if you peer in, you see a very pretty model home, but definitely not anything that justifies the 50% higher price tag than any other 2 bedroom condo or townhouse in the area.
Now I at least understand the justification of the price. Thanks for the info. I think I’m going to like this new feature.
Now do the condos on 11th across the street from Cal Anderson. I walked through during an open house with a seller and even he thought that the layouts were hideous and completely unusable (the living area space was especially laughable).
The description of the back units as having limited sightlines to the streets is more than offset by their better views from their rooftop decks of Elliot Bay.
Still overpriced.
A nice 4 BR house was on sale for $699,000 around the corner…
They are trying to appeal to a very narrow market range when you can get a house on the hill for less than they are asking. Have to either be desperate not to do yard work or lazy to a point where you don’t want to buy a home and put $50-100k into the same type of eco features you get with these properties.
They are nice though, and I applaud the attention to detail and features built in.
“in the long run, lower energy costs will more than recoup the high upfront costs.”
I’m wondering how far off “in the long run” is. It would be interesting to see Sylvie’s analysis on this!
Gimmicky.
The 5% reduction is less than the median price decrease that King county has seen in the last 9 months. I know, Capitol Hill is immune.
I’m skeptical about the LEED certification. I know little about it but I haven’t seen any features that are typical of such buildings. The price does not include photovoltaics. How is rainwater handled? Do they use porous concrete? No mention of radiant floor heating.
At this price, I find it hard to believe you’re going to realize any significant cost savings over the long term especially if your property value remains flat or dips. So you’d be spending the money just to feel good about yourself, not to say that’s wrong, but that’s what it is.
Personally, that’s far more than I’d consider spending on a townhome, especially in today’s market.
1. No, price too high in this market, there are options.
2. By starting from the ground up – one could build the best and most modernly energy saver unit – in all respects. Not a built for spec. sale unit makes it for me. There are fifty factors, or more for the unit I want.
3. In the mean, I wear wool and sleep under down, thus, no heat in the winter. So the rest is mute. I do not consume much… makes all the equations easy. Buy used, eat mostly veggie, home cooked for value and nutritional stuff, take the bus and walk.
Mike the Minimalist
You walk by these places and there is construction trash, exposed plywood, and empty electrical boxes inside the visible part of the living room and kitchen. These places are still being built … slowly! Maybe whenever the developer has a little cash on hand he pays for a few people to come and do some work.
Watching them during their very very long build didn’t show me what was worth the incredible premium price that they’re asking. It’s no wonder they haven’t sold. The incredible thing is that two did sell. Well, there have been plenty of fools buying condos in Seattle the last few years.
They’d be nice places, if they’re ever finished, for the right price. But that price is is the $600K range at most. $800K: it is to laugh.
The constuction of these townhouses seemed to take years (three?) For months and months nothing was done on them and they just sat there—-rotting blots on the streetscape. It was like a joke in the neighborhood. I would be very suspicious of the ‘skeletal’ soundness of these townhouses.
Then when they were put up for sale last September the front ones still were not finished on the inside—you could look in and see them filled with construction trash—month after month…as if no one were working to finish them.
And even now–are they really finished as originally planned? Are there going to be railings on the front (street side) ones? What if a child or elderly person came to visit? There is just a drop to the street.
And that 3% back deal they have going –so who does that really benefit?
http://blog.findwell.com/selling-a-home/a-ridiculous-promoti
i mean, come on. 5% reduction in price for the most overpriced condos i have seen in a long time?? and the realtor justifies it by cost savings in the long run due to energy efficiency items??? how long are we talking here, 100 years?? yeah, no thanks. they are empty and will remain empty until someone gets their head out of the clouds and lowers the price to something realistic. I live on the corner there near republican and have seen full on HOUSES sell for less. I cant even imagine what they are asking for homeowners dues…sheesh. Medina is across the water, prices like this belong over there.
Here’s a back of envelope calculation of the amount saved due to the super-duper green construction that they’re asking a premium for:
My three bedroom Capitol Hill apartment in a 100 year old building, extremely drafty through gaps under exterior doors and old wood windows, costs an arm an a leg to heat in the winter: up to $350/mo in gas and electricity. I spend about $2800/yr in energy. Suppose I move from there to the Sylvie, and also suppose that the Sylvie is so totally energy efficient it will cost me nothing – $0 – in energy. So I’ll save $2800/yr. Let’s say it was an even $3000.
Now, assume further that the proper price of these condos is $600,000. That’s still outrageous (see http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/311-14th-Ave-E-98112/unit-B for comparable selling prices), but let’s just say that. So the “premium” for the green energy efficiency is (at least) $95,000 (asking $695K minus comparable value $600K).
So that will make up for my (way overestimated) $3000 energy cost per year in only … hmmm, divide by 3, carry the 1 … in only 31 2/3 years.
31 years, 8 months.
Except, of course, if you actually have to get a loan to pay for that $95,000 additional premium. And you’re paying interest for that loan. (Even if you paid for the place in cash, there’s the time value of the extra $95K you paid …)
Anyway, you will NEVER recoup your upfront costs in energy savings. Never. Ever.
I invite Rick or Heidi Ward or the developer to refute the above analysis with their spreadsheets showing how they calculate the savings they’re touting.