The development team behind the Montgomery House project on Ann Arbor’s South Fourth Avenue is now marketing the building’s 30 units for sale.
Instead of half apartments and half condominiums as originally planned, the addition to the building at 210-216 S. Fourth Ave. will contain all condos.
“The market is very, very hot for condos right now; there’s just no supply,” said David Ebner, who owns the building with Joe Barbat of Barbat Holdings LLC. “We also felt it was a good opportunity for us to reduce some risk and exposure…by selling condos we’ll be able to reduce the loan on the project.”
Barbat Holdings purchased the building, the former Montgomery Ward’s department store, in May 2013.
Ann Arbor City Council approved plans in January for a 21,000-square-foot, 3.5-story addition above the existing 17,270-square-foot, two-story building located just north of East Liberty Street.
Thirty condos are coming to the top of the building at 210-216 S. Fourth, which is set to undergo an addition and a storefront makeover.
Jen Langenburg of Savarino Properties launched a marketing campaign this week for the building’s 30 condos, which Ebner expects will be completed in summer 2015.
Montgomery House will include four studio units, 10 one-bedroom units, 14 two-bedroom units and two three-bedroom units. Units will range in size from 450 square feet for the smallest studio to 1,600 square feet for one of the largest units.
The price point of the condos: $179,000 for a studio on the second-floor to the high $600,000s for a penthouse unit.
“The great thing about what Montgomery House offers is it’s not just one demographic that can live there; it’s for couples, young professionals, empty-nesters,” Langenburg said.
Ebner added: “We have some empty-nesters that want to downsize from a house and come and live in the city.”
Langenburg described Montgomery House as a “true urban condo development.” She said the finishes in the units are high quality and there are customized options.
Features include: 15-foot ceilings on the second and fifth floors, wood flooring throughout the units, outdoor patio spaces, a green roof and a shared rooftop patio for tenants.
The project does not include parking, but Langenburg said residents can pay for a monthly parking permit at one of the city’s nearby public parking garages.
The 30 Montgomery House units are being marketed at a time when downtown Ann Arbor condos are in high demand. A lack of inventory and strong buyer interest is driving record-setting sales prices at buildings such as Liberty Lofts, 111 North Ashley, Loft 322 and Ashley Mews.
Ebner said some people who weren’t able to purchase one of the condos at the under-construction project on the former Greek church site on North Main Street have inquired about Montgomery House.
The 18 condos at the North Main Street project range in price from the mid $400,000s to $1 million, and the majority of the units were reserved before the project even broke ground.
Along with the residential additio to the building at 210-216 S. Fourth Ave., Barbat Holdings plans to rebuild the storefront in mostly masonry/brick to resemble the former Montgomery Ward’s department store.
“It’s literally going to transform Fourth Avenue,” Langenburg said.
There are three first-floor spaces in the building that are being marketed for lease by Colliers International Ann Arbor, including the former Eastern Accents space. Bandito’s Mexican Restaurant plans to stay in the building.
Ebner said there has been some interest in the retail spaces, but the focus right now is to work on renovating the building and constructing the addition.
The Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase is leasing the basement of the building and plans to move in once renovations are completed this summer.
“We’re trying to get them in as soon as we possibly can,” Ebner said.
Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Reach her at 734-255-2638, email her lizzyalfs@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter.
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