Slow sales force Lindbergh condos to convert to apartments

I was the plumbing designer for this project....

By KEVIN DUFFY

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Another new condominium project, eon at Lindbergh, a 352-unit high-rise, is switching to apartments because of sluggish sales.

Although no sales had closed, about one-third of the units were under contract and those people will receive refunds, said S. Jerome Hagley, executive vice president and chief operating officer at the Dawson Co.

Dawson and the Lane Co. developed eon. “We will be converting the building to a rental at the beginning of the year,” Hagley said.

The developers tried financial incentives to spark interest, to no avail. The eon Web site still says buyers will get $10,000 and “this is an August offer only.”

Eon was relatively affordable, with prices beginning in the $180,000s. The sales center shut down about 60 days ago, Hagley said.

During the summer, Tivoli Properties converted Mezzo, a new 94-unit condo building on Peachtree Street, to apartments.

In its mid-year report, Haddow & Co., which researches condominium starts and sales, said completed unsold inventory in intown Atlanta is at a record high, up 58.6 percent since last year.

“Within the Buckhead submarket,” the report said, “two pockets account for most of the unsold inventory: Lindbergh and Brookhaven.”

Around the Lindbergh MARTA station a mini-city of sorts has sprung up with homes, businesses and offices.

But the area also is home to a stark reminder that the housing market has slumped: The skeleton of a condo building where a few floors were started before construction stopped. MCL Cos. of Chicago said Tuesday that project, called Skyline, remains on hold.