The market may be slowing down but buyers will still knock each other over in the rush for a well-priced condo. Yo’s truly hears it was hectic when sales opened at American Invsco’s condo conversion project, Century Tower, 182 W Lake St, on September 7.
The former office building was converted into apartments a few years ago ahead of its latest incarnation as low-priced condos. The landmark art deco building is devoid of parking and pretty views and jammed between two el stops, but that didn’t deter buyers.
After being fed a sales pitch and tours of models for several weeks, buyers who showed up on the night were given PDAs that were supposed to be activated at 7pm, when buyers could punch in their unit of choice and lock in a contract. Unfortunately, there was a power failure that appears to have been caused by the terror drills that were also taking place downtown that night and the PDA’s didn’t work, according to Yo’s sources.The developer resorted to a lottery system to allocate the units. Between 600 and 700 would-be buyers turned up, securing about 250 units. About 40 units will be sold as affordable housing. The units are small, which helped the developer to keep prices low. Studios were priced from the $130s, one-bedrooms were selling from the $170s, two-bedroom condos were selling from the $190s to the $520s (they came in a wide variety of sizes and some had two bathrooms) and three-bedroom units were available from the $470s to the $500s.
The units were renovated only a couple of years ago and sold in “as is” condition, with upgrade packages available.
Buyers plonked down earnest money and the contracts, of course, are subject to attorney review. Fast-thinking Invsco made sure to also line up buyers with backup contracts in case those first in line have a change of heart. Some units may still be available if those buyers pull out.