Providence Condo Developers unfazed by market

The owners of The 903 Residences say the project’s recent sales strength is a success in the face of a softening housing market. So far this year, they have sold 47 of their 330 units. Citywide – excluding the East Side – a total of 73 condos sold in the first half of the year.

Barry Seidel, partner in New York-based Athena Group, which owns the property along with Providence-based Paolino Properties, said the project’s success could be credited to a number of factors: its location, a tax-abatement deal with the city, and the upgrades made to the property when it was purchased in October 2005.

But one thing remains clear to Athena – The 903 is succeeding in a market that’s reporting signs of slumping across the board.

Will things continue to go well?

The 903’s owners aren’t the only ones bullish on Providence. Even with three major condominium projects slated to come online the next few years, and a housing market that has softened both nationally and at home, developers downtown remain optimistic. The Procaccianti Group, a Cranston-based hotelier and real estate development company, last month announced it was making vast strides on its downtown condominium project, The Residences at the Westin.

As part of the addition planned when the company bought The Westin Providence from the state in 2005, Procaccianti plans to add 200 hotel rooms and 103 luxury residences in a 32-story tower next to the existing hotel.

As of mid-September, the company had reached the halfway point in the project, pouring the 16th level of the new building. And with occupancy of the condominiums not slated to begin until next fall, the company announced that 30 percent of the units already had been sold.

And, while One Ten Luxury Residences, the condominium project next to The Arcade on Westminster Street in downtown Providence, is not slated to open until 2008, the developers say they are feeling confident about the project’s prospects. Eamon C. O’Marah, a managing partner of lead developer Blue Chip Properties, said last week that sales of the 145 units at One Ten have been “significant.” Although the company wouldn’t release figures, he said it has managed to attract interest.

O’Marah noted that downtown Providence is absorbing a little more than 400 units, with the three high-rise projects coming online in a staggered schedule. In contrast, communities such as South Florida will be absorbing thousands of condominiums in a much smaller time frame.

“The market isn’t overbuilt, so therefore, we are meeting a large demand that is latent,” O’Marah said. “We have a significant number of sales, and we’re very pleased with the progress that we’ve made.” For now, the project remains the same in scope despite market trends. However, O’Marah said Blue Chip and partner Granoff Associates are always looking for ways to make the development the best it can be.

“We’re always looking at modifications and tweaks to the program to make it more successful,” O’Marah said.

WaterPlace – a $100 million, two-tower condominium project under construction on the north bank of the Woonasquatucket River, at Waterplace Park – currently has about 40 units reserved, said Robert Cole, managing partner of The Collaborative Companies, the Boston-based marketing and sales firm hired to sell condos there.

He anticipates sales will continue to be strong at the 193-unit development, largely because of the location. The city has the right infrastructure and cultural scene to continue to attract people to the downtown, he said.

But other parts of the housing market are slowing condominium sales, Cole said. With projects such as WaterPlace gearing themselves largely toward empty nesters, the lag in sales of single-family homes is harming the sale of condominium units nationwide, he said. Seidel said The 903, though not directly in downtown Providence, also has benefited from its location. Situated behind Providence Place mall, the condominium project is across from The Foundry and next to the old Providence Fruit & Produce Warehouse, which is being rehabbed as a retail and restaurant space.

With the area becoming more and more attractive, Seidel said, he expected interest to continue.

“We’re very encouraged,” he said. “As long as things keep going this way, we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing.”

For more information on Providence Condos. the 903, Waterplace, The Residences at the Westin Hotel and ONE TEN. visit www.Providence.condoDomain.com