more on the delano

So while were on the hot topic of that nasty L word....lofts....I thought I'd share the teeny bit of info gleaned from my visit to the Delano Lofts a few weeks ago. I've yet to go back and take snaps so you'll have to rely on their majorly craptastic website that is god awful slow and glitchy for more views.

There's a lot of interesting stuff about this project:

1. The location. The area surrounding 6th and Grand is becoming quite active. With the Daily Grill, Casey's, Grand Avenue Sports Bar, Library Bar, The Standard, Wolfgang Puck, Subway, Starbucks and Famima recently moving into the area as well as a Ralphs opening a few blocks away, the place is definitely not lacking in the food department. It seems like that area of 6th Street could be a nice connector between the soon to be developed edge of South Park and the Historic Core.

2. The building. The exterior of the building is simply stunning. The 2nd, 3rd, 9th, and 11th floors have rounded archway windows which lend so much character to not only the exterior but the interior as well. Built by Walker & Eisen, the same architects who did the Oviatt Building just around the corner, the building stands as beautiful example of a Romanesque Revival Beaux Arts gem from the mid 20's in Los Angeles.

3. The lease to own incentive. According to their sales rep, the contract will state that they do intend on converting to condos in a few years and up to 20% of the rent can be put toward the purchase price. Now as long as that is actually true and not a bunch of BS, and the place is managed decently, it seems like an attractive incentive. My very basic math skills show that an 875 square foot unit that rents for $1875 a month will, if the 20% statement is true, yield you $4500 per year towards a down payment. Multiply that by 3 years and well that doesn't seem like a bad offer. But what do I know...I'm not a real estate wizard, hell I still rent. If someone out there sees fault with this option please school me now. Honestly, I'd like to know the pros and cons of that situation.

Here's what makes me unsure about this project. First of all, non-gas ranges. Need I say more? And second, I get a little bit of a shady vibe from the developers. That's all I'm gonna say, and I hope I'm incorrect in that regard. Only time will tell. However they better not do that building wrong. I've loved it for 10 years and am very happy to see it gain life again.

x

Comments

[jim]

ask folks who leased and then bought into the higgins building how that worked out. it had the same sort of deal, and was a barry shy building on top of that.

[shannon]

well yeah, that's kinda why i'm questioning the whole thing....except this isn't a shy building so it gives me hope.

by the way, have you seen that he now doesn't have his name listed on any of his properties? the website is sblofts...way to get around that bad publicity barry.

[Scott Mercer]

An electric stove actually bothers you?

I guess you actually cook.

[shannon]

i actually don't cook all that often however i am a child of the 70's and those electric stoves disturb me...kinda like the avocado green appliances back in the day too. i could never figure out how to control the temperature on them. once i became an adult and found the gas stove, cooking was so much less of a traumatic experience.

[Jasper]

Stay away from the Delano Lofts. I've heard lots of bad things already. "shady vibe from the developers" really sums it up.

i went to visit it a few months back and it seemed like the contracters were doing a half ass job. some of the electrical outlets were so crooked that you could tell that was a sign of the overall job quality.

[Marisol]

I would have to agree to stay away. I went in to lease and felt I was being pushed to sign which made me uneasy. Although it would have been the perfect set-up (I work right across the street), but something was just amiss.