Minerva Condos enter pre-sale phase with Sat. kickoff at Parker & Otis

The economy may be a drag on homebuilding region-wide, but there's still signs of some activity happening here and there.

One sign: the kickoff of pre-sales at Minerva Condos, a Duke St. project near the Bullington and Trinity Lofts project that promises to add ten one- and two-bedroom units near Brightleaf Square and Trinity Park.

As we noted here earlier in the year, it's the inaugural development effort for Ben Greene, a Carnegie Mellon grad and IT professional who's earned his land-use battle scars as a former member of the Durham Planning Commission -- and, a bit more personally, in working this property through the entitlement phase.

The project site is a small, one-time milk warehouse that was slated to become five artists' lofts a few years ago before the market for shell space was deemed less enticing. Since then, the property has come under the control of Greene, who partnered with Ellen Cassilly Architect, Inc. on the design, as seen in renderings here.

Ultimately, fill reconstruction under the concrete slab means the original structure might be re-adapted, or might be replaced -- but in either case, Greene expects to bring ten units online out of the project.

Once the five pre-sales are set, naturally.

In an interview on Tuesday, Greene described the condos as occupying a space in the market below the Kress Condos but above some other condo projects -- in part due to high-end finishes standard to each unit, from stainless appliances to granite countertops to hardwood floors and the like.

Four of the second story units and one first floor unit will go up for pre-sale; the one-bedroom units range from 784-874 sq. ft., each with a 33 sq. ft. outdoor porch, and with three of the units featuring lofts over the living area. Ceiling heights in the units vary from 8 to 16+ feet depending on floor and section of units.

A pair of two-bedroom units is planned out of the remaining five units. Pricing for the first five one-bedroom units will run from $209,900 to $224,900.

The units are located on the eastern stub of Minerva Ave., a few blocks from downtown and Brightleaf Square, between the Bullington and Duke Tower projects on the eastern side of Duke St.

Greene and team will unveil more of the design and answer questions from 5pm-7pm this Saturday, Aug. 22 from 5-7pm at Parker & Otis downtown.

Comments

[Joseph H. Vilas]

Oh, there. Their WWW site is remarkably content-free.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=36.004352,-78.904442&spn=0.005451,0.005214&z=17&msid=107108673788825953136.0004719bf297d6a582d50

Thanks for the clarification.

[Ben Greene]

The Minerva Condos website is now live with lots of content! Check it out at http://www.minervacondos.com/

[Ben Greene]

The final site plan for Minerva Condos has been signed and sealed by City of Durham! Pre-sales to open VERY soon - stay tuned! http://www.minervacondos.com/minervas-blog

[Ben Greene]

The Minerva Condos pre-sale process has been launched! http://www.minervacondos.com/purchase-your-unit

[Pas Cher Moncler]

Thanks, I'm going to have nightmares tonight.