Ashley Terrace foreclosure shifts ownership of Ann Arbor high-rise to lender Bank of America
Ann Arbor News file photo
The bank started foreclosure proceedings on the property, 111 N. Ashley, in May, then took control of the building in mid-January after it was awarded ownership following the foreclosure redemption period.
The property is now managed by Broder & Sachse, a Birmingham-based real estate company that also owns and manages One North Main one block east from Ashley Terrace in downtown Ann Arbor.
Ashley Terrace includes 99 condos, 10,000 square feet of street-level retail space and 16,500 square feet of offices, including a Flagstar Banking Center. There's also underground parking.
The foreclosure — which topped $20 million, including fees, as of the initial filing — included 28 unsold condos.
"We're getting a lot of calls as far as rentals of condos," said Larry Shaevsky, property manager of Broder & Sachse.
The rentals will continue he said, and eventually they're likely to be sold. The company has set up a website to market the properties.
The retail and office space also will be re-listed for lease, Shaevsky said, with pricing still undetermined.
Ashley Terrace was built in 2006 by Chicago-based Freed, the first high-rise to take shape in downtown Ann Arbor as multiple developers sought to capitalize on the city's vitality and proximity to the University of Michigan with residential density.
Eventually, nearly 2,000 housing units were in various stages of planning and construction before the economy stalled.
Freed was one of the original redevelopers of Arborland, which it sold for $102 million in 2005.
However, it sold its other Ann Arbor high-rise, 4 Eleven Lofts, in late 2010, and its Glen Ann Place property faces a March 31 late tax payment deadline or it could be sold at auction this summer. The total due as of today was $54,116.
Paula Gardner is Business News Director of AnnArbor.com. Contact her at 734-623-2586 or by email. Sign up for the weekly Business Review newsletter, distributed every Thursday, here.
Comments
michigan48103
Thu, Mar 3, 2011 : 7:58 p.m.
It looks like a beautiful building, the location should not look too nice, it is near the Homeless shelter which is a beautiful large brick building near this location. They should give it more time, if the condos down on Main street can sell being across from the Detroit Edison building, I am sure they will sell in time. They could be apartments and not a condo and I am sure they would do well and rent well, at one time the condos on Williams the Tower Plaza at one time was Apartments and then they were sold and became condos.
Trepang674
Thu, Mar 3, 2011 : 3:12 p.m.
I was going to write a comment how good it is to stick non-resident, bad citizen, B of A with a bum loan, but then the structure of the Fed. bail out concludes with tax payers covering the loss in this mess for B of A...and they can expect to make profit on the foreclosure. So I'm not going to write that...
Wolf's Bane
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 4:14 p.m.
Ann Arbor is currently going through a second round of foreclosures which includes mostly landlords defaulting on their rental properties; see this month's A2 Observer for detailed information. Is it any wonder? Did they really think the rental market was immune to the recession? Now, it is us who have to deal with these empty soviet era looking high rises in the middle of our fair city. Thanks to the City Counsel!
a2miguy
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 4:11 p.m.
Tear it down. Did anyone check out that website? $1800-$2600 per month to live in the ugliest building in town? No thanks. Tear it down. Seriously, if I were to win the lottery, I'd buy the building, buy out all the current condo-owners, kick Flagstar out, and take a wrecking ball to this place. My gift to the people of Ann Arbor.
Bob Martel
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 4:04 p.m.
@ JerryStone1971: You may very well be right. Unfortunately, the economics of new construction are not supported by the sales or lease prices so anyone who undertakes such a project is doomed to fail. It's simple arithmetic and I am amazed that supposedly educated adults fail to grasp this simple concept. There are a couple of new non-student housing projects that are being pitched at the moment and I am willing to bet that they will fail financially as well. The only new construction that appears to have some chance of success is student housing since those rents are insane. But even in that category, consider 411 Lofts that took a hit not to long ago. In any event, I expect that at some point in the future, "luxury" student-housing will get overbuilt and then there will be a corresponding shakeout. There have been very few non student-housing steel-frame construction projects (residential or commercial) in downtown Ann Arbor in the past thirty years that have not gone through at least one foreclosure. It all seems to have started in the mid 80's when One North Main was built. When it opened in the mid-80's they were asking $15 triple net for One North Main. I believe that the current rents (twenty five years later) are no higher.
JerryStone1971
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 3:29 p.m.
There is a market for residential space downtown. But these huge buildings are NOT the answer. No one wants to live in a hotel. People respond better to smaller, intimate buildings with 10-12 units and close parking options.
Alison
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 3:19 p.m.
The thing reminds me of soviet era Russian apartment buildings.
BornNRaised
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 2:34 p.m.
But ask city council and the mayor and they'll tell you we NEED a convention center funded by the city. Some people asked, "when will they learn?" Well, maybe when the get voted out they'll have time to reflect.
Bob Martel
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 1:54 p.m.
Another downtown Ann Arbor high rise building goes bust. What a surprise! When will developers learn that the revenues provided on the sales/rental side of the equation do not justify the cost side? When will the bankers learn? Sheesh...
Somewhat Concerned
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 1:41 p.m.
I was taken to see an apartment in this building. What a joke. It looks like any of a thousand buildings slapped up in Queens or the Bronx or Buffalo, New York during the 1960s. How anyone thought it would appeal to people who have the money and life style to want live downtown, shows how much developers know about Ann Arbor. How anyone in Ann Arbor government approved it shows that for all the moaning by developers about how difficult it is to build in Ann Arbor, in fact, developers can get away with murdering the ambiance of Ann Arbor. When it comes to having Ann Arbor be a place more distinctive than Long Island City or Ft. Waye, Indiana, do you dare trust developers or the government?
Gorc
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 1:28 p.m.
Flagstar Bank will be making rent payments to Bank of Aemerica, interesting twist.
Wolf's Bane
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 12:49 p.m.
Huge fail is right. Ashley Terrace is a great example of why PUDS don't work in Ann Arbor. Despite this, the City keeps giving folks like the De Parry's permission to build these monsters without regard for our property values or quality of life. I promise to move if another one of these monsters goes up. Don't get me wrong, I am all for urban development and eliminating sprawl, but it has to be done in a more conscious manner; balancing need with want, and architectural appropriateness. How can we be expected to walk by these monsters and not shake our head in disgust?
Rod Johnson
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 4:20 a.m.
Such a nasty-looking building. Basically, this is everything you want to not do with a terrific location. Ugly, street-hostile, not nice enough to appeal to luxury tastes but too expensive for ordinary people, and did I mention ugly?
bugjuice
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 3:29 a.m.
The building nobody wanted except for the development at any cost crowd, is a huge FAIL for everyone concerned. Is anyone surprised?
LiberalNIMBY
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 3:15 a.m.
Maybe the new owner can finish the building. It always looked like they got to the 10th floor and said, "Dang, we're out of money."
CynicA2
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 1:26 a.m.
Too bad they forgot to face all that butt-ugly grey concrete with some nice red brick, or SOMETHING! I wonder how many of the original buyers are trying to bail, or have ended-up in foreclosure themselves. Never hear much on that front, but I bet there have been some. The whole place has an unfinished look to it. I think I'd be afraid to go out on those tiny little balconies with what appear to be very low, cheesy railings. UGH!