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Dave and Denise Seiders' loft at Six23 Condos is within walking distance of  Hammons Field. The Mountain Home, Ark., residents attend weekend Springfield Cardinals games.
Dave and Denise Seiders' loft at Six23 Condos is within walking distance of Hammons Field. The Mountain Home, Ark., residents attend weekend Springfield Cardinals games.

Ownership options change center-city demographics

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Dave and Denise Seiders don't neatly fit the traditional profile of downtown residents.

"We're not young anymore, for one thing," Dave Seiders said.

For another, their principal residence is near the lake in Mountain Home, Ark., and they bought a condominium on Walnut Street in downtown Springfield to use as a weekend place. The fact that they bought their space, rather than leasing it, is something that only recently became an option.

Welcome to the changing face of downtown Springfield. More than 400 loft and condo units featuring a mix of sizes, price points and options to lease or buy are available in the center-city area, according to Rusty Worley, executive director of Urban Districts Alliance.

And that mix is attracting a broader range of urban dwellers.

Seiders, who retired from the U.S. Navy in 1992, said he and his wife, who works for the Mountain Home post office, had grown tired of staying in hotels during their frequent trips to Springfield for Cardinals baseball games.

When they started looking for a place to buy a few years ago, there wasn't much available. That began to change as more developers began bringing condos online in center city.

When developer Matt Miller started the Six23 Condos project at 623 W. Walnut St., Carol Jones Realtor Michelle Cantrell, said she expected to see more students buying spaces. Since opening in the fall, she's seen an interesting mix of young professionals, young couples and older couples looking to downsize.

People gravitating toward Six23 Condos, which has 38 units ranging from studios to three-bedroom spaces, like the fact that it's "brand-new and energy-efficient," Cantrell said. Prices for Six23's condos - 16 of which have been sold - range from $92,900 to $199,900.

A few blocks away at Wheelers Lofts, 401 South Ave., Sam Freeman of Center City Realtors said interest in the 12 lofts available for purchase has been brisk this year. He said the property's attractions include underground parking, rooftop amenities, onsite secure storage and the building's location along with the quality and size of the development.

The smallest loft at Wheelers is 1,400 square feet; the largest is more than 2,000 square feet, Freeman said. Prices, which depend on size and whether the space is finished, range from $212,000 to more than $300,000.

Morris Dock, president of MoDoCo Inc. and developer of the former Wheeler's Furniture building, said he's pleased with the fact that five of the six units on the third floor have sold, but things were looking brighter last year.

"Happy was last June when I had eight people that were verbally committed," Dock said.

The sour economy has had an effect on sales at the two condo developments.

Dock said his units are priced a bit less than what he'd hoped for going into the project, and Cantrell said that while she's selling Six23 units at the hoped-for price, owner financing is offered as an incentive. She's also promoting the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.

"Definitely there's been a change in the last 18 months from more of an interest in condos back to loft apartments," said UDA's Worley, citing concerns about credit availability.

While developer Dock noted that he has no intention of leasing any Wheelers Lofts units, despite slower-than-expected sales, there are plenty of options available for those who want to live downtown sans ownership.

And with many units at many price points, the question of saturation is bound to come up, but Worley said occupancy rates are at 95 percent for leased units, based on estimates from developer feedback.

Still, Realtor Bob McCroskey of Bob McCroskey Real Estate, had concerns about leasing the seven units at Lofts at Inspired Commerce, 214 W. Phelps St.

"We were ... worried that the high-end lofts would be difficult to lease," he said. "But we got them all done."

In fact, he still fields inquiries about the one- and two-bedroom lofts that rent for $1,000 to $1,500 a month and range in size from about 900 square feet to 1,500 square feet.

McCroskey, who's been in real estate for 33 years, knows that's not the case with all loft spaces, though.

"For years, as soon as the signs went up they were leased. Now when signs go up they seem to stay up a little longer," McCroskey said.

But you "don't hear crying like you do in other parts of the real estate market and very few - knock on wood - financial losses," he added.

Worley said rent on downtown spaces generally is holding steady, but that isn't universally the case.

Last June, Joe Bowman, managing partner of Marx Building LLC, was confronted with all four lofts being available simultaneously in his building at 313 Park Central East, which houses Big Whiskey's on the ground floor.

"It's not what I would prefer, having them all bunched together like that, but that's how it happened," Bowman said.

Bowman dropped rents on the units to ensure they were filled quickly.

Rents now range from $875 for a 1,200-square-foot loft to $1,500 for the 2,000-square-foot two-story apartment, down from $950 and $1,600, respectively.

The strategy worked. His lofts were all occupied by Aug. 1. In the next month, Bowman will again face vacancies as leases expire.

Still, developers and real estate agents remain optimistic about downtown's future despite the currently gloomy economic situation.

"We're going through a tough time and some of it's scary. ... Still, it seems to be doing all right," McCroskey said.

New condo-owner Seiders said he's delighted to have a place downtown, putting him within an easy walk of his favorite sushi place and near the Springfield Cardinals' home at Hammons Field.

"We're excited about this," Seiders said. " ... What this really is, is an investment in downtown Springfield, showing a little confidence in its development and progress, and here's hoping we'll all be happy in the end."[[In-content Ad]]

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