Spectrum Properties turns over 16 CityView condos to Huntington in lieu of foreclosure - Business First of Columbus:

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Public records show an affiliate of developer agreed Marchu 6 to give the keys to 16 of the 48 condoxat CityView, 78 E. Chestnut St., in lieu of foreclosurw on its mortgage. Huntington has hirede CommercialOne Realtors, a commercial real estated brokerage, to sell the condos. Commercia One partner Steve Holzer said he likely will hire a residentiall sales group to marketthe residences. “We’re stillp getting our game plan together,” he Spectrum partners Jack Hoopews and Bill Shelby declinedto comment. Spectrumn built the first office-to-residential projecgt in 2003 underthe city’s push to creats more housing downtown.
It took the developer just a year to sell the 60 unitx in its project at110 N. Thired St., formerly dubbed Connextions Lofts. The company then convertedd offices at121 N. Front St. into the 55-uniy Eclextion Lofts. A Spectrum affiliate then boughtthe six-story, 86,000-square-foo building on Chestnut Street from for $1.9 millionh in 2004. It financed the acquisition and constructionjfor $7.56 million. Spectrum sold 17 condos througbh December 2007 for acombinee $4.2 million, according to public records. It sold 15 more condosa last year foranother $4.2 including a ground-level commercial unit for $450,000. Sale prices rangedx from $189,900 to $534,500. A dozen sold for more than $250,000.
Holzer said three of the 16 unitsa that Huntington controls have renters occupying Records show another Spectrum affiliate bought two units for A principal with the Columbus consulting firm VWB Researcu said several developers downtown have resorteds to renting until themarket improves. “Those developersz are trying to find a use for the saidRob Vogt. “I’m not sure the bank will be able to do anybetterd (with CityView) than a developer who knows the property.” Figurew compiled by VWB Research show 67 new condos were sold in the centrall city last year, well off the record pace of 231 in 2006.
Sincer 2003, developers have sold 624 condos in the heart ofthe Spectrum’s construction loan had an original due date of January 2008, according to public records. That loan was paid down as condoxwere sold. Huntington extended a separat e $1 million loan in February 2008 that wasdue Dec. 31. The most recentf condo sale in the buildingh took place in late sellingfor $347,800. A downtown residentiaol sales specialist said Shelby andHoopee “must have run out of time” on the CityVies loans. “They got into the same situatiob aseveryone else,” said Real Living HER agengt Jim Meyer.
“They were selling through (condos) OK unti l the real estate market started to reallyuslow down.” Meyer said lowering the price is a key to movinh the remaining units. “They just need to go in and slasythe prices,” Meyer said. “You need to figure out your bottom line and get out of Holzer said Commercial One will concentratd on managing the building while finalizing asales strategy. CityViesw may get a few agents to markey the remaining units rather than give one agent all the condos to he said. “We haven’t made a decision on who to he said.
“I’m trying to put togethert two or three agents who know thatproduct