editor’s 1/28/11 update: One year later, Champions Way is 30-40% complete, with 25 townhomes in 4 buildings complete. For info that is current as of January 2011 including updated photos, visit our January 2011 update on Champions Way at Eddy Street Commons.
There are many new home developments near Notre Dame. Since Dublin Village broke ground in 2005 there have been more than half a dozen new housing projects near Notre Dame’s campus. But the largest and most anticipated of the new developments is Eddy Street Commons. Eddy Street Commons has been widely reported as a $200+ million project. It has been supported by Notre Dame who transferred the land for the development, the city of South Bend with a $30+ million parking garage, and Indianapolis based Kite Realty who put together the master plan.
Eddy Street Commons, as announced, has a retail component with restaurants and shopping, office space, 266 apartments for rent and nearly 250 condos or townhomes available for purchase.
There have been delays as the project reacted to the tightening economy. For example the Mariott hotel is still awaiting financing, and the “Legends Row” condos that wrap the parking garage were originally to be built first and haven’t been started apparently due to slow sales reservations.
But there has been progress on the “Champions Way” City Homes. The first building is nearing completion, and a model unit is currently being furnished. It should be ready for public tours in the near future.
It is not yet fully furnished, but I toured the model unit today and took photos. Since it is built by the same construction company that put together Dublin Village, Wexford Place and Irish Crossings, it shouldn’t be surprising that it has many similarities to those projects. But the location is good, the views from the model are some of the best I’ve seen, and there are many options and upgrades available. Prices for these townhomes start around $378,000 and quickly rise to the mid $400,000s depending upon plan and options.
The sales team reports the first two buildings are booked and that they expect to have four of the nine buildings ready for occupancy by the football season.
They look like the other products that Highline has built but just with different exterior skins. They build a good product, not the super high end like Century Builders but certainly much better than the flimsy stuff Weiss Homes builds. Didn’t ND buy a bunch of these along Edison, the street front one?
I understand the University bought the units in the first building, nearest Edison.
The Champions Way townhomes are similar to other Highline built communities like Dublin Village, Wexford Place, and Irish Crossings. It will be interesting to see if the builder has improved their product with experience. I understand they are refining plans within the Champions Way community as they build. One example is the laundry room will be a few inches larger in the next buildings to accommodate a side by side washer/dryer rather than a stackable one, and the door to the same laundry room will be moved from the focal point at top of the stairs to a side hallway.
One interesting note is that the three-story townhouse built over a garage has proven demand near Notre Dame. A cursory search in the MLS shows more than 100 sales in the last three Highline communities. All sold above $175,000 and one above $470,000.
It will be worth watching to see how the different styles of homes offered for sale at Eddy Commons are received. Kite has announced plans to build condos wrapping the garage, hotel-condos on the top floors of a full service hotel, flats and courtyard townhomes. Other communities offering similar housing types have had slow sales recently: Condos at Oak Hill have crested in price and are slowy returning into the $140s to $160 price range, hotel-condos at GameDay and Waterford Estates have been literally and figuratively non-starters, and Pendle Woods offers high end single story homes but still has quite a few buildable lots.
Highline knows what they are doing and have two smart, decent guys in charge here. Don’t forget they also did/are doing the Irish Row Apartments. Funny how an out of area builder (albeit from Indiana near Indianapolis) was able to capitalize on our real estate market while the local builders didn’t. The proven townhome project makes for a good second home, I am not convinced it attracts primary home buyers. The main reason for the Dublin Village success was its price point and highly visible location…under $200K was an easy sell to Domers during the real estate run up. Other townhome projects haven’t done was well, just look to the Mishawaka river project which is geared toward primary residences. A key feature in the townhomes for second home buyers is the number of bedrooms and baths…the more the better.
With respect to Oak Hill, it is a dated property with smaller floorplans. Prices will come down a lot more to move these units. I would predict under $100K for some. I think there was one listed over $200K…a joke. You asked quite awhile ago if Oak Hill was a bubble. A number of people with a vested interest in Oak Hill defended the complex (and the prices) but in the end, you were right. Prices are coming down.
Regarding condo-hotels. never was a fan, put them in the same category as timeshare like “scams”, and were a product of the real estate bubble. Is ANYONE starting condo-hotels ANYWHERE anymore? All I here about is unhappy owners, high monthly fees, and of course litigation, litigation, litigation…
People have asked me what builders are good in the area, depending on price point, Miller, Highline, Century Builders, Village Contractors, Devon, and some others. Which builders would I never choose…that is easy, Weiss Homes. Just my opinion.