How a building looks from the street, its curb appeal, is important. There is even a top-rated show on the topic. But most of the talk is about curb appeal for traditional homes. Is it a factor in condos? Or does a condo simply need a well-managed association and a great interior?

If curb appeal is a factor for condos, they should stand apart from rental apartments. They cost more and people typically live in them for longer stretches than in apartments.

So, how attractive are the condos near Notre Dame? Below are photos of twelve buildings within striking distance of the university. Some are apartments for rent. Some are condos or townhouses for sale. Can you tell them apart?

Answers after the jump.

1. Main Street Village. Rental apartments.
2. University Park. Rental apartments.
3. Indian Lakes. Rental apartments.
4. Stadium Club. Mixed condos for sale and apartments for rent.
5. North Douglas. Condos for sale.
6. Turtle Creek. Rental apartments.
7. New London Lake. Condos for sale.
8. Wexford Place. Condos for sale.
9. Irish Crossings. Condos for sale.
10. Oak Hill. Condos for sale.
11. Clover Ridge. Apartments for rent.
12. Runaway Bay. Apartments for rent.

6 Responses

  1. There certainly is not much difference in my mind with the exception of a few that look a little better. I would say Wexford common and Irish Cossings as the best.

  2. I think the Irish Crossings townhomes look fantastic with the bring and stone work. They will be a timeless classic for many years to come. If I had the money I would buy one in a heartbeat! They have 100% brick fronts and back. I really am surprised at how nice they turned out.

    I think the worse is Stadium Club with the very ugly yellow. Did they try to pick a bad color?

  3. Great posts. While location is the single best asset that Stadium Village has to offer, curb appeal is a close second. In addition to having depth on each individual level, Stadium Village has a brick and rock facade. What we did not want was a development with 4 flat walls and roof.

    Update: The roof trusses are going up this week and we are excited to see the first building take shape.

  4. I have been considering buying near campus for a number of years but there were not a lot of nice options. New London Lake was too old and small for me. I am waiting to see the 3plex townhomes at Irish Crossings once the model is done. The floorplans are the best I’ve seen and better than the east coast projects that I saw when I live out there. The brick and stone is very classy too. I’ve seen the floorplans of others including the floorplans of Stadium Village but I did not like those as well since it is on 4 floors with each floor being fairly small so I didn’t like the flow as well with all the stairs going up and down 4 floors in one unit. Maybe they can change them to two floors with stacked units? Also, there are only 2 end units with 4 middle units in Stadium Village and I’d want an end unit. Lastly, I really like the walk out lower levels with bar and water pond in the 3plex Irish Crossings units (better than their 4plexes) it is absolutely a great flow and floorplan, very spacious and open and easily incorporates entertaining on just the lower level or 1st floor or both at the same time. That’s just my 2cents.

    Any buyers out their should compare all the products and take their time (maybe not take as much time as me though!) to make an informed purchase decision. Compare floorplans, finishes, prices, location, the community, experience and stability of the developer and builder, ask existing owners, see the models (more than once), review the HOA docs, get tax info (count versus city) etc. Not all the projects that were announced have started, some probably won’t ever start, some might not even finish, some could be a nightmare, and a few may flop. I was going to look at the ND ave townhomes but so far they haven’t updated their floorplans nor have they broken ground. It is a buyers market so get your best deal!

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