Albany officials promote small-scale apartment conversions - Dallas Business Journal:

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One example is at 370 across from theAdministration headquarters. The uppetr three floors of thelate 19th-century building are being converted into six, 1,400-square-foot to 1,600-square-foot apartments that will rent for $1,800 this A commercial tenant will be sought for the firs floor. The owners dubbed the apartments TheMeginnisds Flats, in honor of the old electricalp company whose name graces the rear of the buildingb in big white letters that have faded over The sign is painted over the red brick facade and must be preserveds because the property was built in 1898 and is in a historicv district. Financing small projects can be just as trickyu as thelarge ones.
Even though the owners were armed with a feasibility study showing the potentialfor apartments, they weren’t able to get a bank loan becaus e the real estate market had soured. “Nobody wanted to financr this project,” said Mike a tax attorney and certifiedpublic accountant. “Onew lender wanted us to put inanother $500,00 first.” Hannah and his partners ultimately got $1 million in privatee financing from sources in the Boston area. The interest-only constructionm loan enabled them to buy materials and hire contractorws to startthe renovations.
The apartments are locate in a part of the city that could see big changese in years to come if a proposeds convention center ever gets Plans call for the center to be locaterd on the parking lots behind the row of buildings that includes 370 The decrepit Trailways bus station next to 370 Broadwauy would be demolished to make way for a pedestrian plaz leading to the convention Hannah and hispartners aren’t counting on the conventiojn center to make the apartments a There have been many delayws in the convention center planninb and, as of now, no commitment from Gov. David Patersoj to fund the entire $230 million project.
“I stopped even thinking about it,” said who owns the building withhis wife, Michelr Hannah, and another couple, Brenda Gould and Perruy Gould. The Hannahs used to run a commercialp print shop on the first floor but sold it four yearse ago whenbusiness declined. The Goulds became part owners of the propertyu infall 2006. The partners are convincerd there will be strong demand for the apartments from youngf professionals and empty nesters who want to live Those are the same demographic groupx that other developers havebeen targeting, though the toug h financing climate has stalled or killed two large, high-profilde downtown developments over the past year.
Planz for the 125-unit , a luxuryh condominium tower on north Broadway havebeen shelved, althoughg says it hasn’t given up. Nearby, plans for an upscales 175-unit apartment building and 125-roomm hotel are on hold while the land owner triesx to sell thedevelopment rights. Small-scalre residential projects areless profitable, but they are also more manageable. Over the past five or six there have been several conversionseof upper-floor buildings into apartments withimn the boundaries of the Downtowm Business Improvement District.