Photograph by Spine 3-D
Feature: Lofty Ideas
March 1, 2006
After buying every book he could find on the Internet about lofts, Harper-McCausland decided he needed to build his new lofts in an industrial, not residential, manner. Instead of using the thin structural slabs employed in most condo buildings in the city, Intrepid used precast concrete, the type of construction material typically reserved for much-abused parking decks. This building method eliminates the need for interior supports, allowing for huge living spaces with plentiful columns and thick beams. “Old school” cast-iron plumbing runs exposed throughout the buildings. But, in true luxury style, some of the units at Parc Lofts, and all of the units at the Filling Station, have mezzanines, glassed-in terraces, hidden stainless steel kitchen appliances and industrial-fixture lighting.
In Miami, Intrepid is not the only developer dipping into the loft market. Among the many loft projects in the works are BCRE’s Element, a 106-unit loft project on Biscayne Bay in the up-and-coming Edgewater neighborhood, just north of the new Performing Arts Center.With two lofts per floor, Element’s designer-ready units stretch from 2,300 to 5,000 square feet, not including the 10-foot-wide balconies. The building, expected to be completed in 2008, features two pools, a health club, a spa and sauna, a cigar humidor, a wine cellar, two tennis courts, a half basketball court and a putting green. Prices range from $1.7 million to $7 million. Buyers include movie director Michael Bay, who purchased a two-story penthouse as a vacation home.
In Marina del Rey, in the heart of Los Angeles’ Westside, John Laing Homes had the same idea for creating the look and feel of a conversion. The developer’s new 50-unit Element lofts are also made of precast concrete and have floor-to-beam windows, flexible floor plans, exposed ductwork and concrete floors. The best units sell for just under $1 million. “We tried to mimic a conversion by playing up the gritty materials, going for an authentic look–open spaces, an abundance of natural light,” says Jonathan Watts, principal of Cuningham Group, the architects for Element.
The sheer size of lofts limits their presence in the condo market (they
represent roughly 5 percent of all condos). Few builders are willing to create such low-density structures, particularly in cities where space is at a premium.
This may be why lofts are often the first homes to pop up in developing cities
such as Scottsdale or Austin.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Intrepid Real Estate is pioneering
the loft movement in Miami. Its Filling
Station boasts massive open
spaces, mezzanines and glass
terraces with wet bars. Photograph by
Spine 3-D (Click image to enlarge)
“When a city first opens up, land is at a lower price and you can afford a low-density project like a loft [building],” says Ken Losch, principal of
Avenue Communities, builders of Third Avenue Lofts in Scottsdale. “Our lofts have at least 11-foot ceilings: some are 18 feet. But we bought in four years ago. If somebody were to get that land today, they would try to squeeze in units with 9-foot ceilings to get another floor in. They would lose that loft feel. The resale value of lofts should be phenomenal because, as time goes by, units
will have lower ceilings and a totally different feel. They might be called lofts,
but the ones that are true lofts will have the highest value.
The majority of lofts today are being created by small, boutique-style
developers more likely to be local and regional outfits than big-name national entities. While large national firms often go with a formula that can be duplicated
around the country, loft development can take more time and energy because
conversions have to be retrofitted to an individual building, or new construction has to
be designed to fit a piece of land. Smaller firms are more inclined to roll up
their sleeves and design for a specific market.
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