More Foreclosure Headaches

As home foreclosures continue to rise, a growing number of local governments are imposing stiff fees on mortgage companies responsible for the vacant properties. Local governments contend that vacant homes are burdening them with added maintenance costs involving cleanup and policing.

Officials say the levies are intended to offset the cost of maintaining and policing abandoned homes and to keep these properties from becoming blights on neighborhoods. But the tougher rules are adding to the financial burden on mortgage companies grappling with a surge in foreclosures, which some economists estimate may reach three million by the end of 2008.

City officials complain that local taxpayers can't continue to pick up the cost of cutting lawns, draining swimming pools, boarding up windows and policing vacant properties. In October alone, Louisville, Ky., spent $106,000 maintaining properties owned by major lenders.

Locally, the city of Minneapolis assesses a $6,000 a year fee for abandoned and boarded up homes. This does not include the cost of boarding up a home, which is sometimes done by the city, especially after fires or repeated burglaries.

The fee seems unusually high considering that many properties on the north side of Minneapolis will sell for as little as $25,000. In the end, it may prove to be less expensive for lenders to bulldoze homes, rather than continue to pay out fees to cities and property managers. Only time will tell if this proves true. Source City of Minneapolis and WSJ.com.

Why It Sucks To Be A Home Mortgage Banker

Mortgage application activity declined 14.1 percent in the week ended July 25. The decline was the most severe move in percentage terms since May.

Refinancing applications plunged 22.9 percent and the level of loan requests for home purchases fell 7.8 percent last week

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 6.46 percent in the week, compared with a one year-high of 6.59 percent in the prior week.

A slowing rate of applications suggests potential homebuyers may be expecting better deals in the future as rising foreclosures and a softening economy nudge home prices lower.

Ironically, home buyers seem to be choosier about home selection at the same time they are relying on distressed properties to get them a good deal.

Sales of existing homes in June also dropped to their slowest pace in 10 years, the National Association of Realtors said last week. Source: Reuters News Service

The Return Of Rennaissance Square

There was good news last week for Minneapolis and those who appreciate the few turn of the century buildings that remain in downtown. Architecture and engineering firm DLR Group will move into a new space in the Renaissance Square building in Minneapolis.

The Eden Prairie firm will take up residence in about 25,000 square feet, filling out 2 of the 10 floors of the 1889 era building.

Kathy Tait, company spokeswoman, said the reasons for the move included greater access for clients, broader recruitment opportunities and closer proximity to mass transit. (The light rail is just steps from their door). The company is hoping to move in to the new space by November.

The Renaissance Square building, located at 500 Nicollet Mall is currently vacant. It was at one time owned by Xcel Energy Inc, and was bought earlier this year by a California real estate company.

The property went substantial renovation in the late 1980s and again in the early 1990s. At present, the innards have been torn out in preparation for a major remodel. Hopefully they will update the exterior first floor, which underwent an unfortunate ‘restoration’ in the late 1980s. Information source: Minneapolis / St Paul Business Journal.

We're Number Eight!

When it comes to living healthy and long life, Minneapolis-St. Paul is the eighth best place to be, according to a survey published in the September-October issue of AARP Magazine out this week.

Minneapolis-St. Paul was lauded for having quality health care along with high rates for the percentage of adults who have health care, exercise regularly, engage in volunteer work and recycle. The magazine also cited the city's wide-reaching wireless network, its forward-thinking policies (we were the first state to designate smoke-free areas in restaurants in 1975), and its many cultural offerings.

To come up with its list, the magazine looked at 30 criteria such as life expectancy, percentage of people who are happy with their lives, air and water quality, and smoking, obesity and exercise rates. Source Star Tribune and AARP magazine

Don't Rain On My Parade!

U.S. foreclosure filings more than doubled in the second quarter from a year earlier as falling home prices left borrowers owing more on mortgages than their properties were worth.

One in every 171 households was foreclosed on, received a default notice or was warned of a pending auction. That was an increase of 121 percent from a year earlier and 14 percent from the first quarter, RealtyTrac Inc. said today in a statement. Almost 740,000 properties were in some stage of foreclosure, the most since the Irvine, California-based data company began reporting in January 2005. Falling home values have prompted RealtyTrac to almost double the projected number of foreclosures this year to about 2.5 million.

Forty-eight of 50 states and 95 of the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas had year-over-year increases in foreclosure filings in the second quarter, RealtyTrac said.

Foreclosures push all home values down by an estimated 6 percent, and will contribute to national prices declining another 15 percent by the end of 2009, Ethan Harris and Michelle Meyer, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. economists in New York, said in a report yesterday. Source: Bloomberg News.

Free Falling

Sales of previously owned homes, which make up most of the housing market, tumbled 2.6 percent in June, nearly double the decline that economists had expected, according to a report released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors, reinforced fears that the weak job market and scarcity of credit are discouraging Americans from purchasing homes. Those who may be in the market for a house may find it more difficult to take out a mortgage.

Sales slowed to an annual rate of 4.86 million, adjusted for seasonal variables. That follows a 2 percent increase in May. Sales declined 3.4 percent in the Midwest. Total sales are 15.5 percent below their level in June 2007.

At the current sales rate, it would take more than 11 months to sell off the current inventory of unsold homes, and some economists thought that estimate may be understated. Values are dropping as well, which is cutting into many homeowners’ equity lines.

Many Americans expect home prices to fall further in the next year, the Realtors group said, which means many would-be buyers are holding out. Source New York Times

I Love A Parade

The city of Minneapolis will celebrate its 150th birthday at tonight's Aquatennial Torchlight Parade.

The parade will include a historic firefighting truck, delegates from five of Minneapolis' Sister Cities on a double-decker bus, and a "Jazzin' Up Minneapolis Neighborhoods" float, sponsored by the Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program.

The people of Minneapolis voted to become a town in 1858 -- the same year that Minnesota became a state.

The CenterPoint Energy Torchlight Parade runs from 8:30 to 10:30 tonight through downtown Minneapolis.

Time Is Running Out!

Don’t let time run out on the BEST opportunity in years to own a home. With low interest rates and a great selection of homes across the Twin Cities, there’s never been a better time to make the move to the home of your dreams! Whether uptown, downtown or clear across town, count on me to find you the PERFECT home.

Got Milk (Cartons)?

Break out the milk cartons and duct tape! It’s time for the Minneapolis Aquatennial and the fan favorite; the milk carton boat race. While the Aquatennial has been around since 1940, the milk carton boat races were started in 1971 when a local advertising agency, trying to increase sales for its client, a milk distributor. Ad executives came up with the crazy idea of attaching together empty milk cartons and floating them on Lake Calhoun.

The largest milk carton boat was made in 1993 by Tetra Pak, a Minneapolis maker of milk cartons. They fashioned a 100 foot long aircraft carrier out of 25,000 milk cartons (and undoubtedly miles of waterproof tape.) The floating carrier was to honor those who had served in Operation Desert storm. nearly 150 people rode on the boat.

Sadly, at the end of the race, local garbage haulers crush the craft in their trucks, creating a fragrant odor of sour milk and lake water.

The Best Days Of Summer

For 68 years the city of Minneapolis (and its lakes) have been host to the Aquatennial, an homage to the "City of Lakes" and an antidote to the long days of winter.

The festival, held this year from July 18th to 27th is always the third full week in July. Early promoters determined years ago that this was the driest week of the summer. But alas, it can also be one of the hottest and stickiest times of a Minnesota summer.

Festivities start of with a massive block party in downtown Minneapolis, and end 10 days later at Midtown Market, sprawling complex of buildings in South Minneapolis that once housed retail giant Sears.

In between are two parades (including a torchlight parade), a tennis tournament, milk carton boat race, speed boat racing, a 5k run and lots and lots of fireworks. In all, there are 70 planned events with many other events that are timed to coincide with the Aquatennial.

If you are planning on visiting the Twin Cities during the Aquatennial, there are thousands of hotel rooms just waiting for you! And don't forget a visit to the largest shopping mall in America, the Mall Of America.

For more information, just click on the the Aquatennial skipper pin and you will be taken to the official Aquatennial website.

Money Money Money

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 11, 2008. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume increased 1.7% from one week earlier. (Short answer, more folks are applying for mortgages). This marks the third week in a row that mortgage applications increased, following last week’s 7.5% increase.

Refinance applications increased 6.9%, Conventional applications increased 1.4% while the Government applications (largely FHA) decreased 8.2%.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 39.2% of total applications from 37.3% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 9.1 from 10.0% of total applications from the previous week.

The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.22% from 6.43%, with points increasing to 1.21 from 1.06 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.

The average interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.74% from 5.94%, with points increasing to 1.13 from 1.10 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.

The average interest rate for one-year ARMs decreased to 7.16% from 7.24%, with points increasing to 0.36 from 0.26 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.

(The average cost of a point is about $1,500)

The survey covers approximately 50% of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. Source RIS Media

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Sales

Remember the old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words”? Well when it comes to selling homes, a picture is literally worth thousands of dollars.

A recent study released by Point2 Technologies, one of the real estate industries largest software provider, strongly suggests that adding more photos generates better response to real estate listings.

With upwards of 80 percent of new home buyers shopping the net first, that first photo impression (and all the ones to follow) are crucial in the sale of a home.

According to the study, listings that did not include any photos performed very poorly, generating little consumer response. Locally, MLS rules require at least one photo with every listing. Listings that featured a single photo fared significantly better.

The study also concluded that the more photos there were in a listing, the greater interest by consumers. Compared to listings with only one photo, those with 21 or more photos generated more than triple the number of “Detailed Views,” more than double the amount of interest, and double the number of leads. Views, interest and leads jumped 20% or more as the number of photos increased from 15 to 16.

Perhaps it’s time that the local MLS boards allows for more than the standard 10 photographs per listing. Or do consumers really want to see 26 photographs of a 2 bedroom home?

Money Money Everywhere

Having trouble selling your home? Have banks been less than receptive to borrowing you money? A recent survey sheds some light on what may prove to be the undoing for any recovery in the home sale industry. .

According to those who have attempted to secure several types of credit and mortgage products over the past year, a majority found it to be more difficult, according to a survey by accounting firm Deloitte.

Of those who applied for a home mortgage, 67 percent found it more difficult, for a home equity line of credit (HELOC), that number was 65 percent. Personal loan applicants weren’t much better off, with 62 percent finding it harder to get credit.

“Given that more than 90 percent of those surveyed believe the U.S. economy is experiencing little or negative growth, it is not surprising that consumers are restricting spending and delaying large purchases,” said Jim Reichbach, Deloitte’s Financial Services industry leader. “Quite simply, they do not want to extend themselves further. At the same time, banks have limited access to credit for some consumers, while more aggressively targeting the better credit-quality consumer.”

Among other findings of the survey:

Three out of four respondents reported they are not at all likely to buy a home in the next year, given the current economic environment, and 69 percent are not at all likely to refinance an existing home. On the other hand, 69 percent are not at all likely to sell a home, potentially pointing to a continued stagnation in the housing market with both buyers and sellers reluctant to make a move.

Of respondents who have a mortgage, 91 percent have made their mortgage payments either early or on time over the past year. There is light at the end of the tunnel, as 62 percent indicated they thought their financial situation would be better, or the same as it is now, by this time next year.

Deloitte commissioned the study from Harris Interactive, interviewing a nationwide sample of 2,019 U.S. adults from June 5 through 9, 2008.

Source: RISS Media

Getting Tangled Up In Tangletown

The Tangletown neighborhood of Minneapolis (named for the tangled street design) is home to a unique water tower.

The Washburn Park Water Tower, was the cooperative venture of three individually distinguished men in their respective fields. Harry Wild Jones, the architect, was responsible for several other notable structures including the Butler Square Building and the Lakewood Cemetery Chapel. The water tower sculptures were designed by John K. Daniels, a well known local artisan, who also designed the milling figures on the Washburn Flour Mills Utility Building. The consulting engineer, William S. Hewitt, was the inventor of the Hewitt System of reinforced concrete construction.

The Washburn Tower suggests a strong medieval feeling; its cylindrical dome is like a Roman warrior’s helmet. Eight hooded knights surround the tower in perpetual vigilance while, overhead, eight eagles stand, as if pausing in flight, atop the evenly spaced pilasters. The 110-foot structure holds 1.35 million gallons of water and still performs its original function in the summer months. Source: City of Minneapolis

8 Simple Steps For Organizing Your Home

Spring is past and we're entering the hot days of summer. If you haven't done your Spring cleaning, here's some handy hints to get it done before the leaves turn golden and the nights turn cool.

Start with a plan. Make a list of projects you want to complete during the year and prioritize them. You don’t have to do everything in one weekend; place yourself so you won’t feel overwhelmed.

Take three simple steps. Every organization project starts with three basic steps: purge the items you no longer want or need, analyze what’s left to determine how you use it and measure the space you have to figure out what will fit where.

When you’re organizing, use a three-box system: keep, discard and don’t know. When you’re finished, seal the don’t know box and put it away. If you haven’t opened it in a year you don’t really need whatever is in there. Throw it away without looking inside.

Clean out the closets. Get everyone in your household involved by competing for the “cleanest closet” award. When organizing a closet, frequency of use is an important consideration. Things you reach for at least once a week should be stored at a height between your shoulders and your knees.

De-clutter the kitchen. The kitchen is often a catch-all for clutter. Review what’s on your counters and move small appliances and cookware you use most often to reach easy cabinets.

Tidy up the bathrooms. Clean out all the drawers and cabinets by tossing out expired products and items you haven’t used in at least a year. Then sort your products in a drawer organizer.

Make laundry day a breeze. Keep a plastic shoe box in the laundry room to store items you find such as lipstick, buttons and money. Set up a three-basket hamper system in your closet or bathroom so you can sort your clothes the moment you take them off, making laundry day that much easier.

Organize your home office. Customizable closet systems are just for bedrooms closets. Lightweight storage bins are great for files you use often and come in decorative canvas, metal, wood and plastic styles.

Don’t forget the basement and garage. Oil drips, grass clippings and tracked-in mud makes basements a garages a challenge to keep clean and organized. The best way to organize these areas is to create “zones” and keep the tools and products you need in their respective zones such as lawn care (mowers, tools, potting soil) car care (antifreeze, oil, car wax) sports equipment/toys, and general

Dating 101; Tips On Selling Your Home

Did you know that Minnesota real estate agents sell over 62,000 homes a year? Some people think that’s a lot. Personally, I wish that number was a lot higher. Because for every home that is sold, there are up to 11 others that either won’t sell immediately or at all. Compounding the problem are the many foreclosed properties that MUST sell, regardless of price.

How can you hope to sell your home in an upside down market? In the old days (last year) the golden word was ‘location, location, location’. Today, the mantra is ‘condition, condition, condition’.

Think of your home much like a newly single person, who is entering the dating market after many years ‘on the sidelines’. We primp and preen, update our look, maybe lose a little weight and change our wardrobe. We end up looking years younger and more desirable than ever.

Well, your home is the same way. Much like someone who is trying to attract a new mate, you are looking for someone to fall in love with your home. With a little paint, and a lot of loving, your house can look better than ever!

Many longtime homeowners probably can’t remember buyers being so picky! But it seems like buyers today have less and less time to make it ‘just right’. It’s up to YOU to make it perfect for the next homeowner

If I had my way, I would personally represent every one of those 62,000 home sellers.

Seriously, I hope you will think of me when you, your friends or relatives are thinking about buying and selling a home.

When Disaster Strikes; Be Prepared

Open the daily paper and you quickly discover that calamity can strike at any moment. Early Spring brings flooding and hot Summer days spawn devastating tornadoes. A forgotten burning candle, children playing with matches or even a small cooking fire that roars out of control can in seconds destroy possessions that have taken a lifetime to acquire.

The short lived disaster can bring years of headaches as afflicted homeowners attempt to prove to their insurers that they really DID own a priceless Ming vase, or even a cupboard full of grandmas china.

Once again the internet comes to the rescue with free home-inventory software to catalog your possessions from grandma’s china to your plasma television.

Download free home-inventory software such as KnowYourStuff.org (www.knowyourstuff.org), a service of the Insurance Information Institute. The software will

help you inventory your home by creating files for individual rooms and adding descriptions of their respective items, including the purchase date, replacement cost and serial number.

You can also upload photos through some services. Scan receipts and appraisals, and include them in your home inventory to prove the value of an item.

For a fee, some sites will store your information on their own computers. Swiss based Vault 24 (www.vault24.com/public) charges $14.99 a year to store a home-inventory project that you can access via its Web site in the event of a disaster.

When taking inventory, you should videotape the exterior and interior of your home, describing each item you see. Store your video or DVD in a safe-deposit box, along with a printed copy of your inventory, and give a second copy to a friend or relative or keep at the office.

The Good The Bad And The Ugly

More bad news in a seemingly bottomless supply of bad news about the housing market was released today. Pending home sales declined more than forecast in May, a sign prices that have been sliding for more than two years have yet to touch bottom.

The index of pending home resales fell 4.7 percent in May. The experts had predicted a more modest drop of 3 percent. Ironically, sales in the City Lakes office of Edina Realty surpassed May 2007 figures. This came on the heels of a 7.1 percent gain in April, so the news is doubly troubling. Pending resales were down 2.0 percent from May 2007 in the Midwest region of the U.S. This is only slightly better than the South, where pending resales were down 7.1 percent.

The prospect of further price declines may be discouraging offers, while rising mortgage rates and tougher lending standards make it harder to qualify for loans.

``Homes are much more affordable, but they'll probably be even more affordable in six months' to 12 months' time, so it makes people reluctant to jump in,'' Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

``The message is that last month's big rise was not the signal that the market is starting to turn around. We've had a big correction this month.''

The pending home resales report is considered a leading indicator because it tracks contract signings.

Information provided by National Association of Realtors and Bloomberg News.

Minneapolis; A World Class City

A Midwestern city already known for its gorgeous city layout and its fine arts community, Minneapolis is experiencing a cutting-edge design boom, from the new Guthrie to the expanded Walker and Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

The blockbuster Guthrie Theater (located in the Mill District along the Mississippi River) is a sight to behold -- a sleek building designed by the architect Jean Nouvel. He was so excited by the Guthrie site—"The Mississippi is mythic in France," he says—he insisted the theater be built 50 feet off the ground, for clear views of the river and those falls. His clients thought the idea was crazy. When Nouvel wouldn't give in, they rented a crane. Up swooped the Guthrie's director, Joe Dowling, in a cherry picker with the architect to check out the vistas. "I was quivering," recalls Dowling, while Nouvel, a bear of a man, puffed a cigar and sang "Old Man River"—in French. "Jean was absolutely right," says the director. "It was extraordinary."

Nouvel got his way, but his daring didn't end with the theater's levitation. He designed a huge drum shape to house the main arena stage, an "endless bridge" that cantilevers 175 feet toward the river and an elevated passageway that connects to the scenery shop built atop a nearby garage. Then he wrapped it all in midnight-blue steel. The result is brazen, outrageous and wonderful—a building as drama queen.

The Walker Art Center, a tour-de-force by avant-garde Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, features a huge silvery cube that seems to hover over the street, has been expanded.

And also in the works is an addition to the Frank Gehry-designed Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, which some say evokes his later, more famous Guggenheim Bilbao.

The city's great art museum, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, just opened its new postmodern Target Wing by Michael Graves, also a popular Target product designer.

Though winters are harsh, Minneapolis is a fantastic place to be outside. Alongside the Mississippi is a series of lakes that wind through downtown, where you can bike, jog, or just hang out. Minneapolis is truly a world class city in the center of Americas heartland.

Happy 4th

Happy Birthday America!

Habit For Humanity: A Worthy Twin Cites Cause

“To eliminate poverty housing from the Twin Cities area and to make decent, affordable shelter for all people a matter of conscience.”

This lofty and ambitious goal is the mission statement for Habitat For Humanity of the Twin Cities, an offshoot of Habitat for Humanity International, a Christian based charity founded in 1976 in Americus, Georgia.

While it’s true that former president Jimmy Carter is the ‘face’ of Habitat, the program was originally founded by Millard and Linda Fuller. The small non-ecumenical based charity has grown to encompass the globe, building houses not only in the United States but also in 90 countries worldwide.

The average cost of a Habitat home can be as little as $800 to over $100,000. The cost of construction is kept low by volunteer labor, donated materials and the rule that no profit is made on the home. One myth about Habitat homes is that they are free. In fact qualified recipients must take out no interest mortgages for the cost of construction and donate time constructing either their home or another Habitat home.

Locally, over 600 families a year apply to purchase a Habitat home. But only 50 families with the greatest need are selected to buy a Habitat home. Today over 687 families have purchased Habitat for Humanity homes in the Twin Cities. And did you know that the average Habitat family has 6 members yet are living on an average income of $28,500? Faced with rising land and construction costs, TC Habitat has switched to mostly building multi-family homes at an average cost of $182,000.

The core of the success of habitat has always been its volunteers. Locally over 20,000 people volunteer each year with over 270 volunteers building up to 20 homes on any given day.

For those who can’t swing a hammer, donations of cash and ‘in-kind’ donations are always accepted. Over 11,000 Minnesotans and 300 corporations and 300 churches donated time and money last year.

Another novel way to help fund Habitat for Humanity while keeping usable construction materials out of landfills is the ‘ReStore’ retail outlet. The Twin Cities Habitat ReStore is a retail outlet where quality new and like-new building materials are sold at discounted prices. The ReStore sells vendor return, scratch and dent, over stock, and items donated by individual donors. There are currently over 400 ReStore outlets across North America. Locally, the ReStore center is located at 501 W. Broadway Ave in North Minneapolis.

To get involved in this very worthwhile charity, call the local Twin Cities chapter at (612) 331-4090 or check out Habitat for Humanity on the web at www.habitat.org. and follow the links to the local chapter.

The Good Old Days

I remember a time when a home was a place to settle down, raise a family and make some memories.

Too often in recent years we have viewed home ownership as a short term investment, complete with double digit rates of returns on investment.

Well, we need to wave goodbye to yesterday and return to the five year rule. What is the five year rule? If you buy a home today, expect to live there at least three to five years if you hope to break even at the time of sale. Never mind double digit profits.

When you view your home less as of a commodity and more of a place to build a life, you will be less concerned about your ‘rate of return’ and more attuned to the important aspects of life.

Just remember, I am always looking for new clients and new home opportunities. If you have friends, co-workers or family who are looking to make some memories of their own, I would appreciate the referral. I promise to treat them right!

All The Rooms Are Round!

While many residents of Calhoun-Isles condominiums (just off Lake Calhoun) think their building is unique, there are in fact three other developments around the world that either utilize or incorporate old grain silos into their construction.

Before the development of the Calhoun-Isles condominiums, there was an equally unique reuse of grain silos in Akron, Ohio. The Crowne Plaza Quaker Square Hotel was constructed out of a cluster of 36 turn-of-the-century grain silos soaring 120 feet tall. Each of the ultramodern guest rooms measure 24 feet in diameter and are perfectly round!

The silos, which once held 1,500,000 bushels of grain, were part of a shuttered Quaker Oats factory. The rest of the factory was converted to shops, restaurants and meeting space.

Waratah Mills is a multi million residential development in Sidney Australia. The 80 year-old former flourmill and grain silo was converted to 84 luxury apartments. The silo buildings all posed unique structural engineering challenges that had to be solved. The exterior of the silo building, a cluster of six, 98 feet high, cylindrical grain silos was retained, with openings for windows and cantilevered balconies cut into the 8 inch thick walls

And after 3 years of delays, an old grain silo and grain elevator in Baltimore now has new life as a luxury condominium complex. Silo Point is a $400-million development on Baltimore's waterfront. The site was once used by the Archer Daniels Midland Company to store corn, soy beans and wheat.

The complex includes several phases. The first was 120 townhouses. The second will include condominiums and retail inside the grain elevator and the third part will be townhouses and apartments. Sadly, some of the silos were torn down after it was determined they wouldn’t be strong enough to support the parking building.

For those on the higher floors it's a chance to have a view that is unmatched in the area. The condominiums also preserve a bit of the feel of the old grain elevator with the concrete floors, high ceilings and exposed ductwork. Other planned amenities include rooftop gardens and a health club. The condo units range in size from 1,800 to 5,000 square feet, and will cost from the low $400,000s to $5 million.