Downtown condo tour taking a more modest approach
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 at 01:00PMPittsburh Post-Gazette - May 20, 2009
By Mark Belko
In a concession to the times, luxury's out, spartan's in when more than 150 people gather today for the annual walk and dine tour Downtown.
Gone, for the most part, will be visits to high-end condo projects such as Piatt Place, the Carlyle, and 151 First Side. Instead, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership plans to highlight apartment units that rent as low as $500 a month and condos that sell for as little as $44,900 as part of the offerings.
A recession tour, perhaps?
"I don't know if I would put it that way," said Hollie Geitner, the partnership's spokeswoman. "But a lot of people are using [the recession] as a marketing tool."
That's not to say the sixth annual event will be for penny-pinchers only. After all, one of the stops will be the new Three PNC Plaza building, where condos start at $514,500 and climb as high as $2.5 million to $3 million for an entire floor -- not exactly bargain basement.
Still, the partnership, in crafting this year's tour, sought to showcase "the variety of price points" available Downtown to buyers and renters.
"Given the economy, we're hearing more and more from people who are interested in living Downtown but who say 'I can't afford to.' The goal is to show people there are a lot of options you can afford," Ms. Geitner said.
Along those lines, one stop will be the 60-unit Century Building on Seventh Street, where one-bedroom apartments will range from $534 to $1,250 a month and two-bedrooms from $1,250 to $1,475 a month.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09140/971306-53.stm#ixzz0GTmkd5HD&B
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