8/1/2009 6:00:00 AM Plan to turn condos into apartments
Chuck Elliot, owner of the Foxboro Commons buildings near Wolfe Street, wants to switch condominiums to apartments for rent after the buildings sat empty for about a year-and-a-half.
Three years ago, developer Chuck Elliott had big dreams for his two-building Foxboro Commons project.
Located south of the intersection of Wolfe and Janesville streets, the three-story Commons included 40 condo units, about 25,000 square feet of first-floor retail space and 60 stalls of underground parking.
But amid a faltering economy, the project didn't take off as planned. For a year-and-a-half, the two buildings sat empty.
"That was a pretty expensive lesson," Elliott told members of the Oregon Plan Commission last Thursday.
But last June, Elliott opted to switch 20 condos in the building closest to Wolfe Street to apartments. All 20 rented out in seven months, he said.
Now, Elliott wants to do the same to the second building, where construction crews will finish off the interior by the end of August.
Besides renting the 20 units on the top two floors, he also got a nod from planners to alter most of the ground floor from retail to apartment space, which will add another 10 apartments to the total project. The outside of the building won't change.
He expects the remaining units could be snapped up by renters six months after carpenters wrap up the finishing touches.
"These are upscale units," he said. "We've had a lot of interest."
To make the change official, Elliott still needs to submit his revised plans to village officials for approval. He's also scheduled to meet with the Village Board at its Aug. 3 meeting.
Elliott had considered switching the entire ground floor of the second building to apartments, but commissioners last Thursday asked him to keep about 2,000 square feet open for commercial use, and they requested that he open the ground-floor apartments up for retail again if the economy improves.
Currently, only one commercial spot is taken in the first building - Restaino Bunbury and Associates rents an 837-square foot unit visible from Wolfe Street.
Elliott said that nearly two years ago, several companies were poised to fill much of the remaining retail space. But when the economy dropped off, they backed out.
"They just went one by one," he said. "Things have changed."
