Plans to finish the Centerpoint towers in downtown Tempe are moving forward with a focus on getting students to move into the condominiums when they open next year.
After several delays, the Centerpoint Condominiums off Mill Avenue acquired a new owner last week and renovations and construction are expected to begin in October.
State Press Television By Blake Wilson
The new owner of the towers, Ohio-based real estate company Zaremba Group, plans to attract college students and young professionals to the complex, said Kent Chantung, director of development for Zaremba Group.
Leasing will start early next year before Centerpoint is open to move in, he said.
“We’re going to start [renovating] in October and finish next August,” Chantung said.
The first tower will be completed by March 2011 and the second will be finished August 2011, he said.
The Zaremba Group bought the towers for $30 million on Saturday after they failed to sell in an April auction.
Construction of the towers was halted for almost two years after the previous owner, Mortgage Ltd., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2008, Chantung said.
He said he saw a great opportunity in the Centerpoint towers about three years ago.
“I always thought that Tempe was a community we needed to be a part of,” Chantung said.
Before Mortgages Ltd. filed for bankruptcy, one of the senior project managers contacted Chantung to help the developer out, but it was difficult to add another partner to the project, he said.
Now, years later, Zaremba Group was able to purchase them because they were able to prove that not only were they able to buy them, but they were also able to finish the project, Chantung said.
“We’re going to finish it from where it’s standing now,” he said.
Tower one, with 189 units, is 90 percent complete, and tower two, with 186 units, is about 60 percent complete, Chantung said.
Most of the rooms in tower one need a cosmetic fix, such as handles on the cabinets, while rooms in tower two need to be completely constructed.
Nancy Hormann, president and executive director of the Downtown Tempe Community, thinks having the towers completed will be great for Tempe.
“You’re going to add at least 400 people who will be living down here 24/7,” Hormann said. “It creates more business.”
Nate Pile, construction project manager for Zaremba Group, thinks students would love to live at Centerpoint.
“I live in a house and every single time I come here, it’s like, ‘This is better than mowing a lawn,’” Pile said.
There will be plans to have a restaurant and a small grocery store in tower one, he said.
Level seven of tower one will have a gym, tanning rooms and televisions lining the walls, Pile said.
In between both towers, there will be a pool, beach area, barbecues and hot tubs, he said.
On level seven of tower two, he said they plan to have study areas for students, conference rooms and a game room.
Units of different sizes will be available with one to four bedrooms, and some larger units will take up entire floors of the tower, Pile said.
Residents will have views of “A” mountain, Tempe Town Lake and Mill Avenue, depending on where their rooms are located.
“The whole marketing campaign will be younger, edgier and sexier,” Chantung said.
The Zaremba Group will have competitive pricing against Vista Del Sol and The Vue on Apache, and Block 1949 on University Drive and Smith Road, he said.
Reach the reporter at mpareval@asu.edu
