Milwaukee-based Mandel Group Inc. announced recently that it has successfully completed the sellout of two downtown condominium developments, The Point on the River and Rivercrest.
The Point on the River at 106 W. Seeboth St. consists of 147 condominium homes and was the subject of a receivership in early 2008. Mandel coordinated development, construction and sales efforts to complete the unfinished project on behalf of the receiver.
Rivercrest is a 40-unit bluffside development along the Milwaukee River, at the northern end of the Beerline B neighborhood.
The combined sales of both developments exceeded $65 million.
“It was a bit of a challenge selling into the market conditions we’ve had for the past few years,” said JoAnne Marks, condominium sales manager at Mandel Group. “Buyers were able to realize some tremendous values while the market was bottoming, buying into homes that they couldn’t otherwise afford.”
The Point on the River anchors a now-bustling area just south of downtown at the confluence of the city’s rivers, a turnaround story in the context of the worst condominium market ever experienced in downtown Milwaukee.
In May 2008, Mandel Group was selected by the court-appointed receiver, Michael S. Polsky, to devise and execute a recovery strategy for the half-completed development.
Completion of The Point on the River was funded by a consortium of banks involved with the original construction financing for the project. Many of the participating banks further provided favorable mortgage loan financing for qualified buyers.
“Once an offer was written and accepted, the real work involved aligning financing, appraisal, and title insurance services. None of the closings were conventional in nature”,. Marks said.
Mandel Group has been developing condominiums in downtown Milwaukee since 1994.
“A lot of people have bought at a very advantageous price in the current down cycle,” said Robert Monnat, chief operating officer at Mandel Group. “It will be interesting to see what the recovery looks like, and how quickly values and prices return to more realistic metrics.”
