The 11-story building on North Lamar Boulevard at Ninth Street has topped out and is 65% to 75% complete, Barnstone tells GlobeSt.com. The first residents should move into their condominiums in mid-summer with most tenants in by fall. He says 75 of the 95 units have been sold and reservations have been made for two or three others.
The softening market helped unit sales, he says. Several similar projects launched at about the same time as the Nokonah. Those projects were postponed as Austin's economy slowed, leaving the Nokonah the only condo project going. The Plaza Lofts, a 12-story project at Fifth and Guadalupe streets, also is nearing completion.
"In an ironic way, the softness of the market has helped us because we have no competition," Barnstone says. "We're it."
He says residents range in age from 23 to 85 and include company board members and executives who run companies, law school students and a professional bicycle rider. "We have six professors from the University of Texas," he adds.
One of the biggest factors attracting tenants has been the project's location, Barnstone says. "It's very pedestrian-friendly." Residents can walk next door to the Whole Foods Market grocery and to several restaurants and fitness clubs.
Construction began in late 2000 with initial work on a three-level underground parking garage. Barnstone is developing the Nokonah with partner Perry Lorenz.
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