555YVR Seeing Strong Activity, Closing Deals

WALNUT CREEK, CA- The first residents of downtown Walnut Creek’s newest condominium residences are moving in. Called 555YVR, the $45-million, 87-unit project was entitled and financed in 2006 and broke ground in 2007. Then Lehman Brothers collapsed this time last year, triggering an economic and financial crisis that among many other things has significantly lowered property values.

Now, instead of the 30%-plus return on investment that condo developers had come to expect in the Heyday, 555YVR developer Thompson Dorfman Partners, its equity partner and its lender are hoping there will be an ROI, period. “Sales prices are approximately 20% off pro forma,” Bruce Dorfman tells GlobeSt.com. “Fortunately, our equity partner Mass Mutual and construction lender Bank of America have been cooperative–they are professional and experienced in this business.”

When the market began tanking last fall, TDP suspended their marketing and sales efforts, making do with a web site and a sign on the building that drove people to the web site. “We had no active marketing presence until we completed and building and had units people could tour,” Dorfman says. “It helped us; it preserved marketing dollars and alleviated the issue of having to keep buyers on board throughout the downturn.”