Holy cow! Talk about a symbol of the destruction that this recession has wrought on uptown, and everywhere.
WCNC reports that the The Vue, once forecast to be the guiding light of the new upscale uptown living scene, is a barely inhabited inside. Fewer than 20 of 408 units have closed.
Dave Hasegawa, one of the few people who own condos there, “pretty much has the entire 8th floor, home to the three-fourths of an acre amenity deck, to himself,” WCNC says.
All of which makes me wonder. If what was supposed to be the hottest residential property uptown, with prices ranging from $249,000 to $2 million, is this desolate, and likely will be for years, what on earth will they build along the new light rail line the city and county are determined to construct? More liquor stores?
And what do the other uptown condo developments look like inside, vacancy wise?
As I pointed out earlier this week, most of the light rail stops outside the immediate uptown sphere, which ends a mile or two after you hit SouthEnd, are a wasteland devoid of development. In fact, you could debate whether the SouthEnd light rail line actually hurt the area, given how many businesses shut down for its construction and never came back.
Whatever the case, given the situation at The Vue, it will probably take over a decade for the condo situation to straighten itself out, not the few years some in the local media keep suggesting.
