Demand drives Toll to build anew at Naval Square - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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Despite the housing slump, the project began in Marcn as the developer managed to sell out on its firsg phase of the defying doldrums plaguing the residential realestats market. Kicking off a new phas e of the project comes as housing start nationally plunged tohistoric lows, according to the latestr data from the U.S. Commerce Housing starts fell by 12.8 percen in April to which is considered the lowest since the governmentf began tracking the data 50years ago. “It’ss unique,” said Chuck Breder, division vice president with Toll. “Evej though we don’t have the investodr market, the sales pace over the last three years has beenprettgy constant.
” Toll began selling the first which consisted of 345 condominiums, at the end of 2004 and sold on averags 70 units each Breder said. The second phass consists of four buildingsa with 220 condosand separately, a collection of 74 Buyers have shown an interes t in the units, with Toll selling 10 townhousess in the last two months. The project also includes a 2,000-square-fooft fitness and community center. Toll isn’t seeing sales activity like this at all of its communitiesa and has taken a beating on its Last week it reporter that it saw itsfiscal second-quarter loss lessen to $83.2 or 52 cents a share, which includede pre-tax write-downs totaling $119.65 million.
During the comparable period last Toll reporteda $93.7 million, or 59 cents a loss that included pre-tax write-downs totalingf $288.1 million. Revenue for the quarter came inat $398.43 million, a plunge of 51 percent. One aspecrt of the project that has kept buyerds traffic strong and steady is that Navao Square hasa suburban-like setting that has attracted suburbanite s used to large yards and thosr with dogs who want room for them to The development sits on 20 has mature trees and an abundance of green Toll also hasn’t had to drop asking prices on the condos durinf the past two years as the housing market tanked. “There’se been minimal discounting,” he said.
“It’s alwaysa been right priced and we adjusted prices a couplre ofyears ago. Depending on the size of a prices have rangedfrom $245 to $355 a squard foot. Phase two will complete Naval Square, which Toll bought in 1987. The propert y at 24th and Bainbridge streets is a National Historivc Landmark and the first home ofthe U.S. Navao Academy. The property had been vacant since 1977 before Toll bought it from thefederal government.