'Condo market's in the toilet'
Wow. One doesn't run across a quote like that very often. In this morning's Star Tribune, John Cox, a Champlin city official, complains about the lack of progress he's had at bringing an urban-like development to his suburb. "The condo market's in the toilet right now," he said. Other suburban government types weren't quite as blunt about the failed or halted efforts at creating mini-downtowns in Roseville, Anoka, Lino Lakes, Ramsey and other suburbs, but most of those "urban village" projects have hit bumps in the road. More evidence of the condo skid: In its Friday print edition, The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported on doubts surrounding a luxury condo development called Two Twenty Two. Located at the corners of Washington and Hennepin avenues in Minneapolis, the original plan called for 290 pricey condos stacked on top of a Whole Food store on the site of the current Jaguar car dealership. "We're re-evaluating," said Don Milliken of Milliken Development.