How Much Is That Condo With The Windows?

O.K., let's let Bob's FEIR do the talking.

Below is a pricing chart found in the Ponte Vista Final Environmental Impact Report.

I am using it to let all of you consider whether you could afford a unit at Ponte Vista.

Please click on the chart to enlarge and please pay particular attention to the bottom of the chart.

When you look at the chart and pay attention to the three 'Pricing Contingencies' at the bottom, you might get confused, or you might understand perfectly what you are reading.

Pricing Contingency 1 allows for the applicant to vary the price plus or minus 5%, depending on what?

It is very correct to state that the prices are not intended as guarantees.

Bob's Outreach Team has announced plans for rebates and something called something like 'Harbor Area First'.

I wonder if someone who lives in Rancho Palos Verdes would get a rebate or be eligible for 'Harbor Area First'?

A strong Ponte Vista supporter like Ms. Viramontes lives in R.P.V. and when I first heard about the special pricing for "San Pedro" residents, then "Harbor Area" residents, no mention of R.P.V. residents was heard.

Pricing Contingency 2 stated that the estimates for pricing per square foot are based on "current construction costs".

It appears that the figures quoted for construction costs are from 2006 Engineering Indexes and may be underestimated.

However, in my talking to several contractors, they feel a great condominium project could be built somewhere in the neighborhood of $370-$400 per square foot.

Pricing Contingency 3 states that "all estimates assume the project will be comprised of 2,300 units as described in the Draft EIR."

Didn't Bob lower the number of units in a November 2007 application to 1,950?

If he keeps the construction standards he set in his first plan, might the actual pricing for units in the lower number of condos be greater?

After all, so many supporters claim that the lower number of units built would mean each unit would be more expensive.

In fact, that is one of the big arguments supporters have about building single-family, detached houses. The fewer number of units, the more costly each unit becomes.

So it should be somewhat reasonable to consider that if fewer units than 2,300 are built, each unit would have a higher price, even though construction costs for the overall build out may be less.

Now lets think about Homeowner Association Dues.

To consider what they might be for units at Ponte Vista, we can look to further than to Playa Vista, not so far away.

For a 642 square foot, one bedroom, one bath unit listed at $345,000 at Playa Vista, the current dues are $520 per month.

The HOA dues at Playa Vista are dependent on the size and price of the unit one purchases.

The highest dues level shown at Playa Vista is $987 per month.

It is probably more reasonable to consider HOA dues comparable to Playa Vista than the $450 per unit in column one and the $330 minimum dues in column two are understated to what they may actually be.

The information about the HOA dues at Playa Vista and possible dues at Ponte Vista are contained in a letter sent to the Planning Department by the Chair of the CAC which I was a member of, until I accepted a spot on the R.P.V. Traffic Safety Commission.

At the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council meeting, Ms. Diana Nave read the calculation that suggested that a 600 square foot, loft or studio unit at Ponte Vista would cost a buyer about $2,600 per month.

Who among us would pay $2,600 per month for a studio or loft unit where it is called 'workforce housing', 'housing for first-time home buyers', or a home for a young family?

"20%" of the total number of units at Ponte Vista would be set aside as "work force housing" according to Ponte Vista Vice-President Ms. Elise Swanson.

So 390 units would be the type of housing the Outreach Team is hyping, along with Senior units.

Or is the "work force housing" actually only 220 units because of the 850 Senior units that might not be included in the "20%"?

I hope I can get a clarification on that soon to update this blog.

Would there be any "work force housing" in the age-restricted portion of the project?

Many of our more aged members of OUR community still work very well or they will need a job late in life to be able to pay for a Senior unit at Ponte Vista.