Depot condominium development nears completion

Published 9:25 am Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Bruce Lewis and his wife, Karen, have moved into a train station.

The first to move into the depot-turned-condos, Lewis is one of the developers transforming what were most recently shops into living spaces.

“It’s fun to be back downtown,” Lewis said.

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Work on the building began last fall. The finishing touches, like a courtyard and gates, are being installed, and Lewis said others would probably move in soon.

“We’re really close,” Lewis said. “By the end of this month, we ought to have two or three full-time residents in there.”

The painters have started, and interior construction work of three units is being done.

The depot condos center around a slightly unusual concept, where potential residents buy a finished empty space and design and install the interior walls themselves.

“There’s a different size for each one,” Lewis said. “It’s a concept a number of people suggested would be good. Everybody’s got their own idea of how they want their home laid out.”

People who have shown interest in the project aren’t out-of-towners, he said.

“Most of the people interested in living in the condos are local people,” Lewis said. “A lot of people want to live downtown.”

And they’ll get their wish. Lewis said he hoped within the next three or four weeks, the project would be nearly finished.

Yates McGraw, who owns the other half of the project, said they’ve already sold 11 condos, which sell for about $100 per foot.

He said he has had a lot of interest in the design-your-own condo arrangement.

“They get it designed like they want it instead of a cookie cutter deal,” he said.

“It’s been a major undertaking, and it’s about to come together,” McGraw said.

The next phase of the project is to build two condos on what is now the open-air dock of the depot. After that, they’ll install about three condos on what used to be a gravel parking lot.

McGraw said he hoped to see the entire project completed by the end of the year.