Marselle Condos opened their sales center last weekend. I dropped by yesterday to check out the building. According to the sales center, the building is not affected by Fannie Mae's requirement of 70% presales. Buyers must use their designated lender, Cobalt Mortgage, which will be underwriting the loan (Frontier Bank, the same bank that is financing the project will be funding the loan). The developer's past projects include the Matae in Belltown. You'll see a strong resemblance.
Here is a summary of the Floor plans and pricing:
There are 132 homes in this 7-story building (699 John St). All the one bedroom homes come with one parking spot and the two bedroom homes get two parking spots. Each home will have a storage unit. The developer is covering the homeowner dues for buyers until end of 2010. The homeowner dues will be around 35 cents per square feet but at this point they are not firmed up yet. All homes are set up and pre-wired to be hooked up for an air-conditioning unit if a homeowner elects to do so. In the past, most people didn't opt in for such options but I think more will take advantage of A/C with the hot summer weather we've been getting lately.
I toured a handful of the homes including a one bedroom, one bedroom plus den, two bedroom plus den and a 2 story town home.
Homes on the east side of the building have some neighborhood or/and city views. There are two stacks of floor plans which have windows angled in such a way that you can see the city views which I thought was kind of neat. However, you can certainly hear the traffic noise from Aurora Ave. You get the view(s) but you also get the noise.
Most homes on the southwest side of the building are facing the Hyatt Place Hotel (estimated completion is a year out). You don't have a view but the trade off is you're buying at a much lower price than the east side homes.
My favorite 2 bedroom floor plans are the 04 (west) and 20 (east) stack. The 20 stack has a huge living room with views, 2 big walk-in closets, and 2 full baths. It's a nice layout. As for 04 stack, you need to be on the 6th floor to get views of Queen Anne neighborhood, Space Needle and Lake Union.
There are only 4 two story town homes on the 7th floor. The 2nd level of the town homes are actually on the same level as the community roof top deck. You can also access the roof top deck from your bedroom. I like the tall ceilings in the living room. It gets more view for the home and brings in more light.
Building amenities:
Community Recreation Area with Lounge and Game Room
Fitness Center with State-of-the Art Precor Equipment
Rooftop Garden with Pet friendly Area
Controlled-Acess Parking
Yoga Studio
Billiards Room
Overall, Marselle is like a twin project of Matae but on a larger scale with more selections of floor plans and more views. The finishes used in Marselle is very similar to Matae (walnut hardwood floors throughout living room, dark kitchen cabinetry, and granite countertops).
Related posts:
Seattle Condo Update
Marselle Condos
Marselle & Ruby Update|
Matae
