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III
<br /> FROM PAGE 1B
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<br /> ing good. Renters, who come o,itr'''---. . •' ..,,-'4.g.--,--,--„,.„.
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<br /> and go more quickly, have less - -_.. .
<br /> of a stake in the community .' r "::0,';'-,
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<br /> "Those buildings are very �,«z4. •.. • ' -` ..
<br /> attractive.You might guess they r" .;-'4' .
<br /> were townhomes,but you would a>>:44'
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<br /> look twice and wonder," said
<br /> "�
<br /> Judy Tschumper, economic SCOTT TAKUSHI,PIONEER PRESS
<br /> development director for Matthew Swaney's office at Minnesota Mortgage Financial
<br /> Burnsville. Corporation looks typical, but it is part of a homey "office condo,"
<br /> Office condos had a surge in with self-contained entrances and bathroom and kitchen areas. His
<br /> popularity in the 1970s, then employer, Minnesota Mortgage Financial Corporation, moved to
<br /> faded, according to one of Gug- the Burnsville office condo in July from a rented office in St. Paul.
<br /> gisberg's neighbors, Steve
<br /> Gaertner,owner of the Minneso-
<br /> ta Mortgage Financial Corp. as if sweeping a floor. Gaertner 2,700 to 5.000 square feet.
<br /> Typically, earlier office con- paid about $500,000 for a three- The homey look isn't just
<br /> . dos were in high-rise buildings story,3,700-square-foot condo. more attractive, said Stella.
<br /> in the core cities. But several Thornton gave a tour of the "That's probably the cheapest
<br /> years ago, office-space land- new business town-offices last way to build them," he said.
<br /> lords started noticing that week. With wooden construction and
<br /> demand for rental space was "The design is very anti-city, peaked roofs rather than flat,
<br /> drying up. anti-mall," said Thornton. Dri- leak-prone roofs, costs are .
<br /> A lot of the small users ving in from Portland Avenue, lower. And the units are small
<br /> were disappearing," said Tom the homey image is boosted by enough so elevators are not
<br /> Stella of United Properties, an the low-key signs. The phone- required.
<br /> expert on the local office condo book-sized signs by each The units are too new to
<br /> market. "Where were they entrance are the only hint that a know about a potential draw-
<br /> g0ll1g?" business, not a family, lives back—resale values.
<br /> The answer was suburban there. "They are so popular there is
<br /> office condos. Customers park right by the a huge threat of overbuilding,"
<br /> Low interest rates were the front door of each unit. There's said Stella "When a business
<br /> catalyst. Just as cheap loans no shared hallway— each unit outgrows the space and wants
<br /> encourage renters to buy their is self-contained, with a bath- to sell, can they maintain their
<br /> first homes, they've inspired room and kitchen area. value?"
<br /> businesses to buy homes of Walking into Laker Software, Dunsmore had the same
<br /> their own. Thornton explained that they warning. He said the key ele-
<br /> Gaertner moved in July from are all custom-built, with cubi- ment for getting good resale
<br /> a rented office in St. Paul. "This cies and floor and wall cover- value out of the condos was —
<br /> is a much better deal.When you ings picked by the owner. Buy- you guessed it—location.
<br /> rent, that money is out, out, ers can adjust the size of their But the current owners
<br /> out," he said, waving his hands offices,usually within a range of aren't too worried. "If we could
<br /> get(potential buyers)in here to
<br /> see the view, they'd be dead,"
<br /> said Guggisberg.
<br /> • Bob Shaw can be reached at
<br /> bshaw@pioneerpress.com or 651- ,
<br /> 1 ' 225-5433.
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