Condo life's appeal grows in Nashville area

Gary Ashton was perfectly happy living in a house surrounded by 5 acres of land, at least until he discovered the lock-and-leave lifestyle of owning a condominium.

"The thing about having 5 acres is you have to maintain 5 acres," said Ashton, who joined the growing number of downsizing baby boomers and young professionals who have breathed new energy into the Nashville region's condominium market.

After renting an apartment for several months to test drive the neighborhood, Ashton, a Re/Max Elite Realtor, purchased a condo in the Icon building in the Gulch. He is so happy with his decision he bought the residence next door with the idea of combining the two units.

"I love it. It's like a village lifestyle. I can go to the pool, stay at home and watch soccer, or walk to the pub and different restaurants," he said.

Downsizers, millennials and 'youngers'

As demand grows for residences in existing condos — including Adelicia, Icon, Terrazzo, Encore, Viridian and others — developers are paying attention. For the first time since the recession, a condo high-rise is being built in Nashville's Gulch district. The Twelve Twelve building began as an apartment tower but was quickly converted to condominiums.

Construction is still underway, but nearly 80 of its 286 units, representing $55 million in value, have already been snapped up by eager buyers.

"It didn't surprise me," said the building's developer, Ray Hensler, who previously developed the Adelicia condominiums in Midtown. Demand is stronger than in the early 2000s when downtown condos were first introduced in the city.

"What's emerging is a growing demographic interested in downtown living that really did not exist in 2005," he said. "It's almost a form of micro-housing for boomers" who are downsizing from a 5,000-square-foot house in the suburbs to a 2,000-square-foot condominium.

In Germantown on the north side of downtown, all of the 342 residences in the historic Werthan Lofts building on Rosa Parks Boulevard have been converted from apartments into condominiums. That marked the first time in recent years that a large block of condos hit the market.

"Demand has been good," said Mark Deutschmann, president of Werthan Lofts developer Core Development Services. The final group of 98 apartments was converted early this year, and 57 are already under contract.

Condos are especially popular with downsizers and two age groups that Deutschmann calls the "millennials and the youngers," who were born after the early 1980s and are now in the housing market.

"The surrounding area is their living room. Germantown's restaurants, Sulphur Dell (site of the new Nashville Sounds ballpark), greenways. That's a pretty good front yard," he said.

Not just downtown

Downtown isn't the only place condominiums are in demand. Foxland Harbor, the lakeside golf community in Gallatin, has plans for 70 residences. They will be located in seven five-story buildings on the shores of Old Hickory Lake.

At 2,100 to 2,400 square feet, the residences will be larger than many urban condos, but they will provide the same lock-and-go lifestyle, said Joe Godfrey, president of the Foxland Harbor Golf and Country Club.

The condos will be similar to the villas sold at Foxland Harbor by Goodall Homes, which have proved popular with downsizers, he said.

"They're selling them out," Godfrey said. "Look around. Condos are becoming more popular as people downsize from a big house but want something comfortable."

Vanessa Falk, who owns a 16th-floor residence in the Adelicia, said some of her neighbors are considering moving to Twelve Twelve, where they would live in a new building with a trendy address. Those who do sell would also benefit from rising prices, which have soared at Adelicia as demand has grown.

"The way condo prices have gone, it's enticing to list it," Falk said.

Reach Bill Lewis at 615-262-5862 or wlewis77229@comcast.net.