Dr. Delores Conway, director of the Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast at the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, is quoted in the May 21, 2009 edition of Los Angeles Downtown News
Barry Shy Just Keeps on Smiling
Los Angeles Downtown News
By Anna Scott
...Barry Shy is one of Downtown's most controversial developers. He is also one of its most prolific. With two recently completed residential buildings and another under construction in the Historic Core, he will add 628 units to the Downtown market in less than a year. This is in the midst of the most severe recession in decades, one in which several Downtown Los Angeles developers have seen their profit margins shrink or, worse, have filed for bankruptcy...
...In interviews with Los Angeles Downtown News, local real estate agents, brokers and residents have accused Shy of everything from overcharging for parking to shoddy construction work. Shy acknowledges the critiques, though he maintains that his current projects are high quality. What is indisputable is that despite the economy, Barry Shy just keeps building, and his projects attract residents. The 3-month-old SB Main is nearly half full, with 100 units leased, said Shy, and while the weeks-old SB Spring only has four tenants so far, Shy said it is garnering interest.
The key, not surprisingly, is price. Downtown rents currently average $2.19 per square foot, said Dolores Conway, director of USC's Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast. Shy's new buildings run about $1.33-$2 per square foot...
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