BCN Taps Tishman to Build Libeskind-Designed Tower

Nassi tells GlobeSt.com he chose Tishman for the $97-million construction management contract because of their experience and expertise. Among Tishman's current projects are 7 World Trade Center in Manhattan and Project City Center, the $5-billion, 4,000-unit Las Vegas Strip development by MGM Mirage. "They are the best high-rise builders out there," says Nassi.

The luxury high rise is under construction at 600 Capitol Mall, where a $1-million sales center was recently opened. Common area amenities will include: a pool and hot tub, terrace bar and landscaped roof garden; indoor and outdoor Yoga areas; an outdoor fire pit; humidors and wine storage for residents; private movie screening room; separate his and-hers spa facilities; fitness center; business center; and two luxury hotel suites for owners' guests.

Aura's 265 units will range in size from 746 sf to more than 3,000 sf and be outfitted with Bulthaup kitchens, Miele and Sub-Zero appliances and glass-railed terraces with panoramic views. Nassi tells GlobeSt.com that sales prices are coming in at around $650 per sf, which equates to a gross sales price in the $200-million range. Nassi is using in-house brokers to sell the units but is paying commissions to outside brokers who bring in buyers.

In addition to the residential, Nassi says Aura will have 14,000 sf of street-level retail that likely will include an upscale coffee shop and a "very-high-end" restaurant. Jeredith Duvall of TRI Commercial has the leasing assignment.

The construction lender is Corus Bank. The equity required for the loan is coming from Nassi and unnamed private equity partners. Nassi says he is still exhausting the equity and will begin spending Corus' money around January. The Web site is www.auracondos.com.

Aura is one of only a few residential developments in the US designed by Libeskind, whose resume includes high-profile projects all over the globe. In the past year alone, Libeskind has been tapped to design a variety of commercial, residential and cultural projects in Sri Lanka, Warsaw, Toronto and Singapore.

Prior to a weekend sales event in early May, all 265 units had been reserved with $5,000 refundable deposits. At the event, where buyers had to put down a 15% non-refundable deposit, most of the units were sold. The only thing holding up a sell-out was a lack of brokers to write up contracts, Nassi says. In the end, however, he decided to hold back some of the unsold units until construction began.

In explaining his decision to sell most of the units prior to construction despite the high demand, Nassi told GlobeSt.com he'd "rather take a nickel now than a dime later because markets change. We're at a point now where there's pent-up demand."

Indeed, Nassi is not the only one developing high-rise residential near the state capitol in Downtown Sacramento. Developer John Saca recently inked a $375-million construction loan for a $500-million 54-story twin-tower hotel and condo development that will include some 700 residential units, retail space and a 276-unit four-star hotel. About 200 buyers have put up non-refundable deposits for units ranging in price from $300,000 to more than $1 million.

The California Public Employees Retirement System has put up $100 million of equity. Saca is funding the remainder of the equity requirement. The lender is Germany-based Deutsche Bank. Construction is set to begin later this year. Move-in is slated for late 2007.

Meanwhile, Nassi is looking to repeat the success of the first Libeskind-designed tower with a second one. Planned for the corner of I Street and 12th, about 12 blocks away from Aura, Nassi says the project is in the pre-construction prerelease phase and should break ground about one year from now.