The project was begun in 2005. Now, with the grand opening set for March 26, developer Corporex Cos. has sold 54 of the 70 units in the building. The condos range in price from the some of the first units sold, about $395,000, to the $5.5 million penthouses. The lowest-priced condo now available is $880,000, says a Corporex spokeswoman. "The first closings started two weeks ago," she tells GlobeSt.com. "Our average unit price is about $1 million."
The property is really one of a kind. Libeskind, known for his designs of the Jewish Museum in Berlin and his award of the World Trade Center Memorial work, has put together a steel-and-glass tower with a sloping 10-story roof. The building is designed to be the best in the market, the spokeswoman says, and includes amenities such as a theater, private dining club, library, art gallery, a private car service and assigned storage space in a wine cellar. "People in Cincinnati have taste just as sophisticated as in the coastal markets," the spokeswoman says. "The condo market here is just like the rest of the US, not the most robust market ever, but we've made the Ascent truly different. Construction costs were twice the cost for a normal condo building. On the coasts, the units in this building would be more than 10 times the price."
She says the outside of the structure and most of the units inside are complete, and the entire building, with the exception of penthouse finishings, should be ready by the time of the grand opening. Until then, she's banned press cameras from the interior. "We don't have all the Italian furniture for our lobby yet."
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