In 2009, the Tower at Carnegie Abbey was brand-new and ready for buyers to move in. Ten years later, it is finally starting to attract residents.
“Right now is probably the busiest we’ve been,” said Kevin Caulfield, a managing director at Compass Development, the firm handling most of the building’s listings.
About 20 individual owners have closed on units, leaving nearly 60 condos still empty, according to the tower’s property manager, Bryan L. Stovall.
The 22-story tower, the tallest in Portsmouth, stood empty for the better part of a decade after opening as the Great Recession hit and the housing market began to plunge.
Its developer, J. Brian O’Neill, no longer has ties to the tower after falling into a series of financial difficulties related to building expenses.
In a deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure transaction, Ullico Insurance Co. assumed ownership of 64 condos, and Amalgamated Bank got four.
While O’Neill’s original asking prices for the 79 luxury condos inside the tower ranged from $15 million for the penthouse to $1 million or more for smaller units, current prices are much lower.
Its price tag slashed to $4 million, the penthouse is still up for sale, but other condos are selling, said Stacie Mills, real estate broker and owner at Vanderbilt International Properties in Newport.
“There’s some great deals right now. There are some steals in the tower,” Mills said, pointing out that a few units are priced at about $400,000.
‘They delivered this building in the middle of an economic crisis.’
KEVIN CAULFIELD, Compass Development managing director
Her company has a sale pending for a 2,850-square-foot unit listed at $1.5 million. Expected to close in November, the condo is being sold by a former tower resident.
Compass was tasked in 2017 with marketing the units belonging to Ullico. The New York-based real estate brokerage firm’s Boston office has sold most of the listings that have closed, Caulfield said.
Interest in the building, with its panoramic views of Narragansett Bay and high-end amenities, has increased now that a pricey prerequisite for ownership has been dropped.
Located on the grounds of the former Carnegie Abbey Club, the tower’s residents were once required to purchase membership in the adjacent golf club, where initiation fees were once as much as $175,000.
Now called The Aquidneck Club, the new owners no longer force membership on condo owners.
A number of factors were likely to blame for the lack of buyers in the tower’s early years, chief of which was timing, Caulfield said.
“They delivered this building in the middle of an economic crisis. … I think a lot of the issues there stemmed from the developer … and people got that sense,” Caulfield said. “Everything there now is in good shape, and I think we’re about to get to a point where people are ready to hit fast.”
In addition to purchasing the land where the Carnegie tower and a number of residential lots now sit, O’Neill assumed the lease for the 300-acre former Carnegie Abbey Club from its founder, Peter de Savary, in 2004.
Mills worked with de Savary at the Carnegie Abbey Club, and stayed on for a brief time under O’Neill’s ownership.
She said more than 30 units were sold on a presale basis before the tower was complete, but many of the deals ultimately fell through.
“It was on a roll, but O’Neill started to redesign it. By the time he finished it, the market had changed drastically,” she said. “Now [the market is] kind of rebuilding again.”
As the tower continues to attract attention, its discounted prices will go up, Stovall said.
“It’s not an if, it’s a when,” he said. “There’s not a doubt in my mind [the building will fill up].”
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Graham@PBN.com.