sunflowery's Diaryland Diary
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We Won't Be Living on Cloud 9
This is where we went to look at the Cloud 9 Condos: 
Does it look like an office building to you? That's because it is. The owners of this building turned it into luxury/upscale condos. A very interesting idea, and yet, not so much for us.
When we got there, we found that the building is still very much under construction and the entrance they were using was not handicapped accessible. In fact, there was a staircase to the main area. Not the best planning or foresight in my opinion. Hello! It's 2004, you would think they would have this covered. I know their target demographic was young and upcoming 20 somethings and some D.I.N.K.S., but HELLO!
Anyway, we finally got into the building and to floor 10. The floorplans were interesting. The kithen, dining, and living rooms were all open. There were 10 foot ceilings and LARGE windows. The kitchens had scandinavian-type cabinetry, stainless steel appliances, and sleek modern lighting. The bedrooms had a wall of glass and glass doors separating it from the main living area. The bathrooms had 2 sink vanities, large soaking tubs and a separate glass steam shower. They were nice spaces, but so not me and Bob. They were too sleek, too modern, and too closed in. If they had had patios/balconies, it would have been better. Also, with all the windows and glass, I couldn't imagine the cost of draperies and curtains for this place.
We moved from space to space, noticing that the doorways and hallways of the homes were not very wide and definitly not handicapped easy. I am sure if we had wanted to purchase one, we could have it made accessible, but we just weren't thrilled.
Another un-thrilling thing is that all the floors were concrete and the brochures they put out claimed this was an ammenity. We did find out later that you could upgrade to wood floors if you wanted. Ummm..YES!
Anyway, we left the models and went to the party area. I felt so left out. There was a DJ spinning techno on one side, an open bar on the other and a bunch of pretty, pretty 20 somthings and D.I.N.K.S in the middle. I felt like I had wandered into the set of Sex and the City. We were done.
On the way out we talked about what we saw and agreed it wasn't us at all, but it was impressive none the less. We also agreed that when you live in MN, there is really no foreseen reason you should choose to live in a highrise with no contact to the outdoors. This isn't New York City people.
Then we saw the price sheet. A condo with 636 square feet costs $135,000. Our apartment has more sq ft than that. Granted we are renting the apartment, but I can't imagine spending over $100,000 for 636 sq ft. Plus $130 per month for association fees. It was just so pricey. They are obviously targeting the young, hip, trendy and weathy people.
The other thing I struggle with in a place like that is if we ever were to consider buying such a place, how would Bob get out in an emergency? Unless we made sure we lived on the main floor. But he really liked the views and hates living on the main floor. He says he hates it because it reminds him he's handicapped and limited in his choices.
Anyway, that was our experience checking out Cloud 9 Flats. If you live in the West Twin Cities Metro area, you can see the building if you drive North from the Crosstown on Hwy 169. It is the large green glass building on your left just after Bren Rd. It used to be the Gateway building. Now, it's Cloud 9.
The fun thing that happened was that Bob suggested we start going to some open houses in the future. Yay! Nothing I love more than snooping in other people's homes at open houses. Whoo hoo!
6:07 p.m. - Tuesday, Jul. 13, 2004
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