With lending tight for condos, developer turns to townhomes

The Cottages at Southfork were designed five years ago to comprise more than 100 condominiums on Southfork Avenue, off South Sherwood Forest Boulevard. Since then, developer Nick FaKouri has built 40 condos and sold 37. FaKouri, president of Tower Capital Corp., still wants to build 67 more units. To do that, he has devised a new strategy: Build townhomes rather than condominiums, “which makes them easier to finance,” FaKouri says. “It’s all about getting easier financing to homeowners.” When the recession hit, home lending tightened up. But it got especially tight, FaKouri says, for condos. That’s because condo buyers own only a percentage of the ground under their home and surrounding commons area. If 100 condos had been built and sold at The Cottages, then each buyer would own 1% of the grounds. “You go into a whole other category with condo financing,” FaKouri says. On Monday, FaKouri will go before the city-parish Planning Commission and ask to change the zoning of The Cottages from high-density residential to single-family townhouse. If approved, FaKouri will build townhomes each measuring 1,250 square feet—in contrast to the condo range of 1,300 to 1,500 square feet—with one garage rather than two. Like the condos, the townhomes will be two-bedroom, two-bathroom units and will stay within the price range of $125 to $135 per square foot. “The whole key is to getting the dirt under your home,” FaKouri says. For more plans on the development, visit its website here. —Adam Pearson