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Published on: 1/11/2005
Last Visited: 6/28/2006
Walt Henley, Albert Santi and Skip Miller plan to convert the brewery into 35 luxury condominium and penthouse units that offer sweeping views of the Mississippi River and FedExForum, with prices for units ranging from $350,000 to upward of $1 million.
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Memphis Heritage Inc. held a fund-raiser at the building on New Years Eve, and the three partners used the opportunity to announce their plans for the historic building at 465 Tennessee St. that Santi compared to an urban castle.
Santi, of Santi Mortgage Co.LLC, said the partners are due to close on the property by the end of the month.He said they have already taken several reservations, and the group is conducting tours for interested buyers.
Bottletree Design Group is the projects architect.
We have had the property under contract for approximately five months now, and we have done a ton of work in terms of engineering to see the functionality of it all, Santi said.Were also working with the architects and getting a layout of it.
Historic space.
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Santi said he immediately warmed to the buildings antique look and feel, especially the wrought-iron railings that line the staircases and the panoramic view of the city that can be seen from the structures highest point.The 114-year-old building is included on the National Register of Historic Places.
I looked at the property, and of course, like everybody else, just fell in love with it, he said.Its just like a castle.We started to negotiate with the owner and finally got them to sign a contract, and from there we started our almost daily endeavors to making sure were doing all the right things.
Santi said a chance encounter with Henley led to his involvement in the deal.
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We were talking about trying to do something on a commercial basis, because my background, a lot of it has been residential, Santi said.
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Santi said another consultant told the partners the building has about 150 times the strength needed for residential uses.
Its like a fortress, Santi said.And a lot of the penthouse views are just absolutely jaw-dropping.
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We thought about commercial, but it looks like the best use is all residential, Santi said.