296 square feet -- but it's home

But a local developer is betting Seattle urbanites are primed to carve out their own two-truck chunks of Belltown. The moda condos, set to break ground in October, promise "New York-style living," with units as small as 296 square feet that start at $149,950.


		Grant M. Haller / P-I
	Iolanthe Chan-McCarthy of Urban Pacific Real Estate, left, and G. David Hoy, president of HMI Real Estate Inc., in a 300-square-foot unfinished condo. Studios that size range from $149,950 to $245,950.

"I think there's unmet demand for affordable new construction in downtown," said developer G. David Hoy, president of HMI Real Estate Inc. "I also believe downtown needs more diversity."

Debra Smith, who now lives in a studio apartment in Queen Anne, has already reserved a moda studio. She extolled the location, the price and even the size.

"I like having everything in just one room," she said. "I just think it's a waste of money to have all this space that you don't really need."

Moda is not Seattle's first small-condo project. The Montreux building, built in 1999 at 425 Vine St., has condos barely above 300 square feet.

Erin Stines, one of the first Montreux buyers, said it was a place she could afford within walking distance of Seattle University, where she was going to law school at the time, and the law firms where she worked.

"It was easy to clean," she said. "I didn't really have money for furniture, so whatever I did have, it just instantly filled it up."

Stines lived in small student housing in England and a "miniature little apartment" in Japan before buying into the Montreux.

"People around the world live in places a lot smaller," she said. "I think that definitely influenced my perspective."

Stines got married and moved out in 2002. She now rents out her condo, holding onto it for possible future use as an urban crash pad -- something she said some other Montreux owners already do.

A quick review of real-estate listings shows "New York-style living" is, indeed, available in New York, with condos as small as 250 square feet on the market in Manhattan.

Rick Hooper, policy director for Seattle's Office of Housing, noted in a moda news release that city officials want more affordable homes downtown, close to jobs and transportation.

"To find a developer who's able to put an attractive product on the market that hits that lower price range is fantastic," he said.

The building's 251 condos will range up to two-bedroom, two-bath units selling for more than $400,000. All of the condos will have such luxury touches as appliances with stainless-steel finishes, granite or limestone countertops, floors finished with cherry or walnut and tile bathrooms.

The developers know they're up against some trepidation about small condos. So they're building several of the units in their sales office.

"Everybody always thinks, 'Oh my God, what can I put in 300 square feet?' " said Iolanthe Chan-McCarthy of Urban Pacific Real Estate, moda's marketing firm. "So we decided to show them 300 square feet."

The smallest display unit includes a bathroom and kitchen, walk-in closet, eating counter and areas to fit a desk, table, foldaway bed and other bare necessities. The fridge and dishwasher are smaller than most and other touches, such as sliding doors and small light fixtures, are designed to fit a little place.

So will the small-condo lifestyle catch on in Seattle?

Chan-McCarthy said she often hears complaints about the lack of less-expensive units in other projects she represents. Interest in moda already has been strong, she said, with 228 people preregistering at the development's Web site since the start of advertising Saturday.

Matthew Gardner, a local land-use economist, said moda hits an unmet price range downtown while still generating a decent return per square foot for the developer.

"It's a gutsy move, certainly," he said.

Stines noted that many friends who visited her condo were interested in something similar.

"I think now the problem is there's just not very many spaces like that downtown," she said.

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