Sour market slows Penn Arts work

Developer Christopher Piazza says “difficult market conditions” have led to a delay for his $3-million renovation of the Penn Arts building at 16th and Pennsylvania streets, but the project still is moving forward. Piazza and his firm, Reverie Estates LLC, hope to close on a construction loan with a local bank in October. They are working with locally based Keystone Construction Corp., which is slated to perform the work. A Keystone official said the firm has subcontractors lined up that “could start literally on the day” Piazza closes the loan. Piazza bought the building from JAB Real Estate Investment Group LLC in January for $1.4 million. The Penn Arts is Piazza’s seventh apartment building since launching his company 18 months ago. Piazza, a 2005 graduate of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business at IUPUI, plans to add a gym and sauna to the building and also will give it a new façade. The 82-unit building will become 45 luxury apartments. Locally based Halstead Architects is designing the project. Piazza also owns Village at Fall Creek, Monon Court and Essex Apartments. An earlier post is here.