Eugene condos selling quickly.

Byline: REAL ESTATE By Randi Bjornstad The Register-Guard

The brisk sales of the Westmoreland Village condominium units, which went on the market June 23, have surprised even the developer, Mike O'Connell Sr.

"It was startling - out of the 86 condo units, we sold 35 the first weekend," O'Connell said. "We thought there would be vast acceptance of the units because of their low price, but we never dreamed it would be anything like that."

One weekend later, and the sold sign has gone up on five more of the small condo units.

"It wasn't a frenzy like the first weekend, but the traffic has been steady," he said. "I really like that better, because it gives people more chance to think about what they're doing."

Another surprise: "The people who came and bought were not at all the people we had aimed for," O'Connell said. "Instead of singles or couples in their 20s, the buyers were mostly over 50, buying either for themselves or for their kids - I think the youngest person was about 30."

The condominiums, part of the 404-unit apartment complex formerly owned by the University of Oregon, have either one or two bedrooms and one bathroom, with 500 to 600 square feet of living space. Prices for a one-bedroom start at $94,900. Two-bedroom units start at $99,900.

"I think people were really impressed with the price and the quality," O'Connell said. "I don't think they were expecting granite countertops and stainless steel appliances in that price range. This is clearly a niche that works."

Westmoreland Village is located on Arthur Street, just north of West 18th Avenue in west Eugene.

Plans humming

on Honeysuckle 

Three lots on Honeysuckle Lane, just south of Harlow Road and west of Sweet Gum Lane, will be reconfigured into eight lots developed with nine housing units, according to a subdivision application recently given tentative approval by the city of Eugene.

Gregory Gittens owns the 1.4 acres that make up Honeysuckle Estates, as well as an adjacent tax lot just north of the proposed subdivision that will not be part of the development. He plans to keep a duplex and a single-family home that already exist on the property, adding six additional units.

Four of the new lots will be "flag lots," with long driveways - the poles of the flags - leading from Honeysuckle Lane back to the wider, "flag" portion of the properties.

City code requires the buildable portion of flag lots to be at least 6,000 square feet in low-density residential neighborhoods. Standard city lots with street frontage in low-density residential zones may be as small as 4,500 square feet.

Driveways that serve a single flag lot must be a minimum of 15 feet wide, while shared driveways must be 25 feet wide.

Taken together, the six new residential lots can be expected to generate up to 60 more vehicle trips each day, according to city estimates. For the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists, Gittens will be required to dedicate an additional 2.5 feet of right-of-way to accommodate curbs, gutters, planting strips and sidewalks.

No one filed an appeal to the Honeysuckle Estates subdivision application by last Friday's deadline. Planner Steve Ochs said final approval probably will be granted within the next six months.

Real Estate Report runs Tuesdays. Reporter Randi Bjornstad can be reached at 338-2321 or [e-mail].