The Veneto is what opponents of the Signature Pointe project probably wish was happening at the corner of Lovers and Matilda. It’s an old apartment complex built in the ’50s or ’60s, and the owners have renovated the old apartments and courtyards to create a new-old condominium complex on Matilda, one block north of University.
My husband and I toured the condos during one of the complex’s recent open house events. The property touts its "resort-style living," and I have to admit that the pool and grill areas did not disappoint. The condos seemed to have high-end finish-outs — if I remember correctly, if you bought, you were given a thousand dollars or so for the closet configuration of your choice at the Container Store. The units were designed well for the most part — as always, with old apartment complexes, you’ll have a few that simply don’t make sense with current residential demands.
The property was created along the same vein as the PowerProperties condominium complexes just south on University and Sandhurst, but the general starting prices in the $190s are a lot higher than the $120s, which Power brothers Craig and Braden offered five years ago when they began selling their apartments-turned-condos. I have no idea whether the Venteo is actually selling its units in the $190,000 range; according to the website, only 11 of the 74 units have sold. Of course, as Zad Roumaya of the Gaston-Garland mixed-use project recently told us: "The condo market in Dallas is pretty much non-existent."
Once enough of the Veneto‘s units have been sold, the owners — Clark Lauderdale and Kirk Freeman — plan to turn their other apartment complex on a nearby block into condos as well.
