Condo complex convenient to LSU

• By STEVE WHEELER
• Advocate Real Estate editor
• Published: Apr 14, 2008 - UPDATED: 2:15 p.m.

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If you’re looking for an affordable condominium within a 10-minute walk of LSU, look no further than Tiger Manor Condominiums, an apartment-to-condo conversion near the north gates of campus.

A total of 302 one-, two- and three-bedroom units are available in the development, and prices start at $113,900, according to property manager Mistie Rice. “We have six different floor plans,” she said.

Tiger Manor is close to LSU, but it’s also close to downtown, making it attractive to young professionals, she said. In fact, the demographics of Tiger Manor condo buyers thus far are across the board.

About 60 percent of buyers are students or parents buying for students, Rice said, adding some others interested in the development are LSU alumni, professionals and investors. Parents of students are particularly interested in finding safe affordable housing for their children in college, Rice said.

An attractive feature of Tiger Manor for many parents is the 4-year buy-back guarantee, she said, in which the development agrees to buy back the condominium after four years.

The gated development just one block off of Highland Road near the north gates of LSU is part of a continuing effort to rejuvenate the area between the university and downtown.

“We’re really trying to revive the north gate area,” Rice said. Developers have purchased property lining the front driveway along the north side of State Street and will build a new club house and entrance to the property, Rice said. “We really want to light the area up and make it pedestrian friendly.”

The goal of developers is to create affordable living next to campus, Rice said. When it is finished, Tiger Manor will have two swimming pools, a fitness center and two new clubhouses equipped with computer areas, she said.

Each condo will have its own wireless security system and the development will have security cameras and a full-time security guard every night, Rice said.

Thirty-five units are currently under contract, she said. All of the condos have been or are being remodeled down to the wall studs, she said.

Unit 1105 is a model condo that is available for viewing or purchase, she said.

A new door is at the entrance, and wood laminate flooring is just inside. The living room is to the right and the dining room to the left.

The living room has crown molding, a ceiling fan and new double vinyl energy efficient windows, Rice said. The kitchen, which has a breakfast bar that opens to the dining room, has ceramic tile floors and slab granite counter tops with an under-mounted stainless sink. Included are a dishwasher, electric stove, refrigerator and microwave. Cabinets are finished in a deep cherry stain.