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GREENSBORO — The economy may be slowing but not the interest in developer Roy Carroll's downtown project, Center Pointe.

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"We haven't seen the drop, the slowdown," Carroll said Wednesday.

That's partly because of the kind of customer interested in — and able to afford — living in the downtown condominiums. They range in price from about $200,000 to $600,000.

"We're seeing empty nesters and professional people who have the resources," the developer said. "If they want to buy a new home, they can buy a new home."

Center Pointe, the name of the ongoing rehabilitation of the former Wachovia building on North Elm Street, also has a collection of custom units with prices ranging from about $1 million to as much as $3 million.

So far, more than half of the building's units have been sold, Carroll said.

The project is on schedule to open for the first residents in July or August, he said.

"We're seeing a steady stream of traffic," he said. "We're still on track. We're right where we thought we'd be."

What isn't known is the identities of the restaurant and retail businesses that will occupy the first floor of the building. Carroll said his company is working with several prospective tenants.

He hopes to have commitments in the next 60 days.

The installation of exterior architectural details, such as awnings, will go up in the next 45 days. In the interior, drywall and components of the electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems have been installed.

Although it's a work in progress, the structure in place was enough to wow and inspire groups of students from N.C. A&T who toured it Wednesday.

"It has an excellent view," said A&T junior Andréa Smith. "It's different, it's unique to what's downtown."

The students, mostly juniors studying architectural engineering at A&T, were gleaning ideas for their final project — to design a 12-story, multiuse, high-rise building.

"It gives us a lot of ideas, looking at the ideas they put in the building," said junior Travis Witherspoon.

But it also gave him an idea of the type of place he'd like to live in one day.

"I have friends looking for something in the $150,000 range," Witherspoon said. "I can definitely point them in his direction."

Contact Lanita Withers at 373-7071 or lanita.withers@news-record.com