What's in a Name?

The Name Game Getting the building moniker right makes me feel at home. I've been giving serious consideration recently to acquiring a condominium with "two-bedrooms plus alcove!" for "under $500,000!" in a building that's "more than 80% sold!" No doubt it will be of the "luxe" variety, one that "defines modern urban living" and "speak volumes" about my "contemporary, active lifestyle" and "discerning taste" - to use the hyperbole-laden vernacular of the real estate industry. (I dare you to read those words again without making air-quotes with your fingers.) But beyond square footage, stainless steel appliances, bamboo hardwoods and views, I'm looking for something else in my condo building: a kick-ass name. Names are important. I have one. You have one. The website you're viewing has one. We name our kids, our pets and our boats. A friend of mine just named her new car "Blanche." On one level, they're just labels, a way to avoid calling your kid, "kid," like some deranged Bogart impersonator. On another level, a name is meant to capture the very essence of something - or someone - a vessel to be filled with meaning. So why are so many of the condo names around here so pedestrian? The prognosticators of consumer behavior posit that the car you drive tells the world who you want to be, but your home says who you really are. Given that theoretical construct, only the most esteem-deprived among us (or rabid fans of the punk band X) are going to mortgage themselves to a building named, John Doe. That's why big bucks get spent to develop names and catch phrases intended to make us move in. It's clear as "Cristalla" that names matter to developers. Just ask The Donald. As I write this, I'm thinking about a number of properties currently being marketed whose names stand out. Up on Queen Anne Hill there's Portal Condos, promising water views from every unit. For me, the nautical theme doesn't resonate enough to invest my nest egg in a building that might otherwise be called "Entrance." (I'm giving the developers the benefit of the doubt in assuming "portal" isn't an Internet reference-though, in this market, that might be a viable strategy.) Another building, called, TriBeCa, as in "triangle below Canal Street," consists of "collectible Queen Anne homes." Geographic dissonance aside, if I wanted to amass a collection of condos, I would focus on the original TriBeCa neighborhood 3,000 miles to the East, not the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood. Over in Belltown, a developer found inspiration in naming a tower after Paul Klee, an artist associated with the Bauhaus school-it's called Klee Lofts.  Not a bad strategy, really, if you're interested in fine art. I'm surprised it didn't result in neighboring buildings named for other famous artists-say, The Picasso, Cézanne or Kandinsky. OK, maybe the latter is too close to Kaczynski - not a good name for a building. But there's no shortage of palatable pop culture references. I'm sure some people would pay good money to invite friends over to watch TV at The Aniston. On Capitol Hill, people are buzzing over a new development called The Braeburn, which boasts being "the core of urban living." Ouch.  Painful puns aside, I actually like the name - better than Granny Smith or Pink Lady.  And if influential industries in the state portend a trend, it shouldn't be long before developers break ground on the Triple 7 - "for the urban jet set," or maybe even the Frappuccino - extra tall, of course.   But why stop there? There are so many great names in our own backyard that could be exploited. Find me a real estate agent in this town who wouldn't love to be selling condos in the Nirvana. And while we're at it, somebody get Paul Allen on the phone - I think South Lake Union needs a building called The Hendrix.      2008-12-18T19:49:19Z

2008-12-18T23:30:02Z

-13.9523

267 2545

true

22804

whats-in-a-name-0

2008-12-18T23:29:57Z

It's been said that a name is destiny. I don't know about that, but I do know that a name is an important part of doing business - especially if you're in the business of selling condos.