Timothy Schutte hopes to close Friday on the purchase of the KIrkwood Hotel at 400 Walnut St., a deal that will result in the downtown landmark’s conversion to condominiums. “We’re near the finish line,” Schutte said. Though condominium sales have improved this year, the development of condominiums has been considered risky business since the real estate bust of 2008. The Coppola family saved Schutte some of the expense of a condo conversion when it carried out a historic renovation of the hotel’s 54 rooms in 2006. They planned to sell the units, but rented them as apartments after the condominium market bottomed out during the recession. Schutte’s lender required a trial period in which he converted three apartments to sell as condominiums. As leases expire on other apartments, they will receive a fresh coat of paint and other updates before going on the for-sale market. Read more about Schutte’s experiment.