I rented my condo last year for part of the year, which I had been using personally in prior years and part of 2016. Am I able to take the special depreciation on the condo itself, or only on improvements, appliances, etc?

You can't take the special deduction for real property. if you have converted your property from personal to rental, you would indicate it on the screen below. You will include the information about the date of conversion and prorate the mortgage interest and property taxes between Schedule A and Schedule E.