The Grande Sarasotan is Shelved

The proposed luxury condo tower known as The Grande Sarasotan, located at the corner of U.S. 41 and Gulfstream Avenue, has been shelved.

Kolter, the developer, officials said they intend to redesign their $210 million tower and its 144 units while the project is on "hiatus."

"If we are going to add additional units to a market ripe with condominium opportunities, they are going to represent a broader spectrum of choices and amenities for luxury-minded customers," said Bob Vail, the Kolter Tower Division president, in a statement.

Redesigning the building and condo units to lower prices sounds like a wise idea. The starting price for The Grande Sarasota was $920,000. That meant you got the bottom floor looking north with no water view and sitting very close to a busy street corner.

I visited the sales gallery some time ago and looked at the floor plans and views. The floor plans were nice and the views south looking over Marina Jack and the Sarasota bay were great. The Sarasota real estate market is going through a cleansing process right now. I believe something great will be at that location. Whatever ends up there will just have to match the conditions of the current real estate market. In today's market it is apparent that not enough people thought the condos were worth the money.