Condo resales turning into buyer's market

SARASOTA -- Roughly one-third of investors who committed to downtown condo towers during Florida's post-2000 real estate boom appear to be having buyers' remorse.

Driven by a desire to distance themselves from rampant speculation or avoid owning overpriced space, buyers are bailing from a handful of high-profile Sarasota towers.

Their movement is likely mirrored across the region and the state.

"It certainly isn't surprising in this market," said Lisa Rooks Morris, a Rooks Morris Real Estate partner who, until last autumn, sold condominiums at 1350 Main, one of downtown's most talked-about addresses.

"The market couldn't be more different now than two years ago. It went from one extreme to the other."

The list of local high-rises where buyers are walking away from deposits or offering their units for resale includes Alinari at Rosemary Place, a 17-story building on Tamiami Trail; Broadway Promenade, which will feature 187 units when completed on U.S. 41 at 10th Street; Rivo at Ringling, a 15-story, 106-unit tower at Ringling Boulevard and Osprey Avenue; and Kanaya, a 35-unit tower on Orange Avenue.

At 1350 Main, buyers are expected to begin closing today and Friday on units they snapped up during a 90-minute buying frenzy in May 2004.

But in a show of just how different the spring 2007 real estate market is, not all 1350 Main St. buyers are likely to finalize their deal and move in.

The rest of story.

Condo developer buys church's air

One Palm developer Triton Cos. leased the air rights above the Church of the Redeemer, at 222 S. Palm Avenue. This will provide gorgeous water view for the residents of One Palm through 2106.

The announcement regarding the 99-year lease for the air rights -- which will essentially give Triton and partner RBS Cos. Inc. ownership of everything above the church's roofline -- comes just days before the development team plans to kick off sales of its seven-figure units.

One Palm's 99 residences, slated for completion at 240 S. Pineapple Ave. in 2009, will be priced from $1 million to $2 million.

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.

2007 will be an exciting year for downtown Sarasota

This will be an exciting year for downtown Sarasota. The Quay project planning a $1 billion revamp, the coming 12 months will be used to finalize designs for 700 residences, a hotel, upscale shops, offices and parking on the 15 acres of waterfront land. The pink Quay building itself will come down in 2007. This area will eventually be known as Sarasota Bayside instead of The Quay.

The Pineapple Square project is a $200 million mix of condos, parking and high-end stores is scheduled to start in 2007.

In mid December, the city gave the approval for the project. Two retail tenants, Brooks Brothers and Sur La Table, have committed to opening stores.

Benderson Development Co. will likely start on the overhaul of the 13-story Bank of America Building on Main Steet. They are planning to add a 332-room luxury hotel, residences and hundreds of parking spaces.

The Atrium on Ringling, a 17-story collection of condos and office space represented by SKY Sotheby's International Realty will start in 2007.

RMC Property Group Inc. and Ram Development will finish up Broadway Promenade, the new Publix supermarket and Broadway Bar & Grille.

Rivolta Group's long-awaited Rivo on Ringling, a 13-story condo tower with retail and office space ringing it.

Other downtown condos finishing up in 2007 will Kanaya, 1350 Main and Alinari.

If you want action you can find it in downtown Sarasota.

Sarasota Approves Pineapple Square Development

Sarasota city commissioners approved the 13-story mixed use development in downtown Sarasota. Construction on Pineapple Square, the $200 million collection of condos, shops and parking is slated to begin in March. The development has 157 condos, 350 public parking spaces and 86,000 square feet of retail space. The development will be built in an area bounded by Pineapple Avenue and First Street on both sides of Lemon Avenue. Condos will range from priced from $480,000 to $1.15 million and will be completed in the fall of 2009. If you are interested in a condo in downtown Sarasota give me a call at 941-812-6272.

More Hotel Rooms for Downtown Sarasota

A local landowner is proposing to replace Patrick's Restaurant, a Main Street landmark for more than two decades, with an 18-story InterContinental Hotel with 121 rooms. Benderson Development Co. is planning a 332-room upscale hotel at the corner of Main Street and Orange Avenue and Ruben Holland Development is considering lodging for its project behind Main Plaza, at U.S. 301 and Main Street. With these 3 proposed hotels, The Quay's plans to add a hotel, The Hyatt's decision to not close and build condos and the grand opening of Hotel Indigo there won't be a shortage of places to stay in downtown Sarasota.

It will be interesting to see if the city will approve an 18 story hotel on the 11,000 square foot site that Patrick's restaurant currently resides.

With plenty of available hotel rooms Sarasota will be able to attract more conventions.

Sarasota Quay holdout sells El Vernona condo for $1.5M

Sonia Hamouda, the hold out in the El Vernona condo complex, finally sold her unit to the Dublin-based redevelopers of the Sarasota Quay for its $1 billion project. They paid her $1.5 million for the 782 square foot condo. She paid less than $75,000 for the 44 year old condo in 1998.

The developers for the new Quay now have 15 acres to develop condos, retail shops, offices parking and hotel rooms. They plan on demolishing the Quay in the first quarter of 2007.

You can read the entire Sarasota Herald article here.

Too bad I didn't buy a unit in El Vernona years ago. ;-)

Downtown Sarasota Lot Sold in Absolute Auction

A downtown Sarasota property once slated to become a luxury condominium sold Thursday for $555,000 at a no-reserve, open-air auction.

That price was nearly $200,000 less than the developer paid two years ago for the same piece of dirt and probably half what the land might have commanded during the peak of the real estate boom.

Read the rest of the article.

Hyatt deal in downtown Sarasota is dead

The deal between WCI and Hyatt is dead. Read the article here. WCI was going to buy the Hyatt for $65 million and tear it down to make way for some high end condos and a new hotel. The slowdown in the real estate market is what killed the deal.

Virginia Haley, who heads the Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau was happy to hear that they were not losing any more hotel rooms. In the past three years, the region has lost hundreds of hotel rooms to condo development.

My personal opinion is that we have plenty of condos in downtown Sarasota to accomodate the current demand. I would imagine something new will go there but it won't be for a few years. It might look more appealing to a developer in a few years after the current downtown Sarasota condos are absorbed by end users.

Quay project in downtown Sarasota

Here is a rendering of the new Quay development.

The model of the proposed $1 billion redevelopment depicts four buildings, three of which will rise 18 stories, along with New High Street, which will dissect the 14-acre, waterfront property. Along with 700 residences, Bayside is slated to contain 175 hotel rooms and 228,022 square feet of commercial and office space.

Quay Rendering.

Proposed development in downtown Sarasota

Do you remember the planned development Plaza Verdi behind Sarasota News and Books on Palm Avenue? It never got off the ground because of complications with The Golden Apple Dinner Theatre. The city of Sarasota recently sought development ideas for the downtown tract.

Read the article.

5 developers came in with plans.

All five proposals would either provide "attainable" housing units or contributions to Sarasota County's Community Housing Trust.

Roskamp & Patterson's Royal Palm Court - Build 224 units for people 55 and older.

Benderson Development's Palm Plaza - 836 parking spaces; 315 hotel rooms, condos and senior living units; and office space.

Florida Main Street LLC, - 302 residential units, 852 parking spaces and ground-floor retail.

Buck/Leiter partnership - 150 residences, a 140-room hotel, 700 parking spaces and retail space.

Rocco Santomenno - 1,630 parking spaces and 90 rental apartments that would be owned by the housing trust.

Do we need affordable housing in one of Sarasota's most expensive areas?

School Avenue condo plan on track

City OKs a land-use change over Alta Vista neighbors' objections

By MIKE SAEWITZ
mike.saewitz@heraldtribune.com

SARASOTA -- City commissioners late Thursday gave an important boost to a developer's plan to build 400 condominium units -- about 130 of which could be reserved for Sarasota's hospital workers, teachers and law enforcement officers.

The 3-2 approval of a major land-use change for the School Avenue property came after residents in the Alta Vista neighborhood begged commissioners to slow the project, pleading that the new condos and traffic would jam local roads and ruin the quaint enclave near Payne Park.

Supporters of the project included representatives of Sarasota Memorial Hospital and Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, who argued that the development could provide needed housing for its employees. Attorneys for the developer touted a freshly signed agreement with Habitat for Humanity, which could run the developer's unique affordable housing program.

The rest of the article

Sitting adjacent to Payne Park I think this is a great location for a condominium development. It is not the most convenient location to the heart of downtown. Hopefully the prices of the proposed condos will reflect that. I don't think this location can justify the same prices of condos in buildings like 1350 Main, Plaza at Five Points, or 100 Central.

What downtown Sarasota condos have sold so far in 2006?

If you are interested in seeing what condos have been sold in downtown Sarasota take a look at my new page: 2006 Downtown Sarasota Condo Sales. It shows sales information for most of the major condos in downtown Sarasota and Golden Gate Point. If you want more information on any of them or any other part of Sarasota give me a call or send me an email. 308-6766

Housing strategy suffers setback

City commissioners abandon an idea for affordable housing.

By MIKE SAEWITZ
mike.saewitz@heraldtribune.com

SARASOTA -- City leaders have been desperate for a strategy to create more affordable homes in and around the developing downtown.

But city commissioners on Thursday struck down a measure in which they placed their affordable housing hopes, after learning that a proposed density bonus plan would create only 265 affordable units downtown -- at the most.

Read the rest of the article here:

Parts of downtown have some of the most expensive real estate in the area. I wonder why they want to put affordable housing there. I agree we need a plan but is it fair to stick in one of the hottest parts of town?

Parties: Hyatt deal still going ahead

But observers believe slowdown will kill plan

By KATHLEEN MCLAUGHLIN

SARASOTA -- Despite hopeful speculation among hoteliers that WCI Communities will not close on its purchase of the Hyatt Sarasota, parties on both sides of the deal say it will go through.

If that is the case, the bayfront Sarasota project would be one of just a few that WCI pursues in Florida this year.

Here is the rest of the article.

Number of downtown Sarasota condos for sale

To make it easier to track I will start reporting inventory levels of downtown Sarasota condos in a chart.

Downtown Sarasota Real Estate Stats for August 16th

Here are some statistics pulled from the Sarasota MLS about Downtown Sarasota Real Estate.

Downtown Sarasota Condos
190 condos for sale
29 condos currently under contract

Downtown Sarasota Homes
35 homes for sale
5 homes currently under contract

July 7th numbers:

Downtown Sarasota Condos
202 condos for sale
33 condos currently under contract

Downtown Sarasota Homes
31 homes for sale
7 homes currently under contract

It is good to see the number of downtown condos for sale dip a bit. Many are speculating that there are too many condos in downtown Sarasota and the oversupply will cause prices to drop. It will be interesting to see if those who bought in Kanaya, 1350 Main, Alinari, Savoy on Palm, Broadway Promenade and Rivo on Ringling plan to sell their condo. An interesting note when looking at the Sarasota MLS data is that there have been more condos sold in downtown Sarasota so far this year than on all of Siesta Key.

Benderson revamps downtown Sarasota plans

By KEVIN MCQUAID
kevin.mcquaid@heraldtribune.com

SARASOTA — Benderson Development Co., in response to city concerns about pedestrian safety on Main Street, has completely revamped plans for a 16-story hotel tower connected to its Bank of America building.

Under the new plans, filed with Sarasota planners Wednesday afternoon, Benderson has shifted the proposed 180-foot tall hotel and condominium tower behind the 13-story Bank of America building, at 1605 Main St.

Read the rest of the article here:
http://heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060727/BUSINESS/60727023

More condos planned for downtown Sarasota

The new owner of the M&I Bank Building filed plans Wednesday with the city to develop a 10-story condominium tower on the downtown property.

Michigan-based Triton Cos. plans to build its 111-unit project atop an existing garage and on vacant land at the 240 S. Pineapple Ave. site.

"One Palm," as Triton's mixed-use condo tower will be called, also could become the first major structure built under downtown zoning rules that went into effect Jan. 1.

Go here to read the rest of the article:
http://heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060727/BUSINESS/607270788

This a great location. It will be interesting to see if this project comes to fruition. I will keep you posted on any new news.

Ritz Carlton Tower Residences

The penthouse in The Ritz Carlton Tower Residences sold on the 12th of July for $4,750,000. The listing agent describes this as a gracious Penthouse that offers uninterrupted South & West vistas of the Bay & the Gulf of Mexico. Features include an open & generous floor plan with over 5,000 sq. ft., exceptional appointments throughout including 2 fireplaces, library, gourmet kitchen, & 3 terraces, PLUS A PRIVATE 2 CAR GARAGE. A wealth of world-class amenities: fitness center, swimming pool, private movie theater, in-residence dining, gourmet restaurant, 24 hour concierge service, & maid service. You can be assured the pampering & incomparable service made famous by The Ritz-Carlton!

The Sarasota MLS shows 5 units selling in The Ritz Carlton Residences (hotel building) and The Ritz Carlton Tower Residences so far this year. The least expensive sold was $1,800,000 while this penthouse transaction at $4,750,000 is the most expensive.

This segment of the Sarasota real estate market does not appear to be slow.