Luxury Condo Market Booms
Luxury condo market booms; Hundreds of new units either sold or in development in Sarasota
Two more condominium developers have announced plans for more luxury properties in downtown Sarasota, an area that’s in the middle of a condo boom.
Sarasota’s luxury condo market saw a several towers built between 2004 to 2006 in the downtown area, amid the last real estate boom. While the recession slowed condo development, the announced projects over the past 12 months have seen brisk sales with projects selling out during development. Right now, hundreds of condos are either under construction or in various stages of the development process, many achieving sustained sales figures unprecedented for this stretch of the Gulf Coast.
The new development will add thousands of new residents to the downtown area, bolstering the demand for restaurants, retail and other entertainment options.
Georgia Salaverri and Steven Windsor, both Coldwell Banker Global Luxury specialists, represent a new condominium project in the downtown neighborhood of Gold Gate Point called the Peninsula Sarasota.
The project will include two 110-foot buildings built with eight floors of residences over three floors of parking. Peninsula One will have eight residences, each unit encompassing the entire floor, with the other tower having 15 residences.
A news release describes the development as a “boutique-style project that will feature a modern, contemporary design with meticulous interior finishes and beautiful views of Sarasota Bay and the downtown skyline.”
Salaverri said she’s been pleased with the buyer interest received so far, noting “there’s a lot of demand” for condo properties in downtown Sarasota.
Windsor said the buyers in Peninsula Sarasota aren’t just looking at the area’s many white-sand beaches, but also Sarasota’s cultural amenities.
“We have a whole lot of other things besides the beaches,” he said.
Salaverri said, increasingly, buyers from the northeast and west coast of the United States have found Sarasota a desirable place.
“It’s like they have discovered our precious gem of a city and they want to make it their home as well,” she said.
Development of residences at the Peninsula Sarasota is expected to begin this fall, according to the news release. Prices for the 2,400-square-foot to 3,000-square-foot units range from $2 million to $6 million.
Rosemary District condo plan
Tom Bradley, president and co-founder of ERES Companies, grew up in Sarasota, but had started his company in Denver, Colorado.
He decided last summer to move his family back to Sarasota and open a regional office. Since his arrival in August, Bradley has developed the beginnings of a plan to build a condominium at 1351 Fruitville Road in the Rosemary District.
ERES Capital, a division of ERES Companies, purchased the roughly half-acre property on Fruitville for $3.2 million in late December.
“We love that spot,” Bradley said. “You are really central to everything that Sarasota has to offer.”
Bradley said he’s been away from Sarasota for about 14 years and during that time “it’s been amazing what’s happened.”
The acceleration of acceptance among the business community for the hybrid office model and remote work plays a role in the increased demand for Sarasota properties, he said.
Bradley said his plans are in the early stages, but more announcements would be coming.
The Edge, a luxury condo development at 290 Cocoanut Ave. announced late last year, is also under development and located across the street from the ERES Companies planned condominium.
Dyrk Dahl, a Coldwell Banker Realtor who is marketing the property, said that building will include 27 residences ranging in size from 2,900 square feet to 3,500 square feet, with prices from $2.1 million to $3.6 million.
Dahl has been involved in the Sarasota condo market for about 20 years. He said that condo development in Sarasota has been close to what it is now around 2004 to 2006, but not quite as robust as today.
What sets apart today’s buyers from the earlier condo booms, he said, is that many of the buyers today don’t have the longtime relationship with Sarasota.
“I have not seen this many potential buyers that do not have a personal connection to Sarasota,” he said.
Echoing Salaverri, Dahl said there’s been an influx of buyers from California and the northeast, but he also said buyers from Florida’s east coast are also more common.
The Edge, Dahl said, is being developed by Sarasota-based JEBCO Ventures, that has completed several condo projects in the area. Dahl said JEBCO most recently developed The Q, a 39-unit townhome development, and the 147-unit condominium The Strand.
JEBCO Ventures is part of the development team of One Park Sarasota, which announced at the end of February that the 18-story, 149-unit project located in The Quay Waterfront District, has achieved $150 million in sales during the project’s first 30 days.
Bayso, another 18-story condo building under development by the Kolter Group in the Quay Sarasota, has sold out.
A planned luxury condominium project on Lido Beach called Rosewood Residences also announced in February that it had achieved $150 million in reservations in its 65-unit development.
On Longboat Key, St. Regis Hotel and Residences has begun work on the foundation for the eventual buildings on the waterfront resort that will see 166 hotel rooms and 67 condos on the former site of The Colony and Tennis Resort.
That property has been marketed by Michael Saunders & Co.
Simon Bacon, executive director of new homes and condominiums at Michael Saunders & Co., said the market demand for St. Regis “has been tremendous” noting the sales team is preparing “the final release for the limited remaining residences after putting $350 million worth of sales under contract since the commencement of sales.”
“We anticipate the limited remaining opportunities will be spoken for in the very near future,” he said. “Foundation work is underway at the site, and Unicorp National Developments and Michael Saunders & Company will look forward to welcoming the owners in mid 2024.”
Vlado Konatar, owner/broker with Kona Realty, may be the nearest to the finish line of the many recent condo projects. The shell of The Evolution, a 20-unit condo property in the Golden Gate Point neighborhood, has already been built and 90% of the units have been sold.
Konatar said the demand for the “maintenance-free building with concierge amenities” was strong.
There are only two units available, he said, in The Evolution, one at $4.4 million and another for $7 million.
“There’s massive demand for Sarasota,” he said. “It’s a peaceful, beautiful place.”
There are several other condo properties under development in downtown Sarasota including The Beacon, The Demarcay, 688 Residences, The Collection Condominium, Zahrada 2 and En Pointe.
Major growth ahead
David Lough, president of the Downtown Sarasota Condo Association, has been tracking the population growth of the downtown area since he moved into a downtown townhouse in 2018.
He said that at the moment there are more than 1,000 residential units under construction and another 1,000 units that are in some stage of development.
Lough’s figures do include several large apartment developments that will be for rent.
He said that with all the units under development it is likely the downtown area will experience a population increase of about 30% in just the next couple years — going from about 12,500 today to well over 15,000 once all the units are built.
“We are going to have another 3,000 people come to the area in the next five years,” he said, adding the influx could pose infrastructure, quality of life and construction logistical challenges for city officials and residents over the coming years.
“It can become just chaos during the work hours,” Lough said of building issues.