Aria condos attract those looking for new inventory

In its first week of sales, 10 of 16 planned luxury condominium units for the Aria project were reserved.
The Longboat Key Planning & Zoning Board recommended the project Jan. 22, and reservations for the units opened that day.

“On opening day, we reserved 50% of the units,” said Amy Drake, director of sales and marketing for Aria. “By the end of the week, we had 10 reservations with signed agreements and deposits in hand.”

Drake and Sarasota developer Jay Tallman, president of Ascentia Group LLC, attribute the reservations to a need for new high-end units on Longboat Key.

Tallman said he began receiving calls about the condominium units right after he announced plans for the project at 2251 Gulf of Mexico Drive in September.

The units will feature a “coastal contemporary theme,” which Tallman describes as “more modern with a style that uses wood to create warmth in a beachfront setting.”

Units will include garages and extended terrace areas with approximately 4,000 square feet of space to maximize the units’ views. Unique sliding-glass doors will open to the large terraces and modern pools that overlook the Gulf. Three or four penthouses will hold private rooftop terraces, complete with summer kitchens and gardens.

Open floor plans with large state-of-the-art kitchens and technology, which will allow owners to control everything from the air conditioning to entertainment systems, complete the mix.

Tallman, who also developed Vizcaya and en Provence, hopes to begin construction, which is anticipated to last 15 to 17 months, this summer. Priced between $3.44 million and $4.25 million, units will range from 3,804 square feet to 3,940 square feet in a new four-story building.

Drake said the project’s clubhouse, which is the former Villa Am Meer’s 5,000-square-foot residence that’s being rehabilitated on the site, is also a draw to future buyers.

“People love the location and that the villa is being preserved and will continue to be a part of the community,” Drake said.

A German immigrant named Dr. Hermann Kohl purchased the property in the depths of the Great Depression in 1932, two years after he was indicted on federal bootlegging charges. After Prohibition ended in late 1933, the charges were dropped, and Kohl built Villa Am Meer in 1935 as a winter retreat.
Drake also believes the property’s history played a part in its early reservations.

With only 16 units on the property, Drake said that the limited number of units can also be attributed to the project’s early reservations.

“People understand the scarcity of the offering and they don’t want to miss out,” she said.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected]