Palm Avenue condo targets key movers

There’s still more than a month until the planned groundbreaking for the Azure on Palm condominium project, but a crucial window has already opened for the developer and sales team.

Already, three of the 16 units have sold, and Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate associate Roger Pettingell said more people in the market for a condominium are beginning to signal their curiosity in the project.

With sales underway, a major challenge for builders in an increasingly crowded downtown residential market becomes clear: What makes one condo different from all the rest?

“When you have a lot of different developers, you can get caught up in the mix, and people can think it’s just one more thing,” Pettingell said.

That’s why Seaward Development is working to clearly define this project, located at 711 S. Palm Ave., and its target audience. The five-story building will feature three-bedroom units, between 2,500 and 2,700 square feet each, priced between $1.4 million and $1.8 million.

Located in a quieter section of downtown and boasting amenities such as a dog park, the idea was to create a substitute for the single-family home, a familiar option for people moving off the Keys and closer to the city. All three of the early buyers hail from either Longboat or Siesta keys, which isn’t as surprising as it might sound, Pettingell said.

“Part of it is aging — they’ve had enough of the beach, or they’ve played every round of golf they can play,” he said. “Their interests gravitate toward the city. It’s a part of that whole life cycle we typically see in our buyers.”

Pettingell, too, has migrated into the city from Longboat Key, so to speak. Although his work once focused entirely on the barrier island, he’s begun to spread out to other parts of the region. Seaward Development Principal Patrick DiPinto said Pettingell’s experience on Longboat made him a good fit for the Sarasota project.

“Thirty-some odd years ago, Roger started out his career in new construction, selling everything on Longboat Key,” DiPinto said.

DiPinto said Seaward plans to break ground on the Azure on Palm project in March, with about a year scheduled for the build-out process.