- April 19, 2024
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There was a time, not too long ago, when a $5 million residential listing in the Sarasota-Manatee condo market was like a Florida cool breeze in September: rare, but not unheard of.
Winds, of late, are starting to swirl with more frequency. A trio of projects at varying stages of development on Longboat Key and Lido Key are delivering 149 condos with prices starting at $2 million and reaching as high as $22 million. Multiple units have already sold for over $10 million, and one, in a lower price point, has already been resold at 50% appreciation — before it’s even finished.
Officials with all three projects cite a high quotient of supply and demand dynamics, combined with pristine waterfront locations, to explain the sales flurry.
“This is a product that hasn’t been (built) on Longboat in a long time,” says PMG Managing Partner Dan Kaplan, talking specifically about Sage Longboat Key Residences. That could be said for the other two projects, Rosewood Residences Lido Key and St. Regis, too. Details on each project include:
Developer: Naples-based luxury real estate developer The Ronto Group and Wheelock Street Capital, a Greenwich, Connecticut-based real estate investment firm.
Location: Site of two former adjacent hotels on Benjamin Franklin Drive on Lido Key. The Ronto Group paid $15 million for Coquina on the Beach in June 2021 and $24.5 million for the Gulf Beach Resort Motel in February 2021, Sarasota County property records show. On a combined 3.5 acres, the properties were demolished to make room for Rosewood.
Units: 65 residences, from 3,300 square feet to 5,000 square feet.
Amenities: Private restaurant and chef services for in-residence dining and catering; fitness center with options for private training and yoga sessions; outdoor pools; private guest suites with housekeeping service; a lounge featuring a library and game room and a 24-hour concierge managed by Rosewood. Also, every unit has unobstructed views of the beachfront, says sales associate Julia DeCastro.
Price points: $5.9 million to $15.3 million.
Sales: Through early September the project had sold 10 units, DeCastro says, totaling about $100 million in sales volume. Buyers are from Kentucky, Dallas and Phoenix, among other locations.
Expected completion: Fourth quarter of 2025 or first quarter of 2026.
Behind the scenes: From Rosewood Hotels and Resorts, a unit of Hong Kong-based Rosewood Hotel Group, the project marks the first time the Rosewood brand will have a standalone residential project not connected to a hotel. It’s also the first significant development on Lido Key since 2005, DeCastro says.
More information: ResidencesLidoKey.com
Developers: New York City-based Property Markets Group, which also has an office in Miami, and Sarasota-based Floridays Development Co. PMG helped develop The Concession in Lakewood Ranch.
Location: Former Sun ‘n’ Sea Cottages and Apartments at 4651 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Developers paid $13.25 million for the property, on 3.4 acres, in September 2020.
Units: 16, all at least 4,000 square feet. Interiors include 12-foot ceilings, 8-foot entry doors, floor-to-ceiling windows and expansive private terraces.
Amenities: Include large modern gym and yoga studio, elite concierge service, lap pool and spa and beach service.
Price points: Mid-$4 millions to $6.3 million.
Sales: Project sold out as of summer 2021. One buyer, says PMG Managing Partner Dan Kaplan, already resold his unit for 50% higher than what he paid for it. Buyers are from Orlando, Tampa, Chicago and Boston, among other spots.
Expected completion: First quarter of 2023.
Behind the scenes: Kaplan says while some considered the price points “aspirational” in early-planning stages, the explosive real estate market helped the project outperform even the lofty price structure. Kaplan cites the location, amenities and Sage’s strategy of building the units like a single-family home, down to the individual elevator entrance for each residence, as major factors in the success.
More information: SageLongboatKey.com
Developer: Orlando-based Unicorp National Developments
Location: North side of the former Colony Beach & Tennis Resort on Longboat. Unicorp paid $22 million for one portion of the land — the Colony’s 17.6-acre recreational property — which it bought during a settlement agreement in 2016, a company official says. The company declines to disclose the total price paid for the land.
Units: 69 condos in three towers and a 166-room luxury hotel. Floor plans range from one to four bedrooms, many with sweeping Gulf of Mexico views.
Amenities: Includes two restaurants, a beach grill and three bars, in addition to a variety of features under the St. Regis brand. One of those, says Unicorp Development Manager Zack Justice, is a saltwater lagoon, where users can scuba dive, snorkel and more. “It’s everything you expect in a St. Regis hotel,” Justice says.
Price points: $2 million to $22 million.
Sales: The condo side of the project is totally sold out, says Justice. Buyers came from as far away as Texas and California, and as close and Sarasota and Orlando.
Expected completion: July 2024.
Behind the scenes: Justice says the company and the project’s builder, Moss Construction, took a proactive approach to supply chain issues plaguing the industry. To wit: it rented a 25,000-square-foot warehouse in Sarasota to store some 200 bathtubs. This way, when the bathrooms are ready, the builder doesn’t have to wait. “It just made sense for us to buy those now,” says Justice.
More information: SRResidencesLongboatKey.com
