Developer pitches Burns Court condo

A proposed eight-story condominium building serves as another sign of the rebounding residential market — and could make a significant impact on its Burns Court surroundings.

On Wednesday, the city’s Development Review Committee heard a proposal from Ron Chandler, a real estate investor hoping to purchase the property at 1505 Dolphin St. His vision for the land includes a six-unit, eight-story residential building. The units are planned to be about 4,650 square feet each, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a porch. The concept is a stark contrast from the previous single-family home that occupied the property.

It’s also a stark contrast when compared with the property’s surroundings on Dolphin Avenue, which is lined largely with single-story businesses.

John Harshman, the real estate broker listing the property, said he’d heard from a mix of interested buyers — some hoping to build a residential development, and others eyeing the land for retail space. Although he declined to comment on how significant the interest in the land was, he noted that, though there had been an uptick in downtown residential development, many of the projects underway in the area have pre-recession origins.

Two nearby projects fit that description. One Palm, the hotel and condo at Palm Avenue and Ringling Boulevard, and Sansara, a condo at Ringling and Pineapple Avenue, both date back to the mid-2000s.
Considering the circumstances, Harshman said, he wasn’t surprised the proposal stood out from its surroundings.

“What was on here before was a single-family house that people lived in for years before the owner bought it,” Harshman said. “The area south of Ringling has not had a tremendous amount of development attention.”

Already, at least one of the development’s potential neighbors has expressed its initial approval of a taller building in the area. Brooke Misantone, co-owner of The Bullet Hole, is fine with bigger developments in the area, though he was not familiar with this specific proposal.

“It’s cool to see things popping up,” Misantone said. “Let’s not fight our manifest destiny.”

The project is still in its early stages: Thorning Little, the architect representing Chandler at Wednesday’s meeting, was seeking guidance from city staff regarding initial concepts.

Still, both Little and Harshman indicated that gaining approval from the city should be straightforward — and that the development appears poised to move forward.

“We certainly hope it comes to fruition,” Harshman said.