Pinellas County Coming Alive

High-Rise Condos Lead Wave of Activity in St. Petersburg, Clearwater

Despite indications of a slowing of condominium sales, developers continue building them in the St. Petersburg and Clearwater areas.

By Debra Wood

Residential condominiums throughout the Southeast may not be selling as quickly now as during the past few years, but developers remain bullish on construction opportunities for them in the St. Petersburg and Clearwater areas.

"Real estate and condos go up and down," said Pete Chiapella, project manager with Simdag LLC, a developer in Tampa. "People out there still want to buy and have the money to do it, but because of the bad press [about housing sales], it's like catching a falling knife. Everyone is waiting for it to hit the ground."

Simdag broke ground in summer 2005 on the Antigua Bay Yacht Club on the site of the former Clearwater Marina. In addition to selling 125 units in two 11-story steel towers and eight town homes, the developer is selling 82 boat slips.

"We've had a slowdown, but we're still selling units," Chiapella said. "We're not discounting much."

Crews completed installing caissons on the first building in June. The steel frame buildings are scheduled for completion during the first quarter of 2008.

Simdag also is building the 40-unit La Vistana A and 14-unit La Vistana B in Redington Beach.

"We have a lot going on," Chiapella said. "We can weather the storm."

J. Jason Perry, vice president of development for Miles Development Partners of Atlanta, also remains upbeat about the market, although he has seen other developers back away. Miles is building The Sage and 1010 Central in St. Petersburg.

"There's not much product; that's why we feel comfortable," Perry said. "In St. Pete, there's not been a huge amount of supply put on the market. And that's why we think everything is going to be OK as far as the supply-demand balance."

Page McKee, senior vice president with Hardin Construction Co. in Tampa, said in an e-mailed statement that both St. Petersburg and Clearwater are sound markets with great growth opportunities.

"St. Petersburg has done a good job facilitating development that meets the needs of the community and complements the downtown area, while Clearwater is beginning to take advantage of its natural resources and allowing a higher quality of development to take place," McKee added.

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Projects

The 12-story, $42.5 million Sage features 112 units. An eight-story residential tower sits atop a four-story parking garage in the back of the property.

At street level, two mid-rise structures, four and five stories, surround a courtyard. Prices for the 869-sq.-ft. to 1,700-sq.-ft. units will range from the low $300,000s to $600,000s, with a median price of $425,000.

Batson-Cook Co. of Tampa began construction on The Sage in March. The post-tensioned concrete tower sits on an auger-pile foundation and the mid-rise buildings on spread footings. Stucco and glass will grace the exterior. Miles Development expects the project to wrapup in fall 2007.

The five-story 1010 Central will contain 114 units. The project, which is sold out, will open in November. Batson-Cook is building it as well.

The only other residential property under construction in St. Petersburg is 400 Beach Drive, which is being developed by Opus South of Tampa. The 590,000-sq.-ft., $75 million, 28-story tower and adjacent low-rise structures will house 93 residential units and retail and restaurant space on the ground floor. Units will range in price from $800,000 to $4 million for the penthouse units.

Opus is building it to "capitalize on the strong condominium market that had been going on over the past four years," Chris Haley, director of construction for Opus South, said in an e-mail. However, he acknowledged that the market had cooled.

"The market has tapered off quite a bit," Haley said. "We're not seeing the sales activity that was so prevalent six months ago."

The post-tensioned concrete tower sits on drilled shafts, with shallow foundations under the low-rise buildings. The exterior will be masonry with stucco and floor-to-floor glazing.

The project broke ground in June 2005, and completion is expected in December 2007.

Opus South also has announced plans for Waters Edge, a 156-unit, 25-story condominium tower in Clearwater and the 31-unit Harbour Watch Condominiums, also in Clearwater.

At Clearwater Beach, Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Orlando is building the resort portion of the Sandpearl Resort and Residences for JMC Communities of St. Petersburg. JMC Design and Development is serving as the general contractor for the adjacent 15-story tower containing the condominium residences.

The eight-story hotel structure that Hensel Phelps is building will include about 203 rooms on levels four through six with 50 one- and two-bedroom condominium-hotel suites on the top two floors.

The 340,000-sq.-ft., post-tensioned concrete structure broke ground in July 2005, and crews began installing the auger-cast pile foundation in September of that year. Pile depth averages 57 to 58 ft., with a range of 40 to 70 ft.

"There were a lot of subsurface voids," said Brian Fischer, project manager for Hensel Phelps. "When we were putting in the auger-cast piles in the ground, it ended up taking more grout than anticipated. But through the process, we filled the voids underneath the building."

Crews hit water while excavating for the elevator pits on the building, which is close to the Gulf of Mexico. The site required constant dewatering with a well point system. Crews will install an underground drainage vault to filter site water before releasing it into the stormwater system.

Fischer said Hensel Phelps topped out the hotel structure in July, which is scheduled to open next May. The exterior will be 8- and 12-in. masonry with stucco and EIFS foam shapes.

Hensel Phelps is also remodeling two existing 30-year-old structures from the former Clearwater Beach Hotel. Due to their location past the coastal construction limit line, JMC could renovate but not rebuild the structures. One will be used for a restaurant and beach club, and the other for private parties.

JMC also expects to break ground this fall on Marquesas, a 148-unit condominium complex on Clearwater Beach.

In Seminole, Beazer Homes is building Seminole Isle. The multibuilding facility first broke ground in 2004. Some buildings are complete, with mid-rise condominiums and town homes now under construction. The units range from the $300,000s to the high $500,000s.

Upon completion in 2009, Seminole Isle will have 14 buildings. Beazer plans to build three buildings per year for the next three years, said Chris Caropreso, a new homes counselor with the firm.

USEFUL SOURCES:

Antigua Bay Yacht Club
http://www.antiguabayyachtclub.com/

The Sage
www.thesagecondos.com

400 Beach Drive
http://www.opuscorp.com/-projectDetail/index.html?id=2536

Harbour Watch at Island Estates/Opus South Development
http://www.harbourwatch.info/devTeam.asp?sound=off

Sandpearl Resort & Residences
http://www.sandpearl.com