Finalist: Tom Brown and Jay Tallman

Finalist: Tom Brown and Jay Tallman

Principals of U.S. Assets Group

When other real estate developers zig, Thomas Brown and James A. "Jay" Tallman aren't afraid to zag.

During the early 1990s, Tallman built the Vizcaya luxury condominiums on Longboat Key in the image of Addison Mizner's 1920s-era Palm Beach.

After Tallman joined with Brown at U.S. Assets Group Inc., the pair developed en Provence, with a traditional south-of-France style.

All 21 units sold in three weeks for a total of $52 million in 2000. "By the time we finished that, Mediterranean was hot," says the 48-year-old Tallman.

So U.S. Assets went modern with Beau Ciel, a 17-story condo tower next to the Hyatt Sarasota hotel. "That was very much out of step with what was going on," he says. All but four of the 44 units were sold by the time construction at 990 Boulevard of the Arts was finished in late 2003.

With the 7,900-square-foot penthouse going for $5 million, Beau Ciel brought in total sales of $62 million. But Tallman says he thinks Beau Ciel, where the average sale price was $1.5 million a unit, has become a landmark on the Sarasota skyline.

"We don't go with what the fad is at the time," he says. "We want something more timeless."

The Orchid Beach Club, two 11-story condominiums on Lido Key, is under construction on the site of the former Half Moon Beach Club hotel with an architecture influenced by the British West Indies. More than 90% of the 54 units have been sold for $110 million. Building completion is expected later this year.

"I feel very bullish on that," says Tallman. "There just aren't many projects on the beach."

It is the slightly contrarian approach that has made U.S. Assets one of Sarasota's premier high-end residential developers during the past decade.

"You can't lead by following," says Tallman. "We'd like to be leaders, as often as possible."

Tallman and business partner Brown, 59, both live in Sarasota. So Tallman figures they have to live with what they erect. "With the realization that we'll be driving by our projects for a long time to come, we want to do good, quality work," he says.

In addition to their local geographical focus, U.S. Assets is a boutique developer that usually concentrates on one project at a time. "We're not ones to go out and do 10 projects all at once," he says.

They broke ground on their latest endeavor a year ago in March. The Founders Club is another rarity, a golf course community of 262 estate homes. It is one of the few country club developments to be recently permitted in north Sarasota County. It took them five years to get all the government approvals.

One Realtor sold eight homes around the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed links in 10 days last month for $10 million, according to U.S. Assets. The Founders Club is half sold with prices rising to 50% higher than U.S. Assets had anticipated. About 100 memberships to the golf club have been finalized to date.

U.S. Assets projects about $400 million from Founders Club lot and home purchases, along with another $25 million from golf memberships.

Brown and Tallman are looking around for their next development. Tallman says they would like to do a combination hotel-condominium or a commercial-residential mixed-use property.

The partners have been talking to Sarasota city officials about a two-acre piece of municipal land near St. Armands Circle, where they hope to put a small hotel with townhouses. Tallman says it's too soon for any public announcements.

Tallman says he and Brown are careful about which projects they choose. They attempt to look for prime locations where few other developments of the same kind are underway or contemplated.

Then they let quality take over. "In a down market, the stuff on the margins is what falls off," says Tallman. "If it's a B location. If there's concerns about design or construction.

"That's why we're interested in the niche projects," he adds. "It's an insulator in a down market."

COMPANY STATS

Employees: 2003: 10; 2004: 43; 2005: 75.

Net Interest Income: 2002: $40 million; 2003: $115 million; 2004: $147 million.

Average annual growth: 107.7%