Ronto Group, Wheelock Street buy lot for Echelon on Palm

BUYER: WSR-Sarasota LLC (WSREF II NRT LLC), Greenwich, Conn.
SELLER: Timothy and Kristen Beury
PROPERTY: 624 S. Palm Ave., Sarasota
PRICE: $1.3 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $690,000, May 2004
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Foley & Lardner LLP, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:
Naples-based The Ronto Group Inc. and equity partner Wheelock Street Capital LLC of Greenwich, Conn., purchased the former La Palme Royale Bed & Breakfast property for $1.3 million.

The Ronto Group plans to combine the parcel with an additional adjacent lot at 621 Gulf Stream Ave. to create a 1/3 acre of land to develop an 18-story condominium tower called Echelon on Palm.

The tower will house a total of 17 units, including a two-story townhome unit. Units will contain more than 4,000 square feet of living space and will sell for an average of more than $3 million. Amenities include a swimming pool, social room, fitness room and rooftop terrace.

“We should be opening a sales office within a week or so,” Anthony Solomon, executive vice president of The Ronto Group, says in a press release. “We've already been out to the market with advertising for reservations. There has been a ton of interest. We'll be converting those to contracts and plan to begin construction toward the end of the year.”

Construction of the building is expected to take 18 months.

Solomon says, the site offered the dual benefits of unobstructed views of the Gulf of Mexico and a desirable address on Palm Avenue.

Randy Thibaut and Doug Meschko of Land Solutions Inc. represented the buyer, and Steve Horn of Ian Black Real Estate represented the seller.