Commercial Real Estate

Vue units going fast
Buoyed by its downtown Sarasota location and modern styling and amenities, the Kolter Group's Vue Sarasota Bay condominium project is selling out of available units, company officials say.

Bobby Julien, Kolter's CEO, says only 30 of the Vue's 141 units remain uncommitted — a testament to the health of the Southwest Florida residential market.

“The project will be very contemporary, very up to date when completed,” Julien says. “We're very proud of the product we're doing today.”

Vue, at Gulfstream Avenue and U.S. 41, will contain a pair of 18-story towers and include a 255-room Westin Hotel when it debuts in 2016.

Sales in the $300 million project appear to have accelerated this past winter and spring. In February, West Palm Beach-based Kolter indicated half of the Vue's units were under contract, generating $85 million in commitments.

Before construction began in early 2014, Kolter elected to forego pre-sales, which lenders typically require before loaning money for new residential developments.

Vue units, at roughly 2,600 square feet, have been priced at between $800,000 and $2 million. The building's units are being marketed by Sarasota-based brokerage firm Michael Saunders & Co.

Mystique developer taps Premier Sotheby's
Gulf Bay Group of Cos. has hired Premier Sotheby's International Realty to market Mystique, a planned 21-story luxury residential tower.

The 81-unit project will be the first new offering in Naples' Pelican Bay community in more than a decade.

“We wanted this unique offering to be represented by a broker with notable success selling luxury, high-rise residences,” says Aubrey Ferrao, Gulf Bay Group's founder.

Pelican 1 Owner LLC, a joint venture between Gulf Bay Group and investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is expected to open a sales center this fall.

In all, Gulf Bay Group has completed 14 luxury residential properties, including the 4,000-acre Fiddler's Creek community.

Naples-based Premier Sotheby's operates 25 offices and has more than 800 agents.