- December 22, 2024
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More change coming: Like much of Fort Myers Beach, the city’s pier is coming back bigger. The Lee County Commission voted last week to rebuild the beach town’s iconic pier 70.85% longer and 50% wider than it was before Hurricane Ian destroyed it nearly two years ago. The new dimensions will make it 1,000 feet long and 12 feet wide, up from 585.3 feet long and 8 feet wide. According to a statement from the county, commissioners saw an “opportunity not to be missed” and “decided they wanted to create a pier that would be grander than the one destroyed.” The new, bigger pier joins the list of new projects that some locals and longtime visitors fear will transform the once idyllic beach community into another Florida barrier island populated by million-dollar condos. Others see the change as necessary and inevitable after Hurricane Ian and the realities of stronger storms. Construction of the new, $17.1 million pier is expected to take three years to complete.
Drive time: A nearly 19,000-square-foot warehouse with ties to exotic car dealer Naples Motorsports has sold. The property is at 3600 Westview Dr. and sold for $7.5 million. The previous owner was Motorsports Storage, which paid $3.02 million for it in 2020. Motorsports Storage is an LLC whose principal address is 1250 Airport Rd S. That is the same address as Naples Motorsports’ dealership. The buyers, according to Collier County property records, are four LLCs with matching Cocoa Beach addresses. Naples Motorsports carries an inventory that is a car lover’s dream. Among some of its recent postings on Facebook are a Lamborghini Urus for $272,995; a 2019 (lime green) Porsche 911 for $229,995; and a 2022 Bentley Continental convertible for $264,995.
Housing news: The Ronto Group has finished construction of 23-story residential tower in Tampa. The building is Altura Bayshore, a condo community on Bayshore Boulevard. The Naples developer, which obtained a $75 million construction loan in early 2022 for the project, says one unit and three penthouses remain available. The price for what it calls the “typical residence” is $2.33 million. The penthouses are running between $3.79 million and $4.1 million. The tower is made up of 67 units ranging in size from 2,176 square feet to 3,575 square feet and six penthouse units which are 3,500 square feet. Each unit has a view of Hillsborough Bay and the Tampa skyline. Ronto is a prolific developer of luxury condo towers and single-family developments. Among its current projects is The Owen Golden Gate Point in Sarasota. Ronto says construction has just begun on that 29-unit building. It will be 12 stories — with two levels of parking and the residences on 10 floors above that — with units ranging between 2,263 square feet to 3,065 square feet. Prices start in the “upper $2 millions.”
More housing news: A new apartment complex has opened in Polk County. The 324-unit community is near U.S. Highway 27 at 3110 Gowan Dr. in Winter Haven. The developer is Scottsdale, Arizona-based Alliance Residential Co. According to county property records, Alliance completed two transactions for that address in September 2022. One was for $2.6 million and the other was for $3.04 million. Both were listed as vacant land at the time of sale. The new community, Prose Cypress Pointe, is made up of one- and two-bedroom apartments averaging 1,008 square feet. On the community’s website, rents, as of June 21, range from $1,655 for an 835-square-foot one-bedroom unit to $1,890 for an 1,180-square-foot two-bedroom unit. Alliance, which has an office in Tampa, says on its website that it has built or bought more than 115,000 units “representing $23 billion in invested capital.” In addition to the Winter Haven property, the company says it will begin leasing at two Prose-branded properties in Tampa this summer.
Even more housing news: The Huntington Place Apartments in Sarasota have sold for $43.02 million — nearly double what the previous owner paid 11 years ago. The buyer is Utah-based Bridge Investment Group, which bought the 252-unit community from Atlas Real Estate Partners and Andover Real Estate Partners. Atlas and Andover paid $21.75 million in 2013 for the complex at 3201 Huntington Place Dr. The 21.3-acre community features 19 two-story apartment buildings and was 95% occupied at the time of sale. The 209,456-square-foot gated development was built in 1986 and after buying it in 2013 the real estate firms undertook a comprehensive renovation project. Almost every unit was renovated, the clubhouse was upgraded, roofs were replaced, facades were improved and amenities were added, including a fitness center, a dog park and an outdoor lounge area.
Hot market: If you’re looking to cash in on the growth in North Port, a couple of opportunities have opened up. SVN Commercial Advisory group has started marketing two properties in the south Sarasota County city: a 1.1-acre commercial lot and a pawn shop with 14 years in business. The first is a lot on the southwest corner of Bobcat Trail West and Toledo Blade Boulevard, just south of Price Boulevard. According to a flyer from the Sarasota commercial real estate firm, the property is part of the Bobcat Trail Residential Community and the Charlotte Harbor National Golf Club at Bobcat Trail. The asking price is $525,000. The second piece is the Port City Pawn Shop at 14242 Tamiami Trail. The asking price is $1.49 million. According to that flyer, the shop has more than $1 million in gross revenue. The 2,572-square-foot building was built in 1986 and renovated in 2020. The buyer will get all the safes, state-of-the-art security systems, computers, display cases and shelving, according to the listing. North Port, says SVN, is seeing a 3.3% population growth annually and “has positioned itself as an inexpensive alternative to high-priced Sarasota and Venice.”
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