New Homes Rising at Downtown’s Ringling

SARASOTA, FLORIDA, September, 24, 2013 – Downtown Sarasota is taking its share of the reinvigorated home building recently seen in the popular master developments of Lakewood Ranch and Palmer Ranch in Southwest Florida. Sarasota Bay Real Estate reports that ground was broken this July for the complex of urban lofts that Atlanta, GA-based Jebco Ventures is developing along Ringling Avenue. A short distance northwest at Main Street and Gulf Stream Avenue, The Jewel, a high-rise condominium is likewise set to start construction.

Given its city central location, the Jebco townhouses collectively called the “Q” are ideal for young urban professionals and as a downtown retreat for couples, the full service real estate firm says. Located just a block east of the Sarasota County Administration offices, the new development consists of a cluster of eight low-rise buildings of two to three-floors with just about 40 units. There are five floor plan designs to choose from, with their square footage ranging from 1,889 to 4,276 square feet. According to Jim Bridges, Jebco CEO, their prices start from the high $300s.

Luxurious standards

The company’s top executive also revealed that the superior materials and appointments that will go into the community will be provided as standard furnishings and not as upgrades or expensive options as is the practice in most other condo developments. Besides designer kitchens and baths, the units will also feature soaring ceilings and a surfeit of windows that afford dramatic views of the city. The architectural theme of the complex will be contemporary, featuring a dramatic façade to complement its quaint downtown setting.

Bridges indicated that more property developments around the Sarasota downtown area are in the offing. Jebco and other developers are interested in more opportunities, because the timing is right, he said. The recent spike in home prices and dwindling market inventories has spurred building activities not only in Sarasota but also in its neighboring areas.

More in the pipeline

Notably, Jebco has several other downtown properties, one of which is located at the southeast corner of the Tamiami Trail and Fruitville Road where a hotel is reportedly on the drawing board. Jebco also owns a site at the southwest corner of Beneva and Bee Ridge Road which is being eyed as the location for a 41,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Market Place and Pharmacy.

The company is also behind the development of Vista Bay Point, a luxury residential condominium complex at the Golden Gate Point peninsula which is just a short distance west of downtown Sarasota. Consisting of two high-rise buildings, this condo was completed in 2004 at a cost of about $28 million.

There are just 17 units in this condominium, and only three are currently listed in the MLS, with one already a pending sale. One unit has a reduced price at $1.6 million for its floor area of 3,300-plus square feet designed with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, plus opulent appointments. The other listing is one of the condo’s penthouses now in the market with a tag price of $3.9 million. Even more luxuriously appointed, it has three bedrooms in its floor area of 4,400-plus square feet.