Prime waterfront deal shows area demand increasing
Lindell Properties and the LIST Group have snagged 3 prime acres along 400 feet of frontage in Apollo Beach for $8.6 million and have plans for a $60 million luxury condo project on the Bay.

The deal, which closed Jan. 9, is further proof that southern Hillsborough County is a hot spot for developers with high-ended plans.

On the property at the end of Apollo Beach Boulevard , a pile of rubble now sits. It is the remnants of a 1960's built Holiday Inn that never achieved more than 50 percent occupancy, said land seller Darrell Reha, a principal with Kendar Corp. in Bradenton .

“It never became a destination,” Reha said.

The hotel became a Ramada Inn but improvements never came. Reha bought it from a New York Doctor, who ran the hotel and tried to sell it as such but wasn't successful.

no name, expansive views On the new unnamed project, Tampa-based Lindell is the lead developer and has county approval for 48 condos, all which will sit directly on the Bay with wide views of both Tampa and St. Petersburg downtown and the Sunshine Skyway bridge.

“One hundred percent of the units are looking right out on the water, and that's very rare,” said principal Carl Lindell. The units will price in the $975,000 to $2 million range and run spacious, from 2,600 square feet to 3,500 square feet. Each will have a garage.

The project will be walled to add more security and a sense of enclosure and be done in a Mediterranean style, Lindell said.

Evans Group in Orlando is the architect for the 50-foot, four-story building.

Project cost in land and construction is $45 million to $50 million, with sellout in excess of $60 million to $65 million, Lindell partner Ron Weisser said.

The developers decided there was no softness at the luxury end of the market and held focus groups with top-selling area bookers to seek insight on what people are looking for, Lindell said. Market research lead to bigger units and a plan to create non-rectangular tropical swimming pool and a beach complex with private cabanas.

no longer a ghost town “That area hasn't been as discovered as much as other areas, and that makes it special,” Cash said. Add to that the frontage and 300-foot deep water, and there are big opportunities there. “It's a large enough piece of property there to do something pretty special,” he said.

“It's exceptionally well-served in terms of transportation,” said Don Whyte, president of Newland Communities' Southeast Region, referencing employment corridors on Interstate 75. Newland is developing MiraBay, a luxury development that has been a catalyst of growth in the area.

“The area hadn't had a sense of place previously,” Whyte said.

Land was owned in large holdings and changed hands from ranching farms to developers, and then major master planned communities opened up to development, Whyte said.

Values are up and so is volume, Whyte said. It was slow moving for a long time, but the sales of higher-priced homes “has lifted the lid” on how many homes could be sold there, he said.

The nearby Andalucia project was developed more than 10 years ago and sold very slowly.

“But now, we can see there;s a mark up for much higher priced homes,” he said.

flexible lending Financing is coming from AmSouth Bank but not without a bit of a beauty contest for the loan, the developers said.

Wachovia and SunBank, which has worked with Lindell on the other projects, was vying for the business. But AmSouth came through with terms the developers liked, Weisser said.

“We want time to build this and not be pressured by the bank loan,” he said. With supply lines of concrete and steel uncertain, the developers wanted a flexible deal.

It has 24 months with an extension.

The developers could have sought a mezzanine lender at a high interest rate, or put another $3 million or $4 million into the deal.

“[AmSouth is] taking the whole piece based on the strength of the deal,” Weisser said.

“We tried to give them some flexibility in how they market the project so they can maximize their development,” said Jeff Cash, senior VP, manager of commercial real estate at AmSouth.