Fort Lauderdale luxury condos to include boat slips
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Fort Lauderdale luxury condos to include boat slips
by Robyn Friedman, Special to the Sun-Sentinel
November 28, 2005
A Boca Raton developer has announced plans to build 22 luxury condominiums in Fort Lauderdale that will each come with a boat slip large enough to dock a 45-foot boat.
The project, called Indigo, will rise on a one-acre parcel at 58-72 Hendricks Isle, an area of the city that is undergoing a transformation thanks to redevelopment. It will consist of two buildings, each five stories. The first floor of each will be devoted to parking.
"We've been interested in infill properties for about a year and a half because the availability of land for single-family homes in Palm Beach and Broward counties is pretty much exhausted," said Paul Asfahl, president of Sterling Communities at Hendricks Isle LLC, the developer. "This property caught our eye."
Asfahl plans to apply for site plan approval for the project within six weeks. If all goes as planned, he expects to break ground in the fall of 2006. The site currently contains five aging multifamily properties that will be demolished. "It's going to be a real upgrade for the area," Asfahl said.
The condos at Indigo will range from 2,100 to 3,350 square feet and will have three and four bedrooms. Prices will range from $1.25 million to $2.25 million. The units will have upscale features such as granite countertops, marble bathrooms, top-of-the-line appliances and balconies. Some will be flow-through units offering both water and city skyline views. The amenities will include a fitness center in each building and pool.
Asfahl is targeting the units to several types of buyers, all of which he expects to have a strong interest in boating. He thinks the project will appeal to vacation-home buyers, people who live or work in the Fort Lauderdale area and to Latin Americans.
"If real estate has a unique and irreplaceable value like a boat slip in the middle of the Las Olas area, then it's almost guaranteed for success," Asfahl said. "It can't be duplicated anyplace else."
One local real estate expert agrees. "At the $1.25 million price point, selling on Hendricks Isle with a boat slip should not be a problem at all," said Tim Elmes, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Inc. in Fort Lauderdale who specializes in waterfront properties.
Elmes said that the luxury real estate market has softened significantly in California, Atlanta and other parts of the United States. "Some people say it's spreading this way," he said.
While Elmes doesn't think the values of single-family waterfront homes in Fort Lauderdale will be affected, he does have concerns about the condo market. "When you can buy a postage-stamp sized piece of land and build 300 units anywhere, the potential is there for a softening," he said.
Asfahl said that Indigo is facing competition because of resales at other condominium projects on Hendricks Isle that are under construction. "We're competing against flippers more than anything else," he said.
He's compiling a list of interested prospective buyers and plans to start selling the units in the summer of 2006.
The architect for Indigo is Fort Lauderdale-based Pasquale Kuritzky Architecture Inc.
Sterling Communities has more than 30 years of experience in the home-building industry and has built residences in developments such as San Michele in Palm Beach Gardens, Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club in Boca Raton and Cedar Creek Ranch in Lake Worth.
The project, called Indigo, will rise on a one-acre parcel at 58-72 Hendricks Isle, an area of the city that is undergoing a transformation thanks to redevelopment. It will consist of two buildings, each five stories. The first floor of each will be devoted to parking.
"We've been interested in infill properties for about a year and a half because the availability of land for single-family homes in Palm Beach and Broward counties is pretty much exhausted," said Paul Asfahl, president of Sterling Communities at Hendricks Isle LLC, the developer. "This property caught our eye."
Asfahl plans to apply for site plan approval for the project within six weeks. If all goes as planned, he expects to break ground in the fall of 2006. The site currently contains five aging multifamily properties that will be demolished. "It's going to be a real upgrade for the area," Asfahl said.
The condos at Indigo will range from 2,100 to 3,350 square feet and will have three and four bedrooms. Prices will range from $1.25 million to $2.25 million. The units will have upscale features such as granite countertops, marble bathrooms, top-of-the-line appliances and balconies. Some will be flow-through units offering both water and city skyline views. The amenities will include a fitness center in each building and pool.
Asfahl is targeting the units to several types of buyers, all of which he expects to have a strong interest in boating. He thinks the project will appeal to vacation-home buyers, people who live or work in the Fort Lauderdale area and to Latin Americans.
"If real estate has a unique and irreplaceable value like a boat slip in the middle of the Las Olas area, then it's almost guaranteed for success," Asfahl said. "It can't be duplicated anyplace else."
One local real estate expert agrees. "At the $1.25 million price point, selling on Hendricks Isle with a boat slip should not be a problem at all," said Tim Elmes, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Inc. in Fort Lauderdale who specializes in waterfront properties.
Elmes said that the luxury real estate market has softened significantly in California, Atlanta and other parts of the United States. "Some people say it's spreading this way," he said.
While Elmes doesn't think the values of single-family waterfront homes in Fort Lauderdale will be affected, he does have concerns about the condo market. "When you can buy a postage-stamp sized piece of land and build 300 units anywhere, the potential is there for a softening," he said.
Asfahl said that Indigo is facing competition because of resales at other condominium projects on Hendricks Isle that are under construction. "We're competing against flippers more than anything else," he said.
He's compiling a list of interested prospective buyers and plans to start selling the units in the summer of 2006.
The architect for Indigo is Fort Lauderdale-based Pasquale Kuritzky Architecture Inc.
Sterling Communities has more than 30 years of experience in the home-building industry and has built residences in developments such as San Michele in Palm Beach Gardens, Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club in Boca Raton and Cedar Creek Ranch in Lake Worth.
Copyright � 2005, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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