Kolter halts largest condo project in North Palm Beach County
January 28th, 2007 - Category: Condo, Real EstateA major developer in Palm Beach County and Port St. Lucie has halted one of its most prestigious projects.
It will re-evaluate whether to continue with the development or create a new one on seven acres on the Intracoastal Waterway in North Palm Beach.
Kolter Communities, based in West Palm Beach, in December returned deposits of its original 14 homebuyers for Domani, the Italian-inspired 18-story condominium and villa development. The community was built on property sold to Kolter by Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center, which is next door to Domani.
“What we will do now is take 90 to 120 days and will start to look at all sorts of different scenarios as far as the site utilization studies are concerned,” said Bob Vail, president of Kolter’s Tower Division, which is responsible for two City Plaza properties in West Palm Beach as well as Gardens Pointe in Palm Beach Gardens, also undergoing company scrutiny.
“We feel just as strongly about the piece of property as we did when we purchased it,” Vail said. “But right now we need to take a step back and look at other possible designs. We are trying to analyze the market as we see it coming out of this cycle; and since we have the luxury of time, we will take a fresh look at the Domani project.”
Originally, Kolter planned to begin construction in the summer of 2006, but as the real estate market began to stall, the company realized it could take a year or more for the tower to have at least half of the units sold and justify beginning construction.
Residences in Domani were priced between $3 million to $5 million. By December, Kolter decided to give the 14 potential purchasers the opportunity to have their deposits back, and all these purchasers received refunds.
“The tipping point came when we felt we had an obligation to the original purchasers and we had market conditions telling us that in all likelihood we’d be delaying construction, possibly for a year,” Vail said. Several of the original purchasers asked to be informed when the company decides to sell once again in Domani, he said.
“Obviously we are concerned for the delay,” said North Palm Beach Mayor David Norris. “But it is such a beautiful piece of property that I don’t have any fear that it won’t be developed. About a month or so ago, I talked to representatives of Kolter and they said they were going back to the drawing board and would be back to us in six months or so. In terms of high rise condos, this is the largest project in quite a while in North Palm Beach.”
Vail said Wednesday that the company has until mid-March to decide if it can bring a new plan to the Village of North Palm Beach, get its approvals within six months and begin sales in time for the 2007-2008 winter season. It could take reservations for the newly-designed Domani during the approval process, he said.
“We will be sitting down with our consultants and say, ‘what do you think might be our other options, the other product types? Do we do two towers instead of one, or do we do more product on the ground,’ ” Vail said.
“What we want to do is keep the unique features of the property, its gardens, open spaces and walkways that creates separation in the marketplace. If we are inclined, we could have the property back on the market in the fall of 2007. But at some point in time, we’ll lose the ability to do this.”
KOLTER RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES
Ravella Boca Raton: A total of 45 three and four-bedroom estate villas with elevators and two-car garages at the northeast corner of Military Trail and Spanish River Boulevard.
Woodfield Country Club: An 830-acre, 1,250-home golf course community in Boca Raton. The last lot in this project was sold in April 2000.
One City Plaza: A 15-story, 350-unit luxury residential condominium located approximately one block from City Place in downtown West Palm Beach. One City Plaza began reservations in January 2002 and construction commenced in January 2003. The building was turned over to residents in 2006.
Two City Plaza: The 20-story Two City Plaza in West Palm Beach will feature a sumptuous rooftop pool, live/work floorplans, an elevated urban garden, clubroom, theatre, fitness center, 24-hour security, parking and professional building services. Residences at Two City Plaza are available from the $400,000s to more than $1 million.
Gardens Pointe: A proposed project still in the planning stages adjacent to Downtown at the Gardens.
San Merano at Mirasol: A 476-unit apartment community was developed within the Mirasol Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens.
Harbour Oaks: A total of 317 planned residences next to the Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens near the Intracoastal Waterway also features a 12-acre Oak Preserve. Pre-construction reservations started for this property in 2003.
Source: Kolter communities Web site (www.kolterprop.com)
