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Apartments to morph into resort

A development group plans to convert Indian Pass Apartments into condominium-resort units.

By JADE JACKSON LLOYD
Published November 17, 2004

INDIAN SHORES - Another chunk of waterfront property has succumbed to the call of the condo.

On Monday, Sun Vista Development Group, LLC, closed on a deal to purchase Indian Pass Apartments for $18-million. Sun Vista plans to convert the existing 164 apartments into condominium-resort units, said John Loder, president of Sun Vista.

Work on the new Barefoot Beach Club at Indian Shores should begin within a month.

A strict confidentiality agreement between Sun Vista and former owner Goodman Group prohibited pre-sales of the units, Loder said. Pricing for the 750-square foot, one-bedroom, one-bath units and the 1000-square-foot two-bedroom, one-bath units could not be determined for the same reason.

Loder, whose company is also under contract to purchase Parsley's by the Gulf mobile home park in Redington Shores, said the sale will generate "bed tax" for the city.

"It's probably been pretty stagnant for the city," Loder said. "It's been a well-kept property but . . . we're going to make it into a really first-class resort."

Loder said the condo-resort concept means each unit will have an individual owner, but Sun Vista will own common areas like the front desk and pool. When the owner isn't using the property, the unit can be rented, with owners earning between 20 and 50 percent of the rents generated.

The 19417 Gulf Blvd. complex claims 541 feet along the Intracoastal Waterway, making it prime for the 50 waterfront condominiums and 30 boat slips Sun Vista plans for the property. With a 24-hour front desk staff and daily maid service, the property will feel more like a resort than an apartment community, Loder said.

"They will be furnished down to the silverware," he said. "All you're going to need to bring is your clothes and your keys."

Loder said instead of "scraping," or bulldozing, the property and building from the ground up, they decided to make cosmetic changes to the existing structure.

The developers will have to repair 32 units and a roof damaged by Hurricane Jeanne, install $350,000 in landscaping and secure site plan approval from the city before the project is complete, Loder said.

Officials from Sage Co., which managed the property for more than 20 years, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Loder said current Indian Pass residents will have the right of first refusal for the first 45 days. On Monday, they received hand-delivered notices of the sale. Sun Vista officials plan to meet with current residents in the next 10 days to discuss their plans, Loder said.

[Last modified November 17, 2004, 00:03:19]