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Condos sell a lifestyle with the living room

If you want your groceries delivered to your cupboard, or a theater downstairs, there is a condo project going up for you.

By SHARON L. BOND
Published December 30, 2005

Since the condominium building explosion began in the Tampa Bay area about eight years ago, builders have stressed soaring views and architectural styles.

Now, many projects plan to add something unusual. Personal shopping services, private elevators, a community theater and an arts center are among the unexpected amenities included in condo projects rising across the region.

Don't think of them as gimmicks or hooks. Consider them an extension of a developer's interest, be it technology, theater, art or lifestyle.

Realtors expect to have no problem selling buyers on such features.

As more people move to the Tampa Bay area from cities in the Northeast, they will be looking for places to live that include a coffee shop, grocery store and maybe even a theater, said David B. Bennett, chief operating officer for the Pinellas Realtor Association in St. Petersburg.

Bob Jeffrey, St. Petersburg's manager of urban design and historic preservation, agreed.

"I think more and more people are looking for ... ease of living, convenience," he said.

He also sees another result.

"It tends to bring like-minded people to the same building," he said. "It has unique social aspects that I think are important."

Frank Maggio is focusing on technology - and food.

"Every unit we build will have a smart pantry. It will be a 4-foot by 4-foot closet at the entrance to the unit," said Maggio, of First Dartmouth Homes in St. Petersburg. He has four projects planned in the city, all offering such shopping assistance.

Each pantry "will include a refrigeration section," he said. "It will be controlled by biometrics. The grocery delivery person will ... use a thumbprint to deliver groceries into the receptacle."

His projects will offer automatic grocery ordering, too. Scan the price code on an empty carton of milk and the preferred brand shows up in the next delivery deposited in the smart pantry.

Maggio also plans grocery stores in at least some of his buildings so residents can do their own shopping.

"We do not want to replace the shopping experience. We want to replace the schlepping experience," he said.

For items like toothpaste, he says, let the store deliver. For fresh fruit that needs to be seen and smelled, or the right just-baked bread to go with dinner, walk down to the grocery.

In Tampa, the need of a local theater company merged with interests of a builder.

Stageworks Theater Co. will have 4,500 square feet in which to build its first permanent theater inside Grand Central at Kennedy, a condominium complex that also will offer room for an art gallery and include a dog walk.

Ken Stoltenberg of Mercury Advisors said artists were getting pushed out of the Channelside district. "Stageworks has been a contributor to the community. They just haven't had a permanent home, and we decided we would give them one," he said earlier this year.

Don't refer to the Arts Village in St. Petersburg as a condominium complex with an arts component. It is an arts complex where there are residences, said one of its developers, Jimmy Aviram, when the project was announced.

Glass artist Dale Chihuly will have a gallery at Arts Village. The Arts Center, which is the development partner with Aviram, will get a new, much needed facility.

"I believe we will have a lot of artists attracted to this area," said Aviram. "The Arts Center wants to become an attraction to glass blowers. It is a very popular medium."

The Arts Village will offer buyers a chance to be in the middle of a creative climate. They will be able to watch artists at work or take classes in their favorite media. Condominium buyers will get a piece of Chihuly glass when they purchase their homes.

The project is "selling a lifestyle, selling an experience," Aviram said.

That is what developer Uday Lele is attempting to do.

Lele's project planned for Clearwater Beach, Enchantment, will have private elevators for each of the building's 90 units.

"You never have to see your neighbor. There is no common lobby," Lele said. But a champagne lounge and a rain room are planned.

A concierge will be on staff to plan dinners in the fine dining lounge. For six months, residents will enjoy free champagne in the champagne lounge.

"It will create a lifestyle. I hope they will see it as a value and continue it," he said.

And Enchantment's rain room goes one step further than the more typical spas and health centers. Lele likens it to a meditation room with hydrotherapy.

How a developer builds can be important to some buyers. Developer Grady Pridgen is trying to keep his building practices green by doing eco friendly things. He has several projects in the works, one of which will have bamboo flooring rather than hardwood.

"Bamboo replenishes itself annually," Pridgen said.

He also said he's using paint that has fewer harmful chemicals than the normal stuff.

"If you have allergies or asthma, you will be happy. It is much more environmentally friendly," Pridgen said.

One Pridgen complex, 1500 Central Avenue in St. Petersburg, marries green practices to a sports draw. The complex will include space for the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, which will move from its home in Lake City to a 30,000-square-foot facility that will display artifacts and interactive exhibits on the state's sports figures. Tropicana Field, where the Tampa Bay Devil Rays play, is within walking distance. Construction could start by mid-year, Pridgen said.

Times staff writers Aaron Sharockman and Susan Thurston contributed to this report.

[Last modified December 30, 2005, 00:58:06]