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Condo conversions coming to Gateway

By SHARON L. BOND
Published March 29, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - More condominiums are here, another 639 to be exact.

Two apartment complexes in north St. Petersburg are converting to condominiums with prices ranging from the low $90,000s to the low $200,000s.

That makes three large complexes so far this year where a total of 1,035 apartments have changed to for-sale residences.

Vantage Point Condominiums is the new name for the former Pelican Sound, which was Sutton Place for a short while. The complex at 10200 Gandy Blvd. has 379 apartments, which are one- and two-bedroom units that will be converted to condominiums.

Bridgewater Place Condominiums has 260 units at 115 112th Ave. NE. Prices in this complex range from the low $100,000s to the low $200,000s. It has one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

Add to those numbers Bay Isle Key Condominiums, which in January changed from Echelon at Bay Isle Key apartments. The complex at 11850 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N converted 396 of its 582 apartments to condos.

The latest conversions also are in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg.

Vantage Point's prices range from the $90,000s to the $180,000s, according to Michael Esslinger, sales manager for the project.

APD Homes of Atlanta is doing the conversion.

"The developer got a fantastic price on the property. They bought it about a year ago. They are able to pass it along to the buyers. It makes (the complex) a lot more competitive with the market," Esslinger said.

In the past few years, some of the new condominiums built carried much higher prices. And some apartment complexes converting to condos have been more expensive.

Esslinger said 25 of the units sold in a week and a half. He expects about 20 percent of current residents to buy their units. That compares with a normal 5 percent to 8 percent of renters who buy apartments when they go condo, he said.

Vantage Point was built in 1988. During the conversion, apartments will be upgraded with new countertops, flooring and new roofs, among other improvements.

Vantage Point has lakes and is near a nature preserve, so it is drawing nature lovers as well as professionals who like the Gateway location for its proximity to Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Esslinger said.

Sales at the 260-unit Bridgewater Place Condominiums also are brisk. "We are having record sales. In the first week, we sold 30. We should be sold out in three months," said Brent Wettlaufer, sales manager for Bridgewater Place. The complex is being sold by Bridgewater Place Partners LLC.

Quite a few residents are buying, Wettlaufer said.

The buildings at Bridgewater Place have a Key West look. Attractions for buyers include mature landscaping and generous spacing between buildings, he said. The complex is 22 acres.

Improvements will be made to the wiring and plumbing. Wettlaufer said buyers will be able to buy packages to upgrade their units if they want something different, such as hardwood floors rather than carpet.

[Last modified March 29, 2006, 01:23:20]