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Condominium project anything but ordinary

The eclectic Mirabella on Central is designed to attract retiring baby boomers.

By PAUL SWIDER
Published November 15, 2006

During the runup to the recent white-hot housing market, Lincoln Crone planned his own condominium development. But even when the market was at its peak, he sat and waited. Now, when the market has cooled and other projects are stalled or canceled, Crone is going to start.

"We think this is the right time," said the soft-spoken Crone, a real estate broker who has lived in St. Petersburg for some 20 years before embarking on Mirabella on Central. "Interest rates are still low, the competition has thinned out, and construction prices have leveled off."

Crone's green-eyeshade approach is apparent in Mirabella. The design is not flashy but quietly attractive. The building is not on the water or connected to a museum, but it is on high ground and rises above the neighbors. The prices are neither affordable nor ultraexpensive because Crone is appealing to a middle market of retiring baby boomers that want a good, solid, stylish place in which to invest securely.

Still, Mirabella is not stodgy. It will rise 14 stories between current addresses of 965 and 1027 Central. Ground floor retail gives way to four floors of parking and then a series of arches and balconies through which every unit will have views north and south.

The design is also slightly unorthodox. The north side of Central is very narrow in that block, 56 feet deep, bounded on the north by a few blocks of Baum Avenue.

Crone was going to build a robotic garage system to get cars into the skinny parking decks, but instead he persuaded the city to give him 10 feet of Baum so he could stretch the building and build ramps for cars to drive in.

The combination of interesting and ordinary are part of Crone's deliberate approach to the project, six years in the making.

He used his experience with Alliance Real Estate Services to understand the shifting market, but is creating Mirabella under the umbrella of 965 Development and his contracting background. He also has an international commercial real estate certification, which fits in with the retail component of the project. Crone is covering all his bases. "I'm very methodical, just working through the process," Crone said.

The building's 49 units mostly sell for less than $600,000, a price point Crone's research says is still hot. He said he's heard from buyers who still love the Tampa Bay market, but are happy to live close to the water rather than on it. When considering hurricanes, these buyers like their building starting 45 feet above sea level, so their homes won't be damaged by storm surge.

But Mirabella is not aimed at homebodies, he said. It is in the arts district, close to downtown, yet not far from the burgeoning Grand Central district and its amenities.

"We're really at the gateway of the city," said Crone. "Fundamentally, our market is strong."

Crone unveiled the project for the first time to about 200 VIPs Tuesday night at an invitation-only event. He'll be showing it off to brokers Thursday.

If presales go well, he expects to break ground around June and have people moving in 18 months later. Crone says he is in no hurry, wanting to create the development exactly as he wants it in his community. "This is our home," he said. "We're going to be here. Our reputation will be associated with this forever."

Paul Swider can be reached at 892-2271 or pswider@sptimes.com or by participating in itsyourtimes.com .

[Last modified November 14, 2006, 21:37:44]