Condos find rich niche - Project catering to wealthy doing well in slow market

Eleanore Osborne - Correspondent
Daytona Beach News Journal
December 23, 2007; Page 01F

Today, niche is the word in marketing, and the more exclusive the niche, the better.
In New Smyrna Beach, "niche" takes on new meaning as the 19-unit Vizcaya condominium rises from the oceanfront dune atop 193 pilings sunk 51 feet deep into the sand. Prices rise from a starting point of $995,000 to $2.1 million.
The current real estate advice is pull in your horns, ride it out and try to survive. But rules don't apply uniformly.
In a famous exchange, the writer F. Scott Fitzgerald ventured: "The rich are different from you and me," to which Ernest Hemingway countered: "Yes, they have more money."

And money is the key.

It explains why the corporate team building Vizcaya is feeling confident these days, despite a weak real estate market.
"This is a high-end luxury product, so it is not subject to the same trends that the general market experiences," said Emily Nice, project director. "Yes, it is brave of us, given these times," she conceded, "but we feel the product is unique and offers the last chance in New Smyrna Beach to own something very nice at a good price."

A good price, of course, depends upon your frame of reference.

For wealthy families, a beach pied-a-terre may well be viewed as an essential, she said, and these getaways range in size from 1,829 square feet to 3,764, plus terraces. A trio of companies has joined for the project: Carlisle Realty, The Florida Capital Real Estate Group Inc. and The Mulberry Group, all based in Winter Park.

How's it going? Four units have been sold, and another reserved - well in advance of the 2009 completion. In fact, Nice said, Vizcaya's lender didn't require the usual 50-percent pre-sales before construction commenced.

Vizcaya takes its name from Villa Vizcaya, a mansion built in the Italian-Renaissance style by agricultural industrialist James Deering. It was his Coconut Grove winter home from 1916 to 1925 and is today a museum. In the New Smyrna Beach incarnation, Vizcaya's architecture is by the Powell Design Group of Winter Park.

Realtor Bill Roe, president of Ocean Properties in New Smyrna Beach, noted that few projects are under construction there, and all are relatively small. Roe's firm is marketing the Malibu, a recently opened nine-story, 29-unit building, with eight units remaining, ranging in price from $700,000 to $850,000. Of the Vizcaya, Roe said: "These buyers are people who can afford it. It is not that big a deal to them. They are the discriminating few." Having just 19 units with 11 different floor plans is unusual, he said. "It's very exciting; there's a lot of Winter Park in that building. It's very elegant."

Monthly maintenance fees at Vizcaya are being estimated to range from $500 to $900, depending on the size of the unit. According to the tax assessor's office, taxes are roughly 2 percent, or, $20,000 a year per $1 million of assessed value, less $500 if homesteaded.
Vizcaya pushes all the hot buttons for the wealthy buyer, from the inside to the outside, and all along the150-foot stretch of oceanfront. Amenities include a grand lobby, adjacent library, two covered parking spaces per unit, fitness center, and pool with fountains and cabanas. The exterior is arresting - no plain-Jane square box, but an intricate wedding cake design of set-back floors with arches, columns and niches.

The Siena model is the largest and most expensive, with four bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths and library. The great room, measuring 17 feet by 42 feet, leads to the terrace and the Atlantic Ocean, and is adjacent to an open kitchen and separate dining room. Standard appointments include crown and baseboard molding, hurricane-resistant windows, and 9-foot, 3-inch ceilings."These truly are homes where memories will be made - from family reunions, to summers on the beach, to holiday celebrations," Nice said.

The city looks favorably on the project, too. "We are happy to have development during this slow time," said Mark Ratkowski, development service director. Two other projects in the wings are awaiting site approval or resolution of a site dispute that did not affect Vizcaya.
"Way back, in the 1800s," Ratkowski explained, "some of the original oceanfront sites were platted as being 150-feet deep, and the property adjacent was platted as Beach or Beach Street, which implies it is dedicated to the public."

Then changes were made. "In the 20th Century, somebody replatted, and suddenly made the lots 300-feet deep. What they did, essentially, was take public property and sell it as 300-foot lots. Since they did not have title, allowing them to go 300 feet deep, those plats should not have been approved. A mistake was made back then. "The Vizcaya site plan had gone through and was approved before we knew about this situation. For that particular piece of property, it is not an issue," Ratkowski said. Others have not been as fortunate. Developers of a condominium, proposed on the south beach, didn't agree with the city's land and title interpretation, but have accepted it, he said.

Hawk McMillan of Palm Coast is awaiting site approval for the eight-unit "Penthouse." Another developer is in litigation with the city over his title dispute. "They want nine units, and we are saying, 'No.' The property is 150 feet by 100 feet and that allows only four units. We have denied the site plan."

Fewer units means higher prices per unit for buyers, fewer sales for the builder and higher association fees for owners, who must then pay more, proportionately, for maintenance and insurance."We have had some little bumps, but other developers have had problems from the state, county and city, and we have not," Nice said. "There is something about this project that has been blessed."
VIZCAYA
New Smyrna Beach
NO. OF CONDOS: 19
UNITS: 11 different floor plans; sizes range from 1,829 square feet to 3,764, plus terraces
MONTHLY FEES: $500-$900 (estimated)
AMENITIES: Grand lobby, library, two covered parking spaces per unit, fitness center, and pool with fountains and cabanas.
PRICES: $995,000 to $2.1 million
Cutline: Uncaptioned photo of the Vizcaya Condominium