What Bust? Complex Selling

SARASOTA, FL - Unit 1217 was the final developer-owned condo for sale at Broadway Promenade late last week, and when it sells it will mark an unlikely time for a new condominium complex to come to its fruition.

With a view of the sunset over Sarasota Bay, Unit 1217 has two bedrooms, two baths and was listed for a final price of $299,000 after being originally tagged at $485,000.

Broadway Promenade is selling out at a time when there is a 26-month supply of condos on the market in Sarasota County as Realtors and banks struggle under the weight of the foreclosure crises.

"It's phenomenal," said Martina Coppenrath, Broadway Promenade's sales manager. "We've sold 17 units since the beginning of the year, and this is the last one."

Things started with a bang for the sales staff at the Promenade when in 2004, and at the height of the housing boom, Realtors were falling over each other trying to get their buyers to the front of the line.

Quickly all but 40 of the residences at the Promenade had been reserved out of the 156 at the main six-story building that faces the bay and in the 20 units in a smaller, four-story building on North Tamiami Trail between 10th and 11th streets.

But when the buyers were finally asked to close in June 2007, after the boom went bust, 48 buyers backed out, each forfeiting 15 percent deposits.

Coppenrath and her sales staff kept at it though, citing the amenities that include concierge and valet services, a club room and spa, pool, fitness center, billiards room, library and business center.

Soon empty nesters, seasonal residents and young professionals who wanted to be close to the city began stopping by to look at the one-bedroom units, priced from the $180,000s, the two-bedroom condos in the mid-$200,000s and the three-bedroom units on the higher floors that sold for as much as $700,000.

All of that led to Unit 1217 and its sunset view being the last one to go five years after it all began.

"I attribute to a couple of things," Coppenrath said. "It's a really popular building because of the people who live here, the sense of community. The owners here are all enthusiastic and say, 'You are going to love living here,' and that was a huge factor for us."

Coppenrath said a brand-new, 32,502-square-foot Publix Super Market built near the condominium did not hurt either.

"And we always stayed under our competition in terms of pricing for similar units and amenities," she said. "It boils down to pricing and a sense of community. When you can walk into a place and feel like you belong right away, that is a huge factor."

Along the way, the Promenade's presence helped to revitalize a southern stretch of the blighted portion of U.S. 41 heading north into Manatee County and garnered an award or two.

Last year, at the Civic Beautification Awards Breakfast of the Sarasota Garden Club, the Promenade was given a certificates of distinction for its "outstanding" landscaping efforts.

When Unit 1217 sells, Coppenrath will be jobless, which is, well, part of the job. "I always work myself right out of a job," she said. "It's the nature of the beast."