Naples New Construction Condos Update
The Naples luxury condo market is one of the most vibrant markets in Collier County. There are some very exciting things occurring you will want to know about! Today I’m going to talk about:
- Aqua
- Kalea Bay
- Mystique
- One Naples
- Ritz Carlton Exploratory High Rise Project
Even if you’re on top of the Naples condo game, you may see something in that list you haven’t heard about. It’s all very exciting so let’s get started!
Aqua
Aqua received their certificate of occupancy on their second and final building last week. I had the chance to take another tour through Aqua Friday. The models are interesting, the floor plans are incredibly roomy and it definitely has that amazing new home smell. So far it looks like 14 units in the new building closed with the record breaking sale to date coming in at 2,800,000. There are 11 more pending and only 7 left. If you’re considering Aqua, now is probably the time to strike.
Aqua is officially a no hard hat zone. Upon entering it is abundantly evident this turned out to be a pretty amazing project. Here are some photos I took the other day:
There are amazing models to see and by now getting into the units you’re considering is very easy. The biggest differences between Aqua and Kalea Bay is the density in Aqua is much lower. There are no massive neighborhood amenities like you’ll find in Kalea Bay but the water views are way better. Floor plans here are much larger and building amenities are awesome considering you get rights to both building amenities. The price point is higher but so is each unit size so there are trade offs with both. If you’re looking for something a little more exclusive, you might prefer Aqua over Kalea Bay. If you would like to know more about it, call me.
Kalea Bay
Kalea Bay could be one of the brightest shining stars this past season! Selling 7 more units in building one (total 106 units sold) and a whopping 31 reservations in building two (with the expectation of getting 2 more reservations this week). That unbelievable! So why is Kalea Bay so popular and successful? When I called the sales office this morning, Inga answered her phone! Being available when someone wants to talk business is everything! Not only was she available, she was friendly, excited to talk about what was going on and had every answer to every question I threw at her. With a response like that, no wonder they’ve seen that kind of success. Kalea Bay’s success also comes from what the project has to offer. I asked:
What do you think people are surprised about when they come to see you?
- There’s no charge for upgrades. (very uncustomary for new construction)
- We’re finishing faster than most people realize. (Building one is slated to be completed and move in ready by November)
- The amenity center will be open in November.
- Most people don’t realize Kalea Bay’s developer is the same who completed The Dunes and Moraya Bay.
- People are shocked that you can get a great water view starting on the 5th floor.
What surprised you about the people who were buying and visiting Kalea Bay?
- We’re seeing the youngest clientele ever purchasing in Kalea Bay. We have 3 families who have bought with elementary school aged children. They’re buying because of the price point and amenities you’ll find here. Kids pool, kids game room, restaurant etc. You don’t have to leave here. There’s also an adult pool, bar, pickle ball, tennis…the list goes on and on.
- We are seeing a higher amount of traffic from the east coast. Normally we see around 80% coming from the mid-west but here we’re seeing about 30% from the east coast.
- We have a huge group of people who were past clients of our projects, Regatta, The Dunes. That’s a real testament to the developer when you have so much repeat clientele.
What sells the best?
The 12th floor has been the first to go in every building. From there they hover closest to that floor so once that’s gone, someone will buy on the 11th or the 14th floor but that location of the building fills up first and then the 1st stack is most popular. What’s different about our building are our price points because there isn’t that big of a spread between prices on the 4th floor or the 20th floor those fill out randomly and I think it has everything to do with our rooftop amenities. Everybody in the building can catch a sunset on the roof top so enjoying the best views in the building aren’t just for those who purchased on the high floors anymore.
The models are only open to the public two days a week so let me make an appointment for you to ensure viewing success. The views from the rooftop pool deck, fitness center and social room are absolutely out of this world. There’s still too much construction happening on the rooftop but we were wildly fortunate enough to ride up with some of the contractors who needed to get up there. We were lucky we had the opportunity to see it.
The rooftop amenities and the view will sell the building! Consider the success they’ve had without actually being able to bring people up there.
They have several models to show and they’re interesting and pretty. Some incredible wow features are included and give the customer base some outstanding ideas of what can be done. Of all the features I saw there were two that really stood out.
Here’s the glass backlit backsplash in the kitchen:
I wasn’t necessarily a big fan of the cabinets but I haven’t seen a glass backlit backsplash feature up close and live before. I bet it’s amazing at night. It was pretty amazing in broad daylight. I loved the creativity here!
Here’s a shot of this amazing master bathroom shower:
This is a fogged glass window into the shower as seen from the master bedroom that operates from a switch. When somebody is in the shower they can flip the switch for privacy.
I actually caught this shot mid transition so you can see it’s still slightly foggy. It actually transforms lightening fast so I was kinda lucky with this shot. Here’s the same view again now being able to see into the master bath from the master bedroom.
Here’s a shot in the master bathroom looking through the shower. The magic is that now (even though my photo is horrible) natural light floods into the master bath which in high rise living that’s hard to come by. The other amazing feature is depending on what floor you’re on, you could (if modesty permits) have an amazing Gulf of Mexico view while you’re in the shower. I absolutely loved this feature!!!
Construction on the club amenities is in full force. Mr. Corace himself was patrolling the grounds while conducting business on the phone while at least 40-50 people were working onsite. The pools, restaurants and all of the common areas at the community clubhouse are slated to be open once building one is set to close and you can easily tell they’re on a mission to perform.
If you would like more information regarding Kalea Bay, call me.
Mystique
Mystique is still somewhat of a mystery but I absolutely adore the girls on site. According to Jean, they put 5 units under reservation during the last six weeks. Jean said the Notice of Commencement has been recorded and they’re going to start construction in “two more weeks”. Two more weeks like, “you’ll be seated in 20 minutes” at a super busy Naples restaurant during peak season. Time tells all so we’ll soon find out.
She also mentioned they’re expecting 3 more sales in May. There’s no mystery about the level of commitment off-season buyers have compared to seasonal browsers. Most of the snowbirds have punted out of town by now so if people are still here and looking, large chances are it’s due to real interest. That was also confirmed tonight by Inga from Kalea Bay as her current experience.
Jean went on to say they have 34 under contract. Here’s what she sent me:
“The Developer made a decision to open up the SkyEstate to create two estate residences in order to accommodate a Buyer’s request to purchase an estate residence at the north end of the tower above the 12th floor. We now have one last estate residence in the ’04’ stack above the 12th floor. Other Buyers prefer southern exposure. We have three remaining estates above the 12th floor in the ’01’ stack with views east, west, and south.”
“We still have a nice selection of floor plans at various elevations, but we are well positioned to sell out Mystique by the end of next season. As you can see, we have over 40% under contract. It is very realistic to anticipate having 50% under contract within the next 60 days.”
As far as where the buyers are coming from:
“We have an amazing group of customers purchasing in Mystique. Many of them are upgrading from within Pelican Bay (from other high rise condominiums as well as from single-family homes in Bay Colony). We have very few international buyers, but we do have a few buyers from Toronto, Canada as well as the UK and Switzerland. (Russian and Chinese buyers tend to favor the Miami area.) All of the Mystique buyers are purchasing in Mystique for their own enjoyment rather than to “flip” after closing. Although most of our buyers have at least 2 or 3 other homes, they are looking forward to the maintenance free ultra-luxury lifestyle, the amazing quality, expanded level of services, and the convenience of the fantastic location of Mystique”.
“We are looking forward to a very busy Summer. We will start pre-selling the next tower (which will be the mirror image of Mystique) when we have 85% of Mystique residences under contract.)”
Mystique’s estimated completion time for the first tower is the first quarter of 2019.
Call me if you would like more information.
ONE Naples
Have you heard of this one yet? An exciting 300 residence by STOCK Construction is in the works at the corner of Vanderbilt Beach Rd. and Gulf Shore Drive. There was a town meeting tonight at the Ritz Carlton where several booths were set up and representatives from STOCK Construction were there to answer questions and generate excitement. No formal group presentation was made but you were welcome to ask questions and listen to the ideas of the developer so far.
It was well attended but seemed to clear out quickly. Several members of the Naples society were there to offer their initial opinions. Speculation ran rampant with some saying they’ll never get it passed while others said they thought it was already in the bag.
What is ONE Naples?
Today it’s a mixed-use development featuring:
- An 18 story high rise condo tower positioned close to the corner of Vanderbilt Beach Rd./Gulf Shore Drive.
- 3 Five story buildings will face the water and offer northern exposure and intercoastal water views.
- An unclear number of 2 and 3 story buildings will line both Vanderbilt Beach Rd. and Gulf Shore Drive.
- A coffee shop
- A real estate company
- A new restaurant
- There’s also one interior building.
Pricing:
They’re considering pricing starting at $800,000 upward to $10,000,000 for a penthouse unit in the high-rise. That’s a really big number off the beach in the Vanderbilt Beach location so it will be very interesting to see if they can pull off getting it through planning and zoning and if they can obtain their pricing.
Who is STOCK Construction?
Many people know them from their takeovers of troubled neighborhoods and making them successful again most notably Quail West. They were the 3rd developer who took over that location and did quite well. Several years ago I coined the term,
“STOCK is the Heather Locklear of southwest Florida development”.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, Heather Locklear was an actress who was called in countless times to save TV shows that were losing interest. She would come in and save the show for a few more seasons before they finally called it quits on their own time.
STOCK Construction is a powerhouse with a strong sense of what the public wants. They thrived during the downturn when many of their competitors couldn’t make it work. They are a force to be reckoned and I believe if anybody can get the project done, it’s probably them even if it isn’t with the current vision they’re pitching today.
Ritz Carlton Exploratory High Rise Project
The Ritz Carlton is doing some exploratory study on building a high rise condo project between the Remington at Bay Colony and the now standing Ritz Carlton on Vanderbilt Beach. Rumors regarding the size and number of units are still up in the air and whether or not they’ll get the necessary approval from various entities needed. This alone will be a big factor on whether or not this project lives or dies.
There are more details regarding some very interesting opportunities as a result of the possibility of this project. If you would like to hear more, give me a shout!
Ok, I hope you enjoyed my update on Naples New Construction Condos. that’s all for now! If you would like to know more about any of these projects or are looking to buy or sell real estate in Naples, contact me today!
Best Regards,
Shannon Lefevre, PA
Your Naples Smart Girl!
239-595-6223