Speculative waterfront mansion to rise on Tampa's Westshore
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Nov 24, 2014

A new waterfront mansion will rise speculatively in Culbreath Isles on Tampa's Westshore.

Vincent Cassidy, who has carved out a niche in developing new waterfront luxury homes in Tampa, has closed on 4922 St. Croix Drive for $1.85 million, where he plans to begin construction on a new six-bedroom, 7,000-square-foot home without a buyer in place.

The finished home could be priced at more than $5 million, depending on the market.

The Culbreath Isles deal will be Cassidy's fifth speculative waterfront mansion in Tampa since 2012. Hughes Construction has been the general contractor on all of the homes, and Mary Pond and Ed Gunning of Smith & Associates have been the listing agents. Two have sold for more than $3 million. The third, at 464 Lucerne Ave. on Davis Islands, wrapped up construction this summer and is on the market for $3.7 million. ( Click here to see inside that home.)

Another home on Davis Islands, on Riviera Drive, is under construction. That home, also around 7,000 square feet, could sell for more than $6 million.

For all of the homes, Cassidy raises about 20 percent of the cost and takes out a construction loan for the remainder. On this one, he secured a $2.65 million loan.

He's able to generate returns north of 10 percent for his investors and said the ventures aren't as risky as they might seem at first blush. There are very few, if any, brand-new waterfront mansions for sale in Tampa. "If you've got no inventory, all it takes is one demand to meet the quota," Cassidy has said.

The Culbreath Isles home will include several features that have become signature to Cassidy's homes, like a wine room and a second-story covered balcony. He said the Culbreath Isles home won't compete with the Davis Islands home, though they'll likely be brought to market within months of each other, between late 2015 and early 2016. Davis Islands and Westshore, he said, are very different neighborhoods, attracting different buyers. A buyer interested in one probably isn't interested in the other.

"St. Croix has desirable views in an exclusive neighborhood that supports the value," Cassidy said. "A Culbreath buyer is different than Davis Islands."

Ashley Gurbal Kritzer is a reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.