In Sarasota, beachfront condos priced up to $15M are under construction
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Feb 2, 2024

An ultra-luxe condominium tower is under construction on Lido Key, with condos priced as high as $15 million.

The 65-unit Rosewood Residences at Lido Key was Rosewood Hotels and Resorts’ first residential-only property when it was announced in February 2022; Rosewood Residences Naples is now underway. Naples-based Ronto Group, which is also behind Altura Bayshore in South Tampa, is the developer of both Rosewood Residences projects.

Ronto Group and Wheelock Street Capital secured a $173.5 million construction loan from Bank OZK for the condos in late 2023. The developer paid $15 million for the 3.5-acre parcel on Benjamin Franklin Drive in 2021, according to Sarasota County property records.

Sarasota building records peg initial construction costs at just over $148 million. BCBE Construction LLC is the general contractor. When the condos broke ground in October, the presale dollar volume was “nearly 200 million,” according to a Rosewood representative.

The JLL Capital Markets Debt Advisory team secured the loan for the developers.

“The Ronto Group and Wheelock Street Capital continue to redefine the pinnacle of luxury along the west coast of Florida by finding irreplaceable development sites,” Steven Klein, JLL managing director, said in a statement. “It’s incredible to partner with such a luxurious brand and to build Rosewood’s first exclusively residential-branded property.”

At least one of the condos is listed at over $3,000 per square foot — a threshold rarely crossed in the Tampa Bay region. But more developers are seeing opportunities in ultra-luxury real estate in this region, betting on projects with prices more commonly seen in Miami and Palm Beach. On Tampa’s Davis Islands, a spec home listed at $21 million recently hit the market.