Condo project on the rise

Last spring, plans originally hatched in the mid-2000s for luxury condominiums along Lake Uihlein were dusted off by developer Bullard Group. The first thing the company did was redesign floor plans and interiors.

By summer, the plans were ready, but the project was put on hold as Manatee County and Lakewood Ranch developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch took the new designs under review.

“When the project stopped in 2008, the county hadn’t looked at it in eight years,” said Jack Bodziak, the project architect.

Bullard Group finally began site work last week on the two-building, 44-unit project on property just south of Lakewood Ranch Main Street. The complex will border Lake Uihlein and run roughly from The Fish Hole Miniature Golf north to the Michael Saunders building.

Bullard Group must first verify the location of foundations constructed on the property about a decade ago. Those foundations are buried underground, and contractors will spend eight to 12 weeks uncovering them, running utilities and preparing the site for construction of the buildings, now expected to start in the spring.

“In the next two to three weeks, especially, we’ll being digging them out,” Bodziak said of uncovering existing foundations on the property.

Bullard Group will start work on the northern five-level building first, then on the amenities center, slated to include a fitness center and a resort pool and spa.

“It’s a very high-end building,” said Kim Dowling, a broker associate with Wagner Realty who is co-leading sales efforts for the condo project. “You want to make sure the owners have the full package.”

Sales efforts rolled out in October 2016. 

Revised condo floor plans include larger master suites,  expanded terraces and layouts to take advantage of natural light. 

Units range in price from the low $600,000s up to $1.3 million and from 1,887 to 3,446 square feet in size. Granite and quartz countertops and other high-end finishes are included as part of the total unit price, so there are no “add-on” costs when purchasing units.

“We’re trying to do everything up to the standard we’re selling,” Bodziak said. “We’re trying to make it an all-inclusive luxury unit.”

Already, Dowling has five reservations. She’ll start writing sales contracts in March.

“Our goal is to have half the first building sold by the end of the first quarter,” she said.

The condo project’s first residents are expected to move in early in 2018.