HUTCHISON ISLAND, FL-In its first Treasure Coast venture, affiliates of Boca Raton-based Empire Land and Development plan to break ground by spring on Diamond Dunes, a 23-unit townhome community facing the Atlantic. The homes in this affluent residential enclave, four miles south of Downtown Fort Pierce, will be priced from $985,000 to $2.5 million.

A representative of the developer tells GlobeSt.com the anticipated sellout value of the homes is $40 million or an average $1.74 million per residence. The homes are priced from $985,000 to $2.5 million. Four pre-construction sales to date total $7.1 million or an average $1.78 million per home. Diamond Dunes is expected to be ready for occupancy by summer 2007.

Vadim Tkach, principal at Empire Land and Development, says that the estimated land and development costs for Diamond Dunes will be about $22 million.

St. Lucie County industrial brokers tell GlobeSt.com developable Hutchison Island land would be a bargain at $750,000 per acre ($17.22 per sf). At that price the 3.47 acres could come in at $2.6 million. Construction sources near Fort Pierce who have built similar high-end homes tell GlobeSt.com the Diamond Dunes units will probably have a hard construction cost of $300,000 per unit or an estimated total $7 million.

The development site is on Ocean Drive, between Porpoise and Frances avenues. Ocean Drive East LLC and Ocean Drive West LLC are the developers of record. Empire Land principals are Tkach, Joe Solovey and Jorge L. Bouza who aggregately have built one million sf of industrial space and over 1,000 townhomes, apartments and condos, according to the company.

Tkach says Diamond Dunes "will give buyers their first opportunity ever to own a beachfront townhouse in this area." Bouza's firm, Bouza & Associates Inc., is the project's general contractor and co-architect with Icon Design Group Inc. for the Mediterranean-styled community. Gerri A. Weits of Keller Williams of the Palm Beaches is handling sales and marketing.