Corvus JV Plans Estimated $100M Residential-Retail Complex

The retail price range of the project's residential component will be from the mid-$300,000s to $2 million-plus, according to C. Timothy Vining, a principal of Corvus International's Florida operations. "We have a number of other projects under way in southwest Florida and this project will be a perfect extension of our Bel Mare project," he says.

The joint venture acquired the 211 vacant acres, just east of the Bel Mare condominium project at Riviera Dunes, for $15 million, or $71,090 per acre ($1.63 per sf). Siemens formerly owned the property on the Manatee River. The retail component will be developed along the property's US 301 frontage. Palmetto faces the Gulf of Mexico between Sarasota and St. Petersburg.

The partnership hasn't set a groundbreaking date because the master plan for the site is nearing completion at the same time as the approval and permitting processes are being reviewed by city and state agencies, says Linda Svenson, a Svenson Enterprises principal.

Corvus International's custom home division, Lee Wetherington Homes, and John Cannon Homes are the exclusive builders in the project. About 270 single-family homes are planned with the balance in condo units.

Corvus International's other local projects include Bel Mare at Rivera Dunes, comprised of 186 condominium units in three 15-story towers with about 100,000 sf of retail and specialty shops in the 214-acre Rivera Dunes Resort and Yacht Club in Palmetto.

Positano on the Gulf, developed by Corvus with the Devlin Group and BSG Communities, has 29 estate-sized condominiums located directly on the Gulf of Mexico at the site of the former Holiday Inn on Longboat Key. In addition, at Tampa's Channelside District, Corvus and Morin Development of Tampa plan to break ground this fall on the O2 Towers, comprised of 380 condo units in two 41-story towers with 100,000 sf of retail and related specialty shops.

In nearby Pasco County, Corvus plans a 170-acre industrial park that will support up to 1.6 million sf of distribution and warehouse space at Interstate 75 and State Road 52. The park should come on line in the third quarter of this year, Vining says.