Swerdlow Beats Out Rivals for Oceanfront Asset

Responding to an unending condo conversion craze sweeping Florida, Swerdlow plans to join the 4.4-acre Blue Tide property with a contiguous property and develop four 25-story ocean-view condominium towers on the inland side of the Intracoastal Waterway.

The Blue Tide tract has about 475 feet of water frontage, says Robert W. Miller, senior vice president, CB Richard Ellis. Blue Tide is about one mile west of Downtown Daytona Beach.

"The demand for condominiums and waterfront property in the Daytona Beach area has increased dramatically over the last year," Miller says. "Numerous condo converters and developers aggressively pursued the [Blue Tide] property with the Swerdlow Group ultimately winning the deal." Miller and CBRE associate Shelton D. Granade negotiated for the seller.

Miller adds, "numerous condominium projects are planned on the Intracoastal Waterway with premium pricing that, until now, had only been seen on oceanfront properties." Pricing at the Swerdlow project, for instance, starts in the high $300,000s per unit and goes to nearly $1 million for the penthouses.

In 2004, CBRE's Florida Multi-Housing Group sold more than 19,000 units in the state for over $2.2 billion. Of that total, the CBRE group represented sellers in the disposition of 4,000 units in the Orlando area with a value of $266 million, Miller says. Multi-Housing Group has also completed $145 million in sales in neighboring Volusia and Brevard counties over the last five years.

In a separate unrelated transaction, Bray & Gillespie Inc., owners of the historic Plaza Resort & Spa apartment community on Atlantic Avenue in the center of Daytona Beach, is converting the property to condominium units. The owners have spent $50 million restoring and renovating the 100-year-old landmark hotel over the last six years, says owner Charles Bray. Condo prices will start at $140,000 for studio units. ResortQuest Real Estate is handling condo sales.