Estimated $50M Condo Tower Begins to Rise at Mixed-Use Plaza

Tentatively priced from $140,000 to $400,000 per unit, the condo homes are expected to be ready for occupancy by fall 2006, according to representatives of the developer. Area construction industry sources tell GlobeSt.com the condos are being built for about $150,000 per unit or a total $50 million.

When completed in October 2006, the 490,000-sf Premiere Trade Plaza, being developed by former Chicago home builder Cameron Kuhn, will have 370,000 sf of office, 105,000 sf of retail and a 12-screen movie theater.

Wood representatives say they already have a list of 2,000 potential buyers ready to make a deposit on the units. Wood posted a $3.5-million non-refundable deposit to win the development assignment on the condos. Unicorp National Development Inc. of Orlando, which is building the retail component, put up a similar non-refundable deposit of $4 million.

Premiere Trade LLC, a financial services and software products company headed by James Dix and based in suburban Altamonte Springs, has contracted to buy 61,000 sf of condo office space for an estimated $12.2 million or about $200 per sf, Downtown brokers familiar with the project tell GlobeSt.com. The deal also puts Premiere Trade's name on the building.

About 88% of the total office space available is either sold or under contract, brokers intimate with the project tell GlobeSt.com. There is 63,052 sf of class office space available with maximum contiguous space of 20,000 sf, according to Stirling International Realty Commercial which handles leasing for the complex.

The 14th and 15th floors, each with 20,000 sf, are leasing for $28 per sf. At the 30th floor penthouse level, another 20,000 sf is available for a rooftop restaurant at $38 per sf. At ground-floor level, 3,052 sf can be rented for $30 per sf with build-out costs included in the rent.

The City of Orlando is providing developer Kuhn with a total $22 million in economic incentives to do the project. The $22 million is the largest purse ever offered to a developer here, city staffers tell GlobeSt.com. The incentives package includes a $15-million construction loan for the parking garage; $3.5 million to Kuhn for undertaking the redevelopment of the 2.3-acre Jaymont Block where Premiere Trade Plaza is being built; and another $3.5 million, or $350,000 for 10 years, to AmStar Entertainment Inc. of Birmingham, AL for constructing the movie theater.

Under terms of that deal, AmStar receives the incentive money on a yearly basis. If the theater stops operating before the 10-year contract is completed, AmStar also stops receiving the annual $350,000 grant. Kuhn doesn't have to repay his $3.5 million gift but is confident he can repay the $14-million construction loan in about eight years, city staffers knowledgeable in the terms of the contract tell GlobeSt.com.