10-31-2013 06:59 PM

Condo developer intrigued by All Aboard Florida’s transit-oriented appeal







The first trips of the All Aboard Florida commuter train are not scheduled to roll between downtown Miami and Orlando International Airport until late in 2015. But the $1.5 billion privately-funded project is already sparking interest in transit-oriented development.
The developer building the Water Club Snell Isle condominium tower in St. Petersburg wants to locate a 200-unit condo within a quarter mile of AAF’s proposed West Palm Beach station, said Bob Vail, president of Kolter Urban, a division of The Kolter Group.
“That has definitely caught our eye,” Vail told the Tampa Bay Business Journal during a visit to Kolter’s St. Petersburg project.
Vail said the West Palm units would be a little smaller than other Kolter developments and target more of a year-round resident. And while Kolter’s sweet spot is generally in the $500,000 to $1.5 million range, Vail said the company is considering a “more affordable” price point of $300,000 to $500,000 the West Palm project.
All Aboard Florida is a wholly owned subsidiary of Coral Gables-based Florida East Coast Industries Inc. The company has promised that its stations in Miami, West Palm, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando “will be surrounded by landmark transit-oriented developments that will themselves become a hub of economic activity.” Another subsidiary owns downtown Miami acreage proposed for a station and other development.
Tampa business and political leaders have raised concerns about being bypassed in the first phase of All Aboard. But the community is hamstrung by not having a more advanced system of local transit connection in place, such as TriRail on Florida’s east coast and SunRail being developed in Orlando.
Mark Holan's beats include commercial real estate and residential real estate.


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