Commitment to ownership helps build a community of 392 residential homes

Smith & Associates Real Estate, a Tampa Bay owned and operated Real Estate firm, announced today that the Grand Central at Kennedy Condominiums is officially sold out.
 
First developed in 2005 by Mercury Advisors, the Grand Central at Kennedy offered large retail spaces, office space, residential homes, and parking in the popular Channel District of downtown Tampa.  Drawing interest from young professionals in search of urban living, high-end amenities, and walkability, the building was 100% pre-sold before completion but fell victim to the housing market crisis of 2008.  Less than half of the pre-sale buyers closed on the homes, leaving a majority of the building vacant.  While most of the neighboring buildings went into foreclosure, were auctioned, or were sold to new developers, the Grand Central at Kennedy owners decided to instead rent the vacant homes as apartments.  This decision proved lucrative as new tenants stabilized the building and filling retail spaces with tenants like Powerhouse Gym made it one of the more vibrant buildings in the neighborhood.
 
To restore the building to its originally intended use of a condominium community, Smith & Associates Real Estate began a sales program in 2012 to complete the sale of the remaining residences currently being rented.  Drawing from their experience in the development and sale of other downtown Tampa projects such as Skypoint, Art Center Lofts, Victory Lofts, Meridian, Island Walk/Island Place, and Box Factory Lofts, they ambitiously marketed the property well above the recent foreclosures and short sales of similar residences. “We have a finger on the pulse of the market and received a lot of requests from our buyers for urban downtown living. But there were very few options on the market for sale prior to the Grand Central at Kennedy coming back on the market,” said David Moyer, Director of Sales at Smith & Associates.  “We felt if we had the opportunity to provide the public the ability to purchase a high-quality home in this location, that they would make the decision to call the Channel District their future home.”
 
As leases expired, sales replaced them and, as the sales continued, the pricing of available residences increased.  After 200 additional sales, the Grand Central at Kennedy is officially sold out.  Smith & Associates Real Estate’s aggressive and creative sales approach, resulted in frequent transactions and stable sales patterns that helped increase not just demand but also the prices of other condominium buildings throughout downtown Tampa.  Recent re-sales in the market have closed at over $500 per square foot.  Today, downtown Tampa is more popular than ever – booming with residents, businesses, and attractions.  As the city eagerly awaits the completion of the Water Street Tampa, Channelside Plaza rejuvenation, Channel Club residences, Publix supermarket, Madison Street Park and Hilton hotel projects, all eyes are on the Channel District.  There is a new vibrancy and sense of community downtown and residents are excited to be a part of it.  But, the downtown Tampa market is limited.  There have been no new condominium communities available since 2008 and there are only 32 residences currently on the market for new construction condominiums built after 2005.  The success of the Grand Central at Kennedy should serve as an inspiration to others considering residential offerings in the downtown Tampa market.