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Buyers eager for new option

WCI Communities has gotten a warm reception to the single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums it plans on 68 acres south of Gandy.

By JANET ZINK
Published March 4, 2005

How strong is demand for new homes south of Gandy Boulevard?

Consider this: Developers of Westshore Yacht Club hosted 600 people at sneak preview events in late September.

Two weeks later, more than 400 people drew numbers to determine the order in which they'd be able to make offers on 299 single-family homes and townhomes.

Then, on Feb. 24, WCI Communities, the company developing Westshore Yacht Club, began taking reservations on some of the 240 units in the community's three condominium towers.

"We're very pleased with the reception we have had so far," said Jim O'Donnell, WCI's project manager for the condos.

Buyers should start moving in at the end of the year. WCI expects to complete the project by 2010. Prices range from $423,000 for townhomes to $3.3-million for waterfront single-family homes.

Most of the interested buyers are people already living in South Tampa who want to stay in the area but want new construction and amenities that come with large developments, said Steve Danco, WCI's project manager for the Westshore Yacht Club homes.

The Westshore Yacht Club will have a 149-slip marina, a waterfront club house with a bar and restaurant, a gated entrance, parks and fitness center. Architecturally, the homes reflect the traditional styles found in South Tampa.

"We give you the best of both worlds," Danco said.

WCI decided to develop the 68 acres south of Gandy, a former Westinghouse manufacturing site, because of its desirable geographic components: South Tampa and waterfront. The area is within commuting distance of downtown Tampa and St. Petersburg and has wide open views of Old Tampa Bay.

Susan Yahney was among those at the front of the line to make an offer on a home in the Westshore Yacht Club. She and her husband, Robert, a financial consultant who works in downtown Tampa, have been living in a South Tampa townhouse for four years.

They wanted to move their growing family to a house in a gated community, like those found in the suburbs, but enjoy living in South Tampa, Yahney said.

"I didn't want to move to Westchase or New Tampa," she said. "I was so psyched when this came along. It's a 10-minute commute down Bayshore. It's gated. It's got everything. In South Tampa, it's unique. I just want to move in."

Janet Zink can be reached at 226-3401 or jzink@sptimes.com

[Last modified March 3, 2005, 09:13:05]