The developer of downtown luxury condo tower Ovation has a subtler new plan in the works, a six-story condo project called Rowland Place. The new mid-rise condo is planned to hold 20 units sized between 1,700 and 2,200 square feet, said JMC Communities CEO Mike Cheezem. Far from Ovation’s multimillion-dollar price tags, each condo will sell for between $500,000 and $800,000.

The developer is currently taking contracts, and they have sold 10 units.  A $25,000 deposit is required up front, and buyers are given 15 days to review the contract and condo docs.  Thereafter a total of 30% deposit is due in increments before November 2013.  Construction, expected to begin in the fall, should last about a year.  As a Realtor working in Downtown St. Pete, daily I have potential buyers walking into the office looking for downtown condos.  The problem is – we don’t have a lot of affordable condos.  In fact, as I search our MLS system today, there are only 24 condos for sale in the downtown 33701 zip code priced under $1 Million.  I expect these new condos will sell quickly if they have half the quality finishes that Ovation has.

The condos will be built on half an acre at 146 Fourth Ave. NE, between the gallery of artist P. Buckley Moss and a bed-and-breakfast, the Watergarden Inn at the Bay. A 1920’s bungalow now on the condo site will be moved and remodeled.  This location is just behind the Smith & Associates office on Beach Drive.

Parts of Rowland Place’s rooftop terrace and upper floors may be able to see North Straub Park and the waterfront beyond, though much of its eastern views will face the newly renovated Birchwood Inn.  Renderings show the building will be modeled in the beaux-arts style, similar to that of the historic Kress Building, on Fifth Street and Central Avenue.

The project will be named after E.B. Rowland, a prominent St. Petersburg real estate broker at the turn of the 20th century who a 1913 Evening Independent story called “one of the pioneer business men of the Sunshine City.”

Contact us to register you and negotiate on your behalf as your exclusive buyer’s representative if you have an interest in either new condo project.  This service is free to buyers.  Read more on why you should hire a buyer’s agent to help you purchase new construction.

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